illustrations | Annie Mason 2/3
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A whim turns a win.

Isn't it something when something you are tempted to do turns into something else?





One of the hardest things for an artist to do is to determine the price of their own artwork. I talk about this in an earlier post: Commissions, Sales, and Gifts; oh my. There is so much to consider: the materials you purchased, the canvas or watercolor papers, the photography that you might work from, the amount of time and days that the artist worked, never mind the reworking if things didn't go quite right. Framed, or unframed. Sitter's fee if you do portrait work from life. Some people think we price by size. If so, my 5 x 7-inch watercolors can't compare to 20 x 30-inch canvases. Are oils worth more than watercolors?


I don't expect to have any answers today. I did however decide to at least compare my price base with some local artists. A quick google for local galleries would be my first interest. The first one that popped up was LibertyTown Arts Workshop. Great! There are a number of local artists who have their paintings (oil, watercolor, acrylics) along with weaving, pottery, jewelry, and glasswork here in this 13,000 square foot building.


I'm ashamed to say that I had only visited this gallery once or twice in the 30 + years that I have lived in Fredericksburg. The website had a lot of information. Then one item caught my eye. "Looking for Artists" was a tab. On a whim, I clicked it. An upcoming exhibition called "Feast for the Eyes" was coming up in just a week. The subject matter was "FOOD." Take it to any length you wished, said the prospectus.

Why I DO paint food, and have plenty of yummy images in my drawing portfolio! I immediately thought about the works that I had sitting on the shelves in my artist studio. I decided to enter three art pieces.



The work above is actually 4 different watercolors. I found a nice "window" frame in our local Michael's

It shaped up nicely and I did the necessary paperwork.


Again, I checked my drawing portfolio for works going back over three years. I came up with another three "juicy" images: a pineapple, strawberries, and grapes. I framed that one up for delivery.



pineapple, strawberries, grapes
Juicy by Annie Mason. watercolor (3) 5x7s

My third choice was a given. I had already framed this one and it was on display for sale at Heather Boutique where I sell my artwork. It had not sold so I figured, why not.

Again, these are three illustrations in watercolor framed together.


I completed the artworks for presentation and brought these into the gallery. I was told that the Juried announcement for submission would be in a few days. I received a notice that two out of the three entries would be in the month-long show and be up for sale, as required, The one not selected was the pineapple, strawberries, and grapes threesome.


LibertyTown presented a Facebook live stream the afternoon of opening the exhibit. I luckily was on Facebook and came in as a viewer a bit after it started. I watched as the gallery owner was moving through the entries and described each art piece in detail. As the video was winding down she mentioned a few "honorable mentions" and I realized that the jury had picked the awarded artworks.




⬇️




WOW! I was shocked and humbled that the "Vintage Botanicals" was awarded FIRST PLACE.






Later that evening my family attended opening night. While we were standing nearby, an employee at the gallery came near the wall display, she walked by, phone in one hand, clipboard in the other. She placed a small red dot on the label. The artwork had been sold.


All this in a range of just a few days. Life is good.



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Simply spring, flowers sing.

If you love spring flowers, these painting tutorials might get you started with trying some of your own.



A magnolia white bloom and green leaves
Magnolia pen & ink, and watercolor by Annie Mason

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1. Simple Flowers

Materials: (links are my favorites)









Simple flowers. It doesn't have to be that hard. MY MOST POPULAR Idea Pin on Pinterest:

click here ⬇️



This IDEA PIN currently has 1,011 Saves, has 13,678 clicks, and has 525, 620 Impressions

What does that tell you? It tells me that people like easy, and "I can do this" art.


Simple Flowers samples



2. Zinnia

Work in simple shapes. Find a real zinnia or a zinnia photo (check copyright) and have it handy to use while you are painting. This flower has a big circle, a stem, and big leaves. Remember, it doesn't need to be "perfect." Have fun.





