How do you Purchase Art?

Abide Studio

Several years ago I was at a dinner in a home in the “old money” section of Nashville.  The home was beautiful and the walls were adorned with “named” artists of the area.  I asked the homeowner about one of the paintings,  hoping to engage in conversation.  The response was on the order of “I don’t know, my decorator picked it out.”   Really?  Sadly there are buyers, even collectors out there that only purchase what someone else has told them to buy, or “who” someone else has told them to invest in.  I call this buying with ears rather than eyes.

Within the week a friend told me that my art was all warm tones with too much red and orange and wouldn’t fit in her home.  Now I know this woman’s decor and I knew that there were several pieces in my inventory at that time that would suit her style and palette beautifully.  She was however stuck in the mindset that art needed to perfectly match what she narrowly defined as her “style”.  We in the art world call this matching the sofa.  Buying by sight, yes, but…

Shortly after these two occasions a customer came into the studio, took the time to study several pieces, engaged  in a conversation with me about the stories behind the work that spoke to her heart.  She selected the one that she “had to have”, purchased it, and went home delighted with her new acquisition.  She represents those customers who appreciate art for its story, for its emotional value, for the workmanship and personal touch of the artist.  These are people who engage with the art as well as the artist. This woman bought through the eyes of her heart.  Bingo!

All bring cash to the table.

All help pay the bills.

All are buyers and even collectors.

But art should engage the buyer and subsequently the owner as they view it on their wall.  It is created to be enjoyed not ignored.  Those who are touched by what I have labored to create open themselves up to the transcendent power and mystery within the painting.  It is my heart on that canvas.  Deep calls to deep; the song of my heart is heard and received when my work is purchased by one who engages with it.

That’s my heart’s desire. 

That’s my art’s desire.

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How God Uses Paintings “God’s Love on my Wall”

I am honored to host this guest post from friend and author Teasi Cannon. Not only do I treasure her insight, I am humbled by how God used my work to speak to His awesome daughter.

What looks like three paintings on my living room wall to others is actually a tangible

representation of God’s goodness and love to me. From the moment I saw Deborah’s painting, “Wild Flowers,” I knew it needed to be in my home. In combination with “Precious Poppies” and “Water Garden,” this arrangement blesses me each and every day in ways that are hard to describe. The first time I saw them together, I actually cried, and it was hard to look at them for long for fear that I would be a blubbering mess. I think it’s because as I looked at all the beautiful colors – colors that seemed to bounce off the canvas as they reflected the sunlight coming into the room – I felt God’s immense pleasure. I felt His goodness in a way that my soul needed more than I knew. I could almost hear Him laugh with delight at my joy.

There are many colors in the paintings, but the ones that stood out to me at first were happy…light…pinks and blues and greens…colors of goodness. As one who thinks too deeply about nearly everything, these paintings are a daily reminder to me that there is beauty all around, and that God desires for me to enjoy Him along the way…to stop and smell the flowers (or admire them on my wall ).

The paintings have been on my wall for a few weeks now, but still…when I stop to look at them and really take them in, I cry. Even sitting here thinking about them I tear up. I don’t totally understand yet why I respond this way, but I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m undone by the sweetness of my Heavenly Father and His gentle, kind, beautiful love for me – and the knowing that He sees me as His sweet and worthy girl.

Teasi Cannon’s blog is a fresh look at the condition of our hearts, thoughts, and how we live life.  Her authentic take on life as a real person in love with a real God is refreshing and uplifting.  Her book “My Big Bottom Blessing” has changed lives across the country.  From the back cover: “Loving the girl in the mirror isn’t about changing how you LOOK but allowing God to change how you SEE.”  Teasi is a sought-after speaker who loves to help women remember who they are in Christ.  Visit her website at www.teasicannon.com

A Matter of Perspective

Memories, 48×48

“A good abstract should work from at least 3 sides”.  I heard this from a very accomplished abstract artist set up next to me at a show recently.  I know that; I paint that way; but I had never spoken it quite so definitively.  As my life has been on full tilt, as my career feels like it is a study of shifting sands, “Art imitates life” has smacked me full in the face.

As in, I can look at all of the changes I am dealing with and working through in a negative way, or I can take a new perspective and ensure a positive result with a positive  attitude.

-Because I didn’t sell well this year on my Florida circuit I have enough inventory to relax the painting schedule and take the time to write, build a marketing plan, and explore new distribution channels.

-Because there aren’t customers clamoring to get to the studio at 10 or 11 every day I can redefine my space from retail shop to artist studio and set new (more relaxed) hours which allow me to train for the half marathon without getting up at the crack of dawn.  Or sit here at the coffee shop to write my blog.  Or close early to enjoy time with my son from out of town who is in town for a visit.

-Because my studio is full, I have two complete bodies of work that I can present.  Relaxed from deadlines, I push the envelop of my own creative style and explore the next level of “What if?” with the painting currently on the easel.

Rotated, Memories takes on a landscape look

We all have the freedom to choose the perspective by which we look at things.  I am amazed at how we see the positive in others’ lives, but take the negative road in our own.  I see wisdom and strength in a friend’s face; she sees wrinkles.  I see a friend looking younger; she sees weight gain.  I see a woman’s hair as “silver fox” she sees it as old and gray.

