John D Cogan 2B an artist

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Friday, February 8, 2013

A Gathering of Artists



Last year in April Plein Air Magazine hosted an event in Las Vegas. It was a convention of artists, primarily plein air painters, but was open to all. (Every group has get-togethers and conventions, so why not artists?) It was well-attended and received great reports. My only problem with it - I did not go.

I thought about going. I looked at my schedule, but had other things on my plate and thought I would not be missing anything. Wow, was I wrong!

This year I am not making the same mistake. The convention starts on April 10th, 2013 and is being held this year in Monterey, California. And I will be there.

More than that, I have been asked to do be one of the demonstrating artists. What an honor! So if you would like to see me paint, sign up for the convention at Plein Air Convention
John

Friday, October 5, 2012

 Galleries

I am curious what other artists think about the gallery situation. I have had two galleries close their doors recently and have heard rumors that many others are closing or at least struggling financially. There is no doubt that the current economic situation has some bearing on things, but it has to be more than that. Here are some things I have heard or thought about that I think may be making a difference in the financial success of art galleries.

1. National economics: yes, the national economic situation with high unemployment surely has an effect. When folks are economically hurting, they usually dispense first with luxuries and art is considered a luxury by most.
2. Too many artists: as galleries have added artists to the point where they can barely keep track of them, it must be difficult to promote them. How do you promote an artist you rarely see or talk with? I have had friends suggest I check out some of the larger galleries that sell representational work, but even if they take me on, will my paintings get seen?
3. WalMart sales philosophy: (with apologies to Sam Walton's family) when I go to WalMart, I do not mind that no one usually helps me because I know what I want and where to find it. Unfortunately many galleries think they are like WalMart; they expect the customer to walk in, find the painting he likes and  bring it to the cash register, proffering his credit card. But that is not how art is sold. A gallery must cultivate a clientele who shops and buys regularly, who knows the owner, manager, or sales person and trusts him to help make decisions on buying art. That means personal attention, lots of it. Many owners today do not seem to understand that, but sit behind a desk, barely look up sometimes to say, "hello". That does not mean they need to jump up and start twisting arms, but they do need to take a personal interest in every person who comes in, find out about the potential client, what they like, why they came in, etc. Eventually that person may buy and, better yet, become a repeat buyer.
4. Commissions that are too high: yes, a gallery that overcharges their artists may hurt themselves because they consider their artists to be little more than "suppliers". When I started in this business, 25% to 1/3 commission were common, and the high charging galleries expected the artist to cough up 40%. Now it is 50% and more. But with paintings from perhaps a hundred artists hanging on their walls, the gallery does not feel obligated to take an interest in promoting any one artist and anything they sell is a quick 50%. In the "old days" a gallery that only charged 33% and only had a dozen artists took an interest in promoting each artist because they had to work hard to make money. And surprisingly, there were a lot of them that were very successful then and a lot that made their owners wealthy.
5. Lack of knowledge about art: a real art collector will quickly spot a novice art gallery by the salesperson's lack of knowledge. Like in any business, a gallery must know the world in which it exists. Too many sales people not only know little about art, they know little about the artists they carry!

I have no doubt my views are slanted somewhat because I am looking from the artist's perspective, but I am curious about what you think.
John

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

New places, new challenges

 Every artist I know likes to travel.  Going to a new place stirs the imagination, inspires, and presents new challenges.  such was our recent cruise along Alaska's inside passage.  The weather was mostly cloudy, but the scenery was inspiring nonetheless.  i will be painting from this trip in the future.  Here are my first four pieces.








ALASKA SAILING 8 by 6 acrylic on canvas panel

The strange juxtaposition of sailboat and mountain










FLOATING ICE 9 by 12 acrylic on canvas panel 
We saw lots of ice chunks floating around near the tidewater glaciers.
PASSAGE THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS
8 by 10 acrylic on canvas panel 
Gorgeous mountains that came all the way to the sea. 
RED BARN AND EVERGREENS  8 by 10 acrylic on canvas panel.
One of many barns we saw while in Washington state.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Cast Drawing in Graphite by Sight Size Method -Bust of Michelangelo

Here is my first cast drawing using the sight size method.  The drawing is in pencil and took me three days to complete.  Most drawing casts intended for that purpose are rather pricey, but I found some inexpensive sculptures at a company called Design Toscono http://www.designtoscano.com/ They had gray accents, but a can of matte white spray paint fixed that.  I bought three casts for less than $150.  This is a bust of Michelangelo.  I also bought one of Julius Caesar and a small bust of Venus de Milo.  I will post cast drawings as I complete them.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

THE WARMTH OF THE SUN - finished painting

My studio painting for the 2011 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art is finished!  This is a view from an overlook on the West Rim drive at which I painted last year.  The Kaibab Limestone Rocks are so warm and bright, lit from behind by the late afternoon sun. I first became aware of this spot a few years ago when I saw a painting Curt Walters had done from here.  I now think of the overlook as the "Curt Walters Overlook".  If you are at the Grand Canyon, it is the second overlook past Mohave Point on the West Rim.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Snapshot of a painting in progress part 3

Here is an updated photo of my painting as of this evening.  Still have some work, but it is coming along nicely.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Snapshots of a painting in progress part 2

 Here is step two of the 50 by 22 inch painting which I am calling "The Warmth of the Sun".  This is the block-in stage.  I should not have to make any major corrections from now on, only minor ones.

Below is the 19 by 8.5 inch preliminary study.  Notice that, having been very happy with the study, I have stayed very close to it in the initial block-in.