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Guidelines for Jurors

In an attempt to fairly and properly judge representational paintings, it is recommended that the juror consider both sides of the painting, the objective and subjective.

Idea/Concept: The first consideration might be about whether the piece speaks on an emotional level. Does it create a convincing mood? Is there some intriguing mystery or does it achieve an intangible richness? What’s the story? Is the artist’s vision generally evident, or are they just copying what they see like a human Xerox machine? What vision or story is the artist showing us that we might not have seen on our own?

Opinions on these more subjective considerations may vary widely from one juror to the next, depending on personal taste, and the level of understanding and experience of the juror. A good juror should be able to tell at least if the artist had a vision, or was just copying nature, though still subjective.

The technical considerations are only a little more easily determined. From a more objective standpoint, the juror can now begin to assess the technical merits of the painting.

Design and Composition: Is the design interesting or static? Does the composition support the design effectively and is there an interesting division of positive and negative space? Is there a simple arrangement of the main masses with a clear dominant feature? Is there an effective lead in to the focal point? Does the design support the story or concept?

Values: Has the artist controlled the values or manipulated them in an interesting or effective way? Do the values contribute to a sense of depth or atmosphere in the painting? Does the value plan direct you to the focal point effectively?

Drawing: Is the drawing good? Is the perspective correct and consistent throughout? Is there good proportion from one mass to another? Good shapes? Is the position of the focal point effective or distracting?

Color: Is there a convincing sense of depth, perhaps richer in the foreground and more grey in the background? Does the color scheme support the overall mood of the painting? Is the color exciting or is it simply out of control? Are there interesting combinations of warms and cools? Are the temperature relationships believable? Could all the colors exist under the same light source? Complimentary, analogous, dominant….etc.

Paint Application - Edges and Brushwork: What about the surface treatment? Are the brushstrokes confident or tentative? Are all the brushstrokes the same, causing a static effect, or is there an interesting variety in the length and size of the strokes? Does the brushwork lend itself to the subject, does it create a believable sense of light and atmosphere? Is it robust or formulaic? Is there a variety of different edges? Are there some wonderful thick and thin passages? (Oils and Acrylics).

It is recommended that a summation or final assessment be made from the proper viewing distance for the size of the painting being judged. Step back and see if it works on the whole.

In the end, the jurying/judging process will always be quite subjective. None of us can escape our own personal preferences or current levels of understanding. However, a responsible juror can attempt to assess from all the major vantage points for each work being considered, both objective and subjective. Anyone who says art is purely subjective, isn't qualified to judge any kind of serious representational show.

A great concept poorly executed is painful to look at for the missed opportunity.

A great technical effort with no soul is lifeless and has nothing to say.

Ultimately, the juror must answer the question, how well did the artist achieve that delicate balance between inspiration and skill?

Both must be evident for a painting to succeed as art.

Copyright - Cody DeLong.

CodyDeLong.com

Efficient vs Effective

The thought of efficient vs effective as it applies to my life as an artist didn’t really occur to me until a couple of years ago. I don’t recall where I read the idea (possibly Benjamin Hardy), but a lightbulb went off when I first read it. 

Efficient - Doing things right

A lot of artists, myself included, tend to be perfectionists to one degree or another. I don’t mean every aspect is detail oriented. You can be a wonderfully loose impressionistic painter and still be totally focused on every detail of the business side of your life. 

We are deeply emotionally invested in our work. There are no guarantees, and so we sweat the details. This is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it is often required to survive if you actually make your living as a full time artist. 

Over the last 30 + years, I have learned (by making every mistake in the book) to run my business in a very streamlined way, with as little wasted money and effort as possible. There are the obvious things like buying art supplies in bulk, and less obvious ideas like standardizing frame sizes. Example:  If I offer 9”x 12” frames, do I need 8”x10”s? If I offer 12”x 16”s, do I need 11”x 14”s and so on. This makes inventory of my framing, as well as storage, much easier. That said, I do some very custom sizes too, but in general, I have learned to keep it simple and...efficient.