Zinnia flower by Annie Mason Winsor & Newton travel kit


3. Poppies



It is more detailed than the zinnia, but in this case, I start with a light pencil drawing and then trace over the lines with a black ink pen. You must let the ink fully dry before starting the watercolor paint. Add the bright reds and greens, and it's like adult coloring books.






Bright red poppies flowers green leaves
Poppies by Annie Mason. Pen, ink, and watercolor

4. Stencil flowers

You can always use stencil shapes for flowers. I used a template of petal shapes in this video.


Supplies: Pencil, Watercolor paints, brush, stencils.




Stencil flowers (0:24 sec)




Why...it's a butterfly. Stencil watercolor by Annie Mason Pen and ink, watercolor.



5. Go Abstract


A flower is a flower. The shapes change, colors change. Parts stay the same.

“Nature is a teacher whose wisdom we can learn, without which any human life is vain and incomplete." ~ William Wordsworth

Once you recognize this...pick up your paintbrush, sing, and dance:





6. Translucent Flowers

This last sample lets you see how wonderful watercolor's translucent quality can be. It will take a little more practice, and the most important factor is to let the watercolor DRY COMPLETELY before adding another layer. The result is a visual delight.


Waiting between layers is the key. (0:36 sec)










Experiment...have fun.

transluscent flowers by Annie Mason






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Skillshare has great teachers and watercolor classes to follow. Join here:






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Massachusetts Artists - Portraits and the Soul of America

This series will introduce artists associated with certain states. This is my home state of Massachusetts.


No doubt about it. The eighteenth-century artist followed the pursuits of their English counterparts: paint the rich, the nobleman, England's penchant for showing the client in extravagant surroundings, wearing silk and the finest fur. No longer the preserve of royalty, commissioned portraits — of oneself or one’s ancestors — became a coveted symbol of wealth and status.


Gilbert Stuart

December 3, 1755 - July 9, 1828


The artist's dream in this new world was to make that commission an absolute. How on earth did Gilbert Stuart land the task of painting George Washington?




Still, who is the nobler here? Stuart wanted to paint Washington, for he expected that he could make a "fortune" on images of the Revolutionary War hero and American leader. At the time the president sat for Stuart, the artist tried to relax his sitter, offering, "Now, sir, you must let me forget that you are General Washington and that I am Stuart, the painter," to which the president responded, “Mr. Stuart need never feel the need for forgetting who he is and who General Washington is.”


Stuart produced portraits of over 1,000 people, including the first six Presidents.[4] His work can be found today at art museums throughout the United States and the United Kingdom, most notably the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Frick Collection in New York City, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the National Portrait Gallery, London, Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.[5]


Washington must have been pleased because, after this initial portrait of Washington, Stuart made more than one hundred copies for American and European patrons eager to own an image of the illustrious sitter.








 


Norman Rockwell

1894 - 1978



photo by Mary Harrsch on Flickr

Norman Rockwell is designated "Massachusetts State Artist" (I did not know there was such a thing).


Here lies a conundrum. Was he a "real" artist? Or (just) an illustrator?

Aside: This is the world that I live in. My work is very illustrative. So, am I not a real artist? Where does that rank start? In art school?


I found this definition: "The biggest difference between illustrator and artist is the purpose of the work. Illustrators create images to help promote a function or a product. Artists create art to express emotions. In other words, an illustration is a visual explanation of the text, [which] almost always comes with context."

Me, Annie Mason, an artist, says This ⬆️ is hogwash!


Norman Rockwell was an illustrator and a great artist. If you want to dig deeper into this conundrum, a good place to start: Michaelangelo: Painter or Illustrator. (The title itself gives you a clue, doesn't it?) Norman Rockwell is cited in the article, and the author makes a great point: "If his famous Saturday Evening Post cover of the Thanksgiving dinner, entitled Freedom from Want, hung in a posh New York City art gallery, then it would have been considered fine art. But collectors snubbed Rockwell as a sentimental illustrator. The Author, Rachael McCampbell, continues: "Yet ironically, Rockwell’s Saying Grace (1951) sold at Sotheby’s in 2013 for $46 million. Does that sort of price tag elevate Rockwell to the fine art status?" Exactly!!