As an abstract artist I am accomplished at looking at the world differently.  Emotion, color, line, texture, and composition jump out at me more than image, scene, location, or place.  I am enamored by the beauty behind and under the obvious.  “Life imitates art.”  We would all benefit if we started looking for the beauty that underlies the shifts in life. “Life imitates art.”  It is the highlights and lowlights that add dimension to a painting and to life.  Looking at life as an abstract painting.  Sounds like a great perspective to embrace.

Rotated again, Memories becomes an angel

Imaginings

Been off to the Smokies for some family R&R which was wonderful.  However it was particularly gratifying to get back into the studio yesterday and go a little crazy painting.  In the process I use, the first layer is the loosest, most free, and really just serves as a jumping off point.  In other words, I really don’t know where most of what I started yesterday will end up.

That’s where imagining comes into play.  There is some thought that goes into selecting the palette, the size of canvas, etc, but the joy of my process comes when staring (some would say blankly) at a canvas with the first layer of paint already applied.  As an abstract painter, this is when I will see images emerge, have a feeling evoked, or see a truth represented thus giving me a path to follow.  Sometimes I just begin to paint and allow the piece to take me on a journey, imagining what it will become as I develop this or that area.

There is a misconception that suggests that as artists we “think up” our art,  like grabbing images or ideas out of the air.  I would suggest that artists carry a deep reservoir of creative thought, ideas, and images.  As I sit at the easel I reach down into that reservoir, stir the waters of creativvity, and pull out that which fits the painting I’m working on.  I do my best work when my mind gets out of the  way and I allow the canvas to communicate directly to my creative spirit.

Which means I may not be aware of you if you are quietly looking over my shoulder or I may have a dazed look on my face when I am.  Take no offense.  I’ve been off on a journey of the imagination; it can take a moment to return.

What if?

Saturdays seem to offer great fodder for blog material.  This past Saturday was no exception as I had several visitors in the studio.  The question of the week came from a gentleman who asked “Where do you get your ideas?”  Good question.  Although I have used a photo or two through the years, I generally paint from my own memory, vision, spirit.

Throughout my 25 years of artistic experience one question has been faithful to inspire.  “What if?”  What if I changed that sky from cool to warm?  What if I used that flower, but blew it out of proportion?  What if I took that small slice of that painting and created a large abstract piece from it?  And the list goes on.

Lately the question has led me to a new technique of spraying the wash of a piece, layering medium over it, and then developing what’s on the canvas.  This painting, “Canyon Whispers”  combined several ‘What if?”s…  What if I took that comment from a rejection notice and pursued what it suggested.  What if I used the colors of the southwest in a contemporary, abstract manor?  What if I simply developed what resulted from the spray and drips rather than cover them?  What if I tinted the medium just a touch to add color and textural depth?

The result is a painting that I am most pleased with.  This one was created for a specific space in our home.  Perhaps that is why I allowed myself the freedom to truly explore and push my own boundaries.  I loved the process as much as I love the finished product.   I am already asking myself “What if….”

Treasures of the Heart

Encouragement comes in many shapes, sizes, and faces.  Working in an open studio has brought comments of all kinds over the years.  Not all encouraging to say the least.  I’ve learned to filter the negative (“Susie your work is better than this!”{Susie is a child}), chuckle at the off the wall (“These sure are ‘purty’ pictures.  Are you blind?  I always thought Monet must have been blind.”), and savor the sweetness of a well intended comment in whatever form it comes in.

Saturday was one of those interesting days at the studio.  First thing in the morning, as I chased cyber spooks on the internet,  a little girl walked by the studio, looked at my collection of work  and exclaimed, “Now that’s what I’m talking about!”  Unfortunately I was too preoccupied with the computer to actually hear the comment, but a colleague who was walking by filled me in.  My heart sang.

Minutes later  another child,  a boy of 8-9 began to interact with me while I sat before my easel developing this abstract painting.   He asked what I was painting.  I explained that as I  paint I listen  to hear what the painting wants to be.  Immediately I knew I was speaking to a young boy with an old soul.  He seemed to absorb every word and went on to ask great questions.  When his mom stepped in he explained to her that I painted with a palette knife not a brush,  that I was painting an abstract which could be whatever someone saw in it, and that a good artist paints from the heart.  Wow!  Here was  a boy who opened himself up to the experience of the studio and got it.  A line of harmony was  added to the song in my heart.

Later a conversation, a sale and the following post on Deborah Gall Art on facebook “Wonderful joy meeting you today. I am going to truly enjoy my framed piece. Looking forward to owning many more pieces of your beautiful inspirations.”

I believe that my heart collected more treasures than my bank balance did.  I’m okay with that.  I smiled all the way to a peaceful night’s sleep.

This painting is one of a new series of work I’m creating using multiple layers of medium and paint before I begin to develop the details.  It will be the subject of another blog since it was birthed out of rejection.  Hmmmm maybe I’ll title it Redemption!  It is 36×48 and will retail for $2000.