Even my working methods are about as efficient as I can reasonably make them. On Mondays and Tuesdays, as I’m doing the business end at home on the computer. I carve out some time to plan some of my painting efforts for the rest of the week. What shows do I have coming up? What sizes and subjects do I need for them? etc. In general, I try to stick to a good working schedule for both my business time and my painting time . . . although if the outdoors is calling, I have been known to sneak out and go plein air painting or mountain biking instead. 

I’ll never allow business to crush my lust for life or get in the way of some fun on a regular basis, but you get the idea. I keep a schedule and show up and do the work.

Once most of the business side in handled, I’ve set my self up for what will hopefully be a fun and productive rest of the week painting. While I do keep a fairly regular painting schedule, this area is a lot more flexible. I show up, do my best to get my mind ‘in the zone’ and begin my experiments. If I’m lucky, the painting gods will smile on me.

Effective - Doing the right things

In the early days,  I was just plowing ahead with my career through sheer force of will. I often tell struggling artists that I’m still here because I’m just too mule headed to quit. That inner drive is by far the number one skill required to make it as an artist. But looking back, I can see areas where I did certain things because I thought I had to, not because it helped me with my bigger goals.

Like many struggling artists, I did what I had to do to pay the bills. I entered a lot of plein air events, and I did a lot of teaching. (Teaching is something many of us do long before we’re really qualified, but that’s for another post).

I’m now constantly reevaluating and asking ‘why’ I do what I do. Does it really serve my greater goals? For example, I reached a point where I felt the time spent teaching was making me stale and cutting into my own experiments too much. For me, it had become a trap. Several years ago I stopped teaching completely. Today I do a little, because I like helping people unlock their creativity, but I maintain a heavy balance toward my own studies because that serves my greater goals. 

Same thing with plein air events, I only do a couple each year now. I also stopped doing tent shows altogether.

I made a choice— to value my own artistic growth over making more money. And yet, a funny thing has happened. The faith I placed in myself, and it does require true faith, is paying off. I’m not getting rich, but I can pay my bills.  More importantly, I’m happy in what I’m doing and why.

Don’t misunderstand, I’m not suggesting that you should do the same as me. We each have our path as artists. Some don’t need to pay all the bills with their art. Others LOVE teaching and plein air events, etc. I’m just saying stop and think every once in a while about the why.

Food for thought:

Efficient = Doing things right - the Urgent

The things that need your attention day to day to keep the machine moving forward.

Emails, Newsletters, shows, ordering supplies etc.

Effective = Doing the right things - the Important

Your big goals, projects, and what kind of life do you want, who and how do you really want to be?

While you’re busy being efficient, don’t forget big picture effectiveness.

Don’t let the urgent blind you to the important.

Cody DeLong

Is all art simply subjective?

This was an argument I recently heard from a painter who thinks it's only about expressing oneself, and no painting is 'better' than another.

I hear this argument a lot, and I can only comment on the subject as it pertains to representational painting. When judging representational paintings, YES you can tell if one is better than another. It simply requires you to understand that there are both subjective and objective viewpoints.

The initial impact you FEEL is the subjective part and that will naturally be a different reaction for each of us and that's perfectly valid. However if you look to analyze the merit of the work, there certainly are measurable skills to be evaluated. Good drawing, value control, colors that can actually exist under the same light source, paint application with variety and authority, original and inventive design concepts...These are the things that separate a professional from a Sunday painter. Within the realm of representational painting, art happens when inspiration and skill collide, BOTH should be actively pursued at all times if you are a professional. The emotional impact will always be subjective, but the skill in the execution certainly can be measured and it is a disservice to hard studying, hard working professionals to say otherwise, in my opinion.

In the classes I teach, and the classes I’ve taken over the years, I have observed three basic types of students.

