Artist Confidential: Secret Guidelines of Professionals

By Jack White

"Artist Confidential: Secret Guidelines of Professionals" is the first in a series of new self-help, motivational books being offered by Senkarik Publishing. Very few top flight artists are willing to share their secrets. Jack White happily imparts knowledge and valuable techniques learned in the School of Hard Knocks over a long, successful art career. In this book he peels back the layers of the onion allowing the reader to reach the vital core. The book is full of ideas and useful hints that are sure to help you increase both your skills and art sales. Jack discusses studio setup, palettes, hard and soft edges, as well as warm and cool colors. He explains the four values in the landscape and how it's divided into color zones along with offering beneficial advice for artists working 'en Plein Aire'. Vital tips on painting portraits are revealed. "Artist Confidential: Secret Guidelines of Professionals" is chock full of hidden gems and practical ideas you won't find in workshops.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Nov 26, 2013
• ISBN: 9781304659729

Book preview

Artist Confidential: Secret Guidelines of Professionals

Artist Confidential

Secret Guidelines of Professionals

_________________

Jack White

Copyright © 2013 Senkarik Publishing

All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 978-1-304-65972-9

Additional Copies may be ordered at www.senkarik.com

Other Books by Jack White

Available on www.senkarik.com

Ten Years in Texas

Sea to Shining Sea: The Mexican American War and the Manifest Destiny

Run Oklahoma Run: From Discovery to Statehood

Preacherman’s Son: Gunfighter John Wesley Hardin – Spring 2014

Bitterroot Creek: Texas and the Reconstruction – Winter 2014

Mystery of Making It

Magic of Selling Art

Mastery of Self Promotion

Methods of Success

Messages of Effusion

Malady of Art: FEAR

Mystique of Marketing Art on eBay

Cover:

Calming Waters

Original Oil Painting by Mikki Senkarik

Collection of Paul and Nancy O’Brien

Illustrations:

Mikki Senkarik

FOREWORD

For several years artists have hounded me to write a book revealing some of the hidden secrets that professional artists know but don’t disclose to those on the way up. Even workshop teachers hold back a few little gems for fear their students will surpass them. The teacher wants you to get good but not better than they are.

In my case when I taught Mikki to paint I wanted her to sail past me. I poured all I could into sharing everything I knew and sought more answers for her. She is my life. The better she does the better I do. Trust me I was thrilled when Mikki’s skills and talents exceeded mine. Every teacher should be elated when their students excel. From day one I knew she would be great and with wise instruction she would pass me.

I’ve dug down deep trying to remember all of the tiny details that can make a big difference in your career. It may only be a five line paragraph that happens to be crammed full of hidden gems that pertain just to you. I suggest when you find something helpful make a note in the front of the book. I’ve provided a couple of blank pages just for this. Use a key word that will jog your memory. Stick a posty note on the page. There is far too much information for me to add in the table of contents and I don’t have the money to develop a word index. These books are a labor of love.

I recommend you read through this treasure trove of information more than one time. It’s easy to overlook or miss a key detail. I reveal a lot of secrets but don’t elaborate on