I Wish

Well, here it is almost Christmas again. This seems to be the time of year that I evaluate myself and the direction my life is heading. I suppose it's been a pretty good year. I sold some paintings, I get my studio cleaned and (semi)-organized, and I was on an uphill turn producing artwork. I just feel like there's more I should be doing. I'm not sure what. I'm working as much as I can stand and I make pretty good money, but it seems there is never enough left over for the promotion of my artwork. Considering I have several hundred followers on a couple social sites and that I am selling art and engaging my fans by showing my creative process, the fact that my promotional budget is pretty much zero seems quite impressive. I do think that if I had the means to find more people interested in my work my sales would definitely increase. I'm just not sure how much longer that's gonna be. Medical bills really suck. I wish there was a better way. I wish I could see myself making more progress. I wish.

"Hellhounds On My Trail"

Uphill All The Way

I haven't been able to update on here in a while. I also haven't been creative in almost two weeks. We were trying to rearrange furniture in our house and tried to move our piano to a new location. Unfortunately it stuck and wouldn't budge in a most unfortunate location, right in front of the door to my studio. I can squeeze by between the piano and dining room table, but it really hampers me getting down to work on making art. I hope we can find the time and energy this week to get it moved out of the way. I have a commission piece that I need to finish by Wednesday. It's almost done but it needs a few minor corrections and some color to get it finished.

"Crazy Faces", a little something fun I did a month or so ago

It's So Hard To Make Things Easier

I've spent the past few days trying to link up all my social media sites. I thought it might bring more people into the inner circle that gets to see paintings in progress and hear my daily (well, a few times a week at least) rants about life and art. I've already been linking Facebook and Twitter, so I figured adding Google+ should be pretty easy. It was fairly easy to get them all together after a few Google searches. I was happy. Then I thought maybe I should try to get my Tumblr account in the mix. I really like Tumblr but I post less on there than any of my other regular sites. I've spent countless hours trying to get this one figured out. I think I have it, but I need to check in a fwe minutes to see if things are posting correctly yet. The first linked Tumblr message included a long paragraph from Google explaining that this message had been sent to a non-Google+ account and trying to convince someone (me?) to join up to receive updates on Google+ instead of their email inbox. I find all this to be link spinning a web (no pun intended) of connections all over the internet. I also noticed that, although most sites, ie Facebook and Twitter. will let you connect in and out, Google+ can only be connected outwardly. This means the original post must be made there in order to get it out to all. I've put this struggle on hold for a while and sat in front of a new painting on my easel. A few strokes with the brush and all my tensions start to melt.

This is pretty much what I looked like last night around 10 o'clock

Sometimes Things Pop Up Out Of Nowhere

I was fooling around on Facebook today, mostly browsing through pictures for amusement, entertainment, and inspiration. I looked at a picture of a friend of mine and noticed something in the background...one of my old paintings. It was an abstract that I had done in a series in the early Nineties. I had actually forgotten that I had done them. As I stared in amazement at my blast-from-the-past I thought I might search a little further. I went to the album that the picture was from and found another containing that painting and another from my Southeast Missouri State days, one of my cubic shadow paintings (the second one that had popped up to remind me of it's existence). Maybe experiences like this only happen to me and others who can't remember all they have done in the past. If that's true, then it's a shame. It was like running into an old friend.

This Is What Happens

I'm off for three days now. I've been itching to paint since last Thursday, when I started my work week. I've got lot's of paint and more ideas than I could ever paint in a lifetime, and more roll in every day. So, this is what I do when ever this happens and I have no fresh canvases to paint on. I go through my stacks of paintings, looking for those that aren't finished, those that I now think look like crap, sometimes even one that doesn't hit my right that particular day. When I find a painting that doesn't pass muster anymore I pull it out and put it aside. Once I've got a few in the reject pile I take them to my studio and paint over them. I didn't think about it at all when I started doing it, but now sometimes I feel bad about it. I have had people look through my portfolio and comment on a painting that no longer exists. I wonder if other artists do this as often as I feel like I do. Have far back in history does this process go? I guess I don't care all that bad, I've never done a Google search to find the answers to those questions. I do wish I could use a fresh canvas every time, but until my sales pick up I can't afford that. One advantage of this is not having to worry about anyone seeing a painting I'm not proud of. The bottom line is I'm gonna be painting for the next few days. That's all I really want.