Type A - This is the student who thinks they are much better than they really are, and is more concerned with promoting themselves than with learning to paint better. These are usually people who have been successful in another career or business, have family money or married well and have the attitude “I’m awesome because I say so”. Large unwarranted egos prevent them from learning the things they need to work on the most. 

‘How do I get into galleries?’, How do I sell online? Where do you get your frames? Who does your prints? What shows should I do? How do I get into the top shows? How do I best promote myself? They almost never ask ‘How can I really improve my work?’.

These are all ‘cart before the horse’ questions, asked by people who want to be self employed and think art is a quick way to make extra money in retirement, or have fantasies of making it big in the art world. They are motivated by money and ego, not by a passion for painting.

Type A’s are doomed to fail. 

I’m not saying some of them won’t make money, I’ve seen many horrible painters buy their way into shows and galleries, simply because they have the resources to do so. Luckily for them the general public is woefully uneducated about what makes a good painting. For many, sales alone are all the validation they need, and they never grow beyond an intermediate level. While fooling themselves and much of the public, artistically they will never gain the respect of those who know. Worse, they cheat themselves of the fulfillment and delight of personal growth and discovery.

Ironically Type A’s are often already financially secure, and don’t need to worry about making money from their art, but money is their whole identity, and their only measure of self worth. 

Type B - This is the student who has a dream to be a full time artist, and may not come from means, but again has the ‘cart before the horse’ mentality. They’re always in a rush to market themselves long before they are ready. 

They take seminars on how to market themselves, and are always promoting themselves on social media, etc. The problem with this approach is that once you gain a reputation as a mediocre artist (often with an unwarranted ego to match), it’s hard to overcome, even if you eventually do get better.

I’m not suggesting you wait 20 years until you become a master before trying to promote yourself. I’m saying stay humble, and always make time for serious, purposeful study while promoting your work. Don’t over-inflate your skill level or accomplishments. I see so many mid-level artists teaching, and calling themselves ‘Masters’ when they are anything but. 

Type B’s rarely rise above intermediate level, because they are too busy doing shows, or teaching to fully develop artistically. Once they’re selling, they can’t take constructive criticism.

They find a formula, and their work plateaus. They spend the rest of their days repeating themselves, and fooling themselves.

Type C - This is the person who has a genuine burning desire to be the best artist they can be. A person who want’s to learn everything they possibly can to improve their work. Who takes pride in craftsmanship. Who is humble and eager to learn. Who’s Primary Motivation is to simply be the best artist they can be. 

Type C’s are the ones, ironically, who are most sought after by collectors, once they have matured as artists. 

Type C’s also experience the true value of self discovery, and the personally enriching process of painting. I always say “Painting is the law of increasing returns”. If you give yourself over to the purity of learning first, the rest (sales, meaningful awards, opportunities, respect of your peers) will naturally follow. 

Highly skilled mature artists with a great work ethic, will always be in demand.

Type C’s are the ones who understand the value of taking the time to truly find their own voice, and who ultimately enjoy the ‘state of flow’ more consistently. All the pain and struggle that type a and b’s are doomed to suffer, is washed away. Instead of stressing about who is doing what, or who got into what show, type c’s wake up each day excited to conduct their next set of experiments. 

What a great way to live, to be excited for each new day and the opportunity for personal and artistic growth. And serious collectors will seek you out.

Caring

Concept

Consistency

Craftsmanship

Can’t learn enough, life long student.

Elevate yourself to the level of a C. 

Reap the rich personal rewards of your artistic investments in yourself. The thrill and deep satisfaction of continued growth year after year only comes if you stay humble, and open to input. Keep your ‘personal fire’ roaring. Passion is not had by generating a few sales or winning some meaningless awards, which is easy enough to do given the ineptitude of most judging out there. If you really want to be the best you can be, you must keep your love alive for the process, first and foremost. Keep on with your own experiments.

The rest will flow like water, when the well is full.

Copyright - Cody DeLong - proud ‘C’ student.