Yet. Here we go. There are probably a lot of readers here who can point out a Norman Rockwell painting.


Rockwell was born in New York City in 1894. At age 14, Rockwell enrolled in art classes at The New York School of Art (formerly The Chase School of Art).


Rockwell found success early. He painted his first commission of four Christmas cards before his sixteenth birthday. While still in his teens, he was hired as art director of Boys’ Life, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America, and began a successful freelance career illustrating a variety of young people’s publications.


22-year-old Rockwell painted his first cover for The Saturday Evening Post, the magazine Rockwell considered the “greatest show window in America.” Over the next 47 years, another 321 Rockwell covers would appear on the cover of the Post.




In 1943, inspired by President Franklin Roosevelt’s address to Congress, Rockwell painted the Four Freedoms paintings. They were reproduced in four consecutive issues of The Saturday Evening Post with essays by contemporary writers. Rockwell’s interpretations of freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear proved enormously popular. The works toured the United States in an exhibition jointly sponsored by the Post and the U.S. Treasury Department and, through the sale of war bonds, raised more than $130 million for the war effort.


In 1953, the Rockwell family moved from Arlington, Vermont, to Stockbridge,

Massachusetts. Six years later, Mary Barstow Rockwell died unexpectedly. In collaboration with his son Thomas, Rockwell published his autobiography, My Adventures as an Illustrator, in 1960. The Saturday Evening Post carried excerpts from the best-selling book in eight consecutive issues, with Rockwell’s Triple Self-Portrait on the first cover.


I grew up in Western Massachusetts, and the Norman Rockwell Museum is in Sturbridge. If you are traveling in this area, this museum is a delight. Rockwell’s large-scale original paintings are displayed, and you will discover the highly relatable world of American Illustration – the art that tells our stories. There’s always something new to enjoy, with ten galleries of ever-changing special exhibitions, engaging programs, and a magnificent scenic 36-acre campus.



 

James Abbot McNeill Whistler

1834 - 1903



Whistler's Mother

Who doesn't know this lady? Why it's Whistler's Mother (the colloquial name), actually titled Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, painted in 1871. The subject is the artist's mother, Anna McNeill Whistler. The work was shown at the 104th Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Art in London (1872) after coming within a hair's breadth of rejection by the Academy.


Often parodied, the painting has been featured or mentioned in numerous works of fiction and within pop culture. These include films such as Sing and Like It (1934), The Fortune Cookie (1966), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Babette's Feast (1986),[13]Bean (1997), I Am Legend (2007), and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013).



 

Theodor Seuss Geisel - "Dr Seuss"

1904 - 1991


American children's author, political cartoonist, illustrator, poet, and filmmaker. He wrote and illustrated more than 60 books under the pen name Dr. Seuss. In 1927, he left Oxford College to begin his career as an illustrator and cartoonist for Vanity Fair, Life, and various other publications.








Geisel's art translated into many other media: Film, stage, and television specials.





 

Lisa M. Greenfield

Sculptor



Starry Night with Daniel J. van Ackere

Lisa M. Greenfield is a Boston artist who creates public art sculptures and installations, as well as paintings, graphic design, and urban planning. Created in conjunction with Daniel J. van Ackere, her most famous work, Starry Nights, is an installation under a bridge in Fort Point; thousands of LED bulbs light up the underpass. Though the project was only supposed to be up for eight weeks, residents enjoyed it so much that it will be permanent for the next ten years (from 2014 to 2024).


If you couldn’t find any twinkling blue LED lights at Target at Christmas time in 2009, that was because artists Lisa Greenfield and Daniel J. van Ackere, armed with a budget of $1000 from the Fort Point Arts Community (FPAC), bought out the entire stock from about a dozen stores in the Greater Boston area.


The installation is best viewed from A Street at Summer Street (between Congress Street and Melcher Street) in the Fort Point Channel neighborhood of South Boston.



Books about artists in this post




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