I've been working on a painting for over a week now. I usually don't take that much time to complete a painting, so this is very unusual for me. I had an idea of what I wanted, I had a reference photo to get me started, I had a board primed and ready to paint on...it seemed like every thing was good to go. I started by just roughly sketching out the subjects in black, then adding some white to get the contrasts going. For the next few hours I splashed and spattered all sorts of colors on it, which is always something I enjoy. After everything had dried I started in corralling everything and taking it to where I wanted it to go. This is where I started having troubles. I was looking to make it kind of cubist, kind of expressionistic...hard to describe, but I had a picture in my head of exactly how I wanted it. As I worked on it more and more, it looked less and less like I envisioned it. The picture in my head became like last night's dream. I could sort of remember it, but as I tried to focus on it, it slipped away. I haven't given up, but I did take some time away from it this week end, partly to refresh my artistry, but mainly because I worked all weekend. I sit looking at it now, thinking that it is very close to being done, wondering just what it will look like when it's over, and thinking that it may not resemble my original idea at all. Here's a picture of my progress so far link and there are more shots of my journey in the photo album. I just remind myself of my new mantra: it's all about the journey.

Home Alone

My wife and daughter have been on vacation all this week. Unfortunately I couldn't get any time off of work to go to Florida with them,so I'm home all alone. I've tried to keep busy, doing chores I've been putting off. The biggest chore I've done that's been on my list for a long time is photographing my paintings. I just finished cropping most of my photos and I'm going to upload them to my various art sites in various orders. I'd like for the people that follow me on all my sites to be able to see at least some of my work before anyone else. Maybe it will be a piece of artwork that they realize they can't live without.

Stress has reared it's ugly head again, but I can fight it off with a trip to my studio. I'm not overwhelmed anymore and I'm making some progress on the business end of things, which always makes me feel better. I have a lady interested in a painting I posted last week and I hope to seal the deal soon. I'm in the midst of painting on of my largest paintings in a long time. I think I know what I need to do next but I don't know if that will finish it or only lead me to the next step. It doesn't really matter all that much. It's about the journey, not the destination. That's my new mantra.

My Studio Is Still Clutter Free

I can still move around in my studio and find all my art supplies when I need them. I really enjoy coming in here now. If I only have a few minutes to come in here I can still get something accomplished. I've spent more time getting my computer tweaked so I can do all my internet art stuff (which includes posting my blogs more regularly). With a couple of clicks on my mouse I have music playing to inspire and soothe me. I'm hoping to join a new artist co-op here in town. They're only open on the days that I work but I hope that my joining will enable them to be open a day or two extra when I can go sit there. It's a working co-op where the artists are encouraged to set up and paint so the public can see their process. I've never been really comfortable with people watching me create, but since I've started posting my works in progress on my Facebook page I've started feeling better about it. There will still be certain things that I'll only do alone in the confines of my man cave studio. It's only there I can truly feel free to do anything I want and not have to worry about the outcome. it's always been about the journey and no the destination.

I Usually Don't Know What To Put Here

It's been a struggle in the past, trying to make some sort of head way, not knowing what to do or when to do it most times. I tried to do at least one thing to promote my art every day, I sorted and organized my supplies when I could motivate myself and painted enough to keep from going insane. It seems that lately it has all paid off. If I have a few spare minutes I can go into my studio, grab one of my works in progress, prop it on my easel and get to work. It's a joy to enter my workspace now, no muss, no muss, much less clutter (hey, I'm an artist, I really doubt I'll ever be truly clutter free). I know where most of my supplies are, I have Pandora providing me music (I lost all of my music files from my computer somehow, yes, I do have back ups, no, I don't know where they are currently). Ii feel really good about where I do my art now. I'd like to have more room, but I'll always want just a little more room. I've also been posting my painting progress on Facebook and I really enjoy all the feed back. There are more people interested in buying my work now too. Life is pretty good.

Random Thoughts

It's amazing how much more productive I've been with a clean studio. I have room to paint and I can find the supplies I need when I need them. I have my lava lamps hooked up and they provide a warm, comforting glow while I'm in there. I've also been posting in-progress pictures of my artwork on Facebook. I wasn't sure I'd be comfortable letting people see my work before it was done, but it's been pretty cool. I've gotten some nice comments on my progress and people seem to be truly excited to see the pieces when they get finished. I think my friends are also happy to finally see how I do what it is I do. I've tried to explain my process a time or two, but it never seems to make sense, at least not like seeing pictures as I go from start to finish. Make no mistake, there are paintings I'm working on that I don't take pictures of. If I'm not happy with what a painting looks like, no one will ever see it. I do typically photograph all my finished paintings, but I don't think it's wise to show everything I've ever done to the public. I don't think any other really good artist has shown their complete body of work. It's best to let people think I never paint a bad painting, even though bad is mostly a matter of opinion. It's my opinion and that's the one that really counts.