Besides the obvious reason that it simply appeals to you, is representational painting still relevant in today’s high-tech, fast-paced digital world?

The answer is a resounding YES! The more chaotic the world gets, the more important art becomes.

Purchasing an archival-quality oil painting by an emerging or established artist is generally a very sound investment. From a purely financial standpoint, a good painting should appreciate in value over time as the artist’s standing and reputation grows. How much the painting appreciates depends on the level of accomplishment the artist achieves. But even if it only appreciates a little, it’s still a better investment than most everything else in your life, which requires repeated replacement or constant consumption. Let's say you spend $1000 on a painting you love. The artist takes the money (which wouldn't even buy a decent laptop, and it would be obsolete in a few years) and pays a few bills and it's gone. You on the other hand have a wonderful piece of art to enjoy for the rest of your life!

Financial considerations aside, the real reason fine art is a great investment is about quality of life. Money can’t buy happiness, but a great painting can generate feelings of happiness, calm, nostalgia, remembrance, joy, and more each time you look at it in your home.

A great painting can light up a room. It occupies its own space. And no it doesn’t need to match your couch or decor. It simply needs to speak to you, to give you a moment to pause and think about what’s important in life. Most of the trappings of our daily lives are just accessories -- clothes go out of fashion, cars break down, furniture wears out. But a great painting continues to live for generations.

Few things allude to your intelligence and taste like an original painting in your home.

In these times of cutbacks, teaching our children the value of art is almost entirely up to their parents, as schools eliminate arts programs altogether. A great painting represents the law of increasing returns. Over time it becomes a cherished member of the family.

As the world seems to lose its way, art provides positive and fertile ground for the intelligent creative mind. Art bridges across cultures, continents and class. Art relieves stress and helps keep us grounded. Since the days of the caveman, art has held up our hopes, dreams, fears, and creativity for all to share. Art is a universal language, as the world becomes increasingly divided art has the power to help unite us. A great painting is the result not only of the artist’s vision, but also a skillful execution in paint, a story told one stroke at a time. Artists often experience flow/joy/discovery when they are deep in the creative process.

Collectors share that passion and creativity when they bring art into their home.

Yes, I know your walls are full. But unless you're a serious collector, chances are that you have more than one piece of 'decor' that you're not completely in love with anymore. Why not replace it with a piece of original art, something of real value, beauty and interest.

I am always stunned when I visit a nice home with no original art on the walls. The average person thinks nothing of spending thousands of dollars on all the ‘stuff’ that depreciates, but never really considers what a great value original art really is. For less than the cost of a new computer, or spring wardrobe, you can acquire an original oil painting that will enrich your life and quite possibly appreciate in value over time.

One of the tenets of happiness is stepping outside your day to day routine, and looking at life from a new perspective. Art provides that window.

Copyright - Cody DeLong.com 

The Oil Painters of America, in their Summer 2009 issue of Brushstrokes, posed the question below. I responded with the comments that follow.

A Question of Ethics
(From the summer 2009 issue of Brushstrokes)

You are newly affiliated with a fine art gallery and have a contract with them for the purpose of selling your artwork on a consignment basis. The gallery has hosted an opening to introduce you as their newest artist. Printed invitations were mailed to their clients, press releases were placed in newspapers, and gallery staff has promoted your art work. They are showing a good selection of your work and want to rotate paintings on a regular schedule. In short, the gallery has invested some time and capital in promoting you. The relationship is new but off to a good start. No paintings have sold yet. An important client of this gallery contacts you and expresses a wish to visit your studio and view work other than what the gallery is showing. The client also asks if your selling price is any different than the gallery price.

OPA wants to know how you the artist would handle this scenario.

My reply:
In response to your question of ethics in the summer issue of Brushstrokes.

You can have your cake and eat it too. In today’s world of search engines and websites, most potential buyers know they can find an artist online, contact them and possibly make a deal directly with the artist. It has become a common practice and one I have experienced several times. It truly is a question of ethics on the part of the artist. Anytime someone contacts me with a request to visit my studio or purchase a painting directly, the first thing I ask is “How did you hear about me?”

If they found me through my own marketing efforts then fine, but if they found out about me via your aforementioned new gallery, then I owe the gallery a commission for anything that transpires with this client, period.

When someone tries to circumvent the gallery, they are obviously trying to cut a better deal, but often they’re also genuinely interested in meeting the artist and seeing their workspace. My goal is to satisfy the client and the gallery, so I say “sure you can come by my studio, and yes I have some room to negotiate on price”. This is what the client wants to hear, what I don’t tell them is that the gallery also has room to negotiate on price, (the gallery and I have already agreed that I will accept 10-15% off for good clients and multiple sales). I will simply offer the same discount, make the sale, and then send a check to the gallery for their fair share. Usually I give the gallery just a little less than if they had made the sale since I am taking the time to deal with the client, perhaps they get 20% instead of the 40% they might get for sales directly through the gallery. This is fair and believe me, few things make a gallery owner more happy than receiving a check they were not expecting from an artist. Along with the check I also include the contact information of the client so the gallery can add them to their marketing list. I am an artist in mid-career, god willing I may have another 20-30 good painting years left, I’m in it for the long haul and I’m interested in long-term relationships with my galleries.

The gallery and I are business partners, what if your sister were managing the gallery, you wouldn’t cheat your sister would you? I know some artists live hand to mouth and the short term gains of a direct sale might be tempting, but think about the big picture. Let’s say the gallery has two artists of about equal skill and sales. They have a last minute opportunity to add an artist to a show, or use them for some publicity. One artist has shown a high level of personal integrity towards the gallery, who do you think they will promote first? And who will they be interested in investing in over the long haul with regard to advertising? If you are in this for the long haul, the answer is an easy one.

CodyDeLong.com

This is my response to Robert Genn's post The New Template, where he comments on recent gallery closings.

My response;

I think most galleries are missing a great opportunity here. Instead of practicing scarcity and trying in vain to keep customers from finding artist’s websites (impossible, ever heard of a Google search?) I propose the gallery practice abundance, and search out a few good up-and-comers and create a new arrangement. It works like this. The artist gets representation, including perhaps some co-op advertising, and exposure in a better area than where they might live. Plus there’s the gallery’s client list which, if the gallery is worth their salt, is far superior to the artist’s mailing list.

The artist agrees to send the gallery their best work from each month’s total output, in season. The gallery embraces the artist’s own website, perhaps even promoting the artist’s website right alongside the gallery’s. Am I crazy? (crickets) It's a business. Every avenue should be used to raise the profile of the artist’s work, this is after all what you’re selling. Now when a potential client visits the artist’s website, each image that’s currently on display in the gallery will say “Available at Intelligent Savvy Gallery” with a direct link to that gallery. The gallery gets the benefit of any PR efforts the artist does which brings traffic to the artist’s site, which now has lots of links back to the gallery’s site, where most of the actual sales will occur. The idea is you work together – artist and gallery, like business partners.

Here’s the catch, if a gallery want’s to represent an artist, they must actually put up some significant wall space, in season, and promote. The artist in turn helps promote, and gives the gallery their best work. Will some clients bypass the gallery and buy some of the “B” paintings directly from the artist? Yes, undoubtedly some of that will occur, but as the artist’s skill and reputation grows, the best work (in the gallery) will bring higher prices, sales will increase in volume, and before long the artist is selling nearly everything worthwhile through the gallery (or two) and will have no time to mess with the “B” paintings anyway. (In my case, I always ask collectors where they heard about me, and if it was from the aforementioned gallery, then I quietly send a check to the gallery for those sales). The artist is motivated by the exposure to a better level of clientele than they might find on their own.

Using this model means many galleries will have to cut their roster of artists down to a level where they can give each one a respectable amount of wall space, time and energy. The old ‘shotgun’ approach of splattering 60+ artists on the wall to see what sticks, is dead. They will have to choose artists who are honest and have long term business goals and, some genuine skill. The artist must be productive and communicate with the gallery regularly. Most artists only need about three or four galleries if each one is moving some work in season.

Look, most professional artists I know really don’t want to spend a lot of time marketing themselves, everything is measured in terms of ‘time away from the easel’. They do it in a serious way only when their gallery has failed them. We much prefer delivering good work to a gallery that’s actively marketing for us – online, advertising, mailing list, shows in season, etc.

Galleries were once successful based on building relationships with art buyers who walked in the door. Some of that needs to be done online now, but they also need to treat their artists like business partners to survive. The end of one era marks the beginning of the new. I think the best galleries will adapt, and the best artists will continue to be successful.

CodyDeLong.com

Art in the New Economy

I was thinking recently about the times we live in. Last winter I went on a night hike in the snow with a friend. Why a night hike in a blizzard you ask? Because I got a new jacket for Christmas and my buddy had a new headlamp and they needed to be tested out of course. The dogs loved the idea, although for some reason our wives elected to stay at home. FYI - not even the latest LED headlamps shine very far when the snow is falling hard and heavy. We got lost for a while and our two-hour hike turned into three. Luckily my new coat performed better than the headlamp.

Modern technology is truly amazing, and so are these times. Even though there are a lot of bad things happening today - proliferation of scary weapons and people, disease, poverty, political corruption/ineptitude - there is also much to love.

I love digital music storage, and my smart phone is just awesome. Email (good or bad, it's up to you), websites, social networking, modern vehicles and, if you have insurance - modern medicine. Not to mention today's superior art supplies delivered right to your door.

Excellent art instruction is at one's fingertips online or in workshops all over the world. Globalization of markets and the opportunities to express your creativity have multiplied and this is mostly good. True, it's a faster paced world, and people are stressed by a multitude of things these days. Still we have freedoms, conveniences and opportunities that our Grandparents never even dreamed of.

Winter seems to be a time of extremes, no frostbite intended. I've had a lot of visitors to my studio this month despite the weather, collectors and artists alike. The collectors have been mostly upbeat, but with the artists it's been a real mix. Some have been excited about their latest project or class, while others have been quite down, complaining about the economy and their lack of sales, etc.

It's true that in these are hard times for most artists, there are just way more of us creating than collecting. However most of the artists I've heard complaining are not the struggling artists who actually eat or starve by their art (like me). Ironically, the "Complain-Air" painters are generally the ones who don't need to sell every day: people who are already financially stable. The most unhappy artists are those who judge their worth and success only in terms of sales. They are missing the point - Art is for the soul, not the wallet.

Your quality of life is not entirely determined by the size of your bank account. Sure, we all need enough to live on, but remember, you can't take that Mercedes with you. You can, however, leave behind some inspired art if you have a true love of it, and your motives are genuine. There's nothing wrong with being motivated by sales, it's great validation. Just make sure it's not your only motivation.

As for these times, if you want to increase your sales, you have to build your name and your skills. Both are long term propositions. You have some wonderful opportunities at your disposal, especially if you are a member of an active arts group - (such as The Arizona Plien Air Painters, which I co-founded), shows, paint-outs, classes, camaraderie and so on.

Sometimes when you participate in a show or event, just like when you invest in advertising, you may not always experience immediate results. No instant gratification. But you do get exposure and hopefully some feedback. People see your work, they may be looking at your website or dropping your name at the dinner table. They may be planning to buy something as soon as the economy improves just a little more.

Take advantage of your membership. Get involved, participate, encourage a fellow artist, and keep painting strong - as though your work is in great demand - because it is, or should be, in your own heart.

Art is a great healer, give yourself this gift, it's so much greater for your soul than money alone.

CodyDeLong.com