See, I can Make Progress When I Really Need To

Things have settled down quite a bit. I'm making use of the free time I have during the day before my wife and daughter get home. I enjoy spending time with them, but I have things that have to get done if I'm going to climb the art mountain again. I've motivated myself to get the clutter put away in my studio over the past two days. I've also done quite a bit to get my name and my artwork out to the world. I've set up a new Google business account, linked it to Google Apps, linked my apps account to the Thunderbird email program I installed on my computer ( in case you haven't heard, I only use Linux distro and software on my computers. They all work just as well for me as the pricey Microsoft versions and they're free.) It took some doing to get everything linked, but I think it was worth it. I also have Hootsuite and TweetDeck running on my computers, to keep me up to date on the Twitterverse and Facebook Land. I have music pumping through my speakers, I have room to sit in front of my easel (in my new painting chair from the thrift store), I know where my canvases and my paints are, and all my reference material is in one convenient spot. I'm posting on here because it's been a while and I need to do this regularly, but as soon as I post this I'm going to grab a brush and get lost in creativity.

Sometimes It's Really Frustrating

I try to keep this blog positive and not use it as a rant against the evil forces in my life. Overall I have things pretty good. I have a family that loves me, a roof over my head, a job that works with my artistic schedule, and a boat load of artistic talent. Lately things have been frustrating me. I can't seem to get ahead monetarily and all my artistic progress seems to have fallen back to ground zero. I look at is a chance to redo things, to use all that I've learned from the other times, to do things better this time. I"m down to only one venue showing my works, Patrick's Delique in Sikeston MO. I am very grateful for that. They have over sixty of my works on display there and I really don't have room in the house to store that many extra paintings. I'm not in either of the co-op galleries I was in anymore, nor the portrait society, nor the gallery her in Paducah. I guess you could say I'm a free agent. I've been doing at least one thing a day to further my career, so I make progress every day, no matter how small the step is. I have more time at the house and in the studio now that I'm no longer home schooling (my daughter is in public school now) but I'm so tired all the time I use a lot of my new found time napping. I'm hoping things change for the better as I get used to my new schedule.
If you're not following me on Facebook, please do, and please tell all your friends.link

Progress Comes A Step At A Time

It was quite a hectic week. My three days off were mostly taken up by bill paying, errand running, chores...all the fun stuff that just has to get done. My daughter started public school on Tuesday, which I thought would open up some time. I forgot to factor in the 6 am wake-ups that accompany school. How could I have forgotten so easily? Maybe my brain blocked it out as being too traumatic to remember. On one hand I do get up earlier and get a start on what I need to do. On the other hand I usually need a nap by lunchtime. I have gotten caught up on posting all the artwork I've photographed, but I have a couple dozen newer pieces I need to take pictures of. I do feel like I've gotten a shot of motivation, I just need to keep the momentum going.

I haven't posted on here in a while, in fact I haven't done much of anything productive for a while. The heat here in Paducah has drained me, plus the clutter in my studio has slowed me down. I've made it a point to do at least one thing a day to make progress and it's starting to pay off. I uploaded quite a few paintings to my deviantArt account and I still have more to go. I've started a new painting and I'm going to start another as soon as I publish this. I'm feeling better about things.

Father's Day Thoughts

This is a post I submitted for a Father's Day blog for an online art business blog.

My name is Doug Baltz, and I'm a professional artist. I'm also a dad. As Father's Day approaches I thought I'd put some of my thoughts on being an artist/father down for posterity, on the off chance they might be of interest to some one some day. Unlike some artist/fathers, I was an artist long before I was a dad. I never had any children until I met my wife, who had three. It has been quite an adjustment sharing my life with them, but I'm just going to concentrate on the art side of things.
Before I met them I lived in a three bedroom house with a full basement where I had my studio. I had no one else to answer to, except for my cat Monty, and he was pretty good about letting me do what I wanted when I wanted as long as I fed him when he got hungry. I got used to sleeping when I was tired, getting up when I wasn't, creating when the mood struck, eating when I got hungry (well, you get the idea). Things worked out pretty well and I did alright for myself getting my work seen and sold.
After I met and married my wife things changed quite a bit. I had to sync my schedule with the rest of the family, which has worked out pretty well over all. At first my creativity suffered due to a lack of defined work space and a definite lack of organization on my part. Not long after I moved in the two oldest kids had moved out and I received, thanks to my lovely wife, a whole bedroom for my studio. The only problem there was fitting in a full house full of art supplies into one room, but I've also overcome that obstacle.
Perhaps I should take a moment here to explain a few things. My wife often prayed for God to send her a good man and her youngest daughter (11years old), who never knew her dad, prayed diligently for God to send her a father. I tease them and tell them if I'm the answer to their prayers then God must have a warped sense of humor.
I will admit there are a few things about this arrangement that aren't ideal artistically, but there are things that more than make up for it. The joy in my daughters eyes as she stood in front of my easel painting a painting just like a 'real artist', or hearing all her ideas for promoting and selling my art. Hearing her refer to my creativity cave as “Big Daddy's Art Studio”or seeing her face light up as she views my new paintings for the first time (that always makes me smile). She can't seem to imagine that there's ever been a better artist than me (okay, I admit I often feel the same way) and she can't understand why people aren't beating down our door to buy my work.
I've had to carve out time to create lately, especially when I was home schooling my daughter, but it's made me concentrate more on getting work done when the time presents itself and I've actually gotten more productive as of late. It's hard to put a price on having two of my biggest fans living with me and supporting me every single day. I feel very blessed.

News From the Front

It's been quite an adventure lately. work has been sucking the life out of me, but it does help pay the bills and I know it's not gonna last forever. My daughter has been staying at her granny's house so I've been using a lot of my time to get the house cleaned up. We've also been experiencing a flood of epic proportions, the biggest in recorded history. It was touch and go there for a while, there was even talk of evacuation. It's strange when you here something like that brought up. I was trying to think what I would take with me if I had to go, wondering what I would do with all my paintings and supplies, where would I go, how would I get there. I finally just decided to leave it all in God's hands. If he wanted to take back all the art I created, so be it. I can always create more. Fortunately it never came to that.
On a lighter note, I've been working on t-shirts as of late. It's a brand new medium for me and I've enjoyed the whole process. I take black t-shirts and use bleach to create images. I'm pretty happy with most of them, but bleach is the most unforgiving medium I've ever worked with. There's no covering up once it goes to work. I have a couple that aren't quite what I want them to be, but I just look at fixing them as a challenge. Who knows, I may even learn something new along the way

Regrouping Again

I've gathered more information on the career side of my art. I've mined some data on putting together blogs, business cards, promotional packets, press releases and many other things that escape me right now. I've decided that there's no better time than the present (which is no real revelation to anyone over the age of three), so I'm setting off down a new path of adventure. I do still have the problem of time (actually, the lack of) I could really use some assistance, but none is forthcoming. The main thing I need to remember is to take plenty of time to create so I don't get discouraged or depressed.

I'm Always Up For Trying New Things

Life is getting much better. I've got my finances under control and I'm finding many new venues to show and sell my artwork on the internet. I'm setting aside some money to do some advertising in hopes of bringing in new fans. I'm always trying to find new ways to improve my blog, to make it more informative, more stylish, more fun to visit. I'm looking at adding some widgets here, but it's going to be a trial and error process. I hope it doesn't become too disruptive. I'd appreciate any feedback I could get. Anyhow, I'm adding a Jackson Pollock widget. Keep your fingers crossed.

As the Dawn Breaks on a New Day

I'm feeling much better about things. I'm making better money at work and I'm getting lots of inquiries about my artwork. I'm really hitting the advertising hard now that tax time is approaching. I figured that if people were getting a big check from the government they'd like to spend at least some of it on some fantastic artwork to brighten up their lives. I'm also doing some freelance marketing, trying to take advantage of all the marketing know how I've picked up while promoting myself and my art. I haven't actually sold anything so far this year, but I'm keeping a positive outlook.

Some Progress Is Made

I've been trying, quite unsuccessfully, for a while to get blogging software for my computer. Ever since I switched to Ubuntu I've been trying to get software loaded that will help me promote my work and create new art. I tried six or seven applications that claimed to be easy to use and I could never get them installed or configured. I heard of Blogilo the other day and thought I might as well try it since I've tried almost everything else. It took me a couple minutes to configure but it was totally painless. Within five minutes of getting it up and running I'm posting a new blog for all the world to see, or at least all the world that follows my exploits.

I'm still not happy with my email client, but it does the job okay but I really want something that will check my four email accounts and run some RSS feeds. Doesn't seem like much to ask but it has evaded me for, well, as long as I've had email accounts. I hope to get this problem solved soon.

If you aren't following me on Facebook yet, I'd appreciate it if you'd follow me HERE

The Waltz of My Life

It seems as though I struggle more than I should have to, trying to get ahead. Some of my set backs are my fault and I freely admit that, but some are things I have no control over. I feel as though I only make enough progress to keep from chucking the whole art thing and becoming an accountant. I kept hearing that there were people interested in buying some of my work that is hanging in Patrick's Deli-que. I wondered why no one bothered to call me to ask about prices, then one day it hit me that the phone number on my business cards was my old Missouri number. Damn. I gave my new number to my friends at that fine establishment and now hope that the prospective buyers haven't decided I'm too flaky to deal with. I did spend the past two days reorganizing my studio and clearing the clutter. It's so much nicer to actually have room to move around my easel as I work. So inspiring that I did two new paintings last night and some work on a third. I need to adjust some things on the new paintings, but I should be able to fix them in a few minutes. The thing that gets me every time is finding time to photograph my paintings and get them posted on the net. It's just such a hassle some times and I can usually find more enjoyable things to do with the little free time that I have. I'm going to schedule some time next week to get all my newer works out for their photos and then sit down to crop and adjust the pictures. Not the most terrible thing I need to do, but always something I have to force myself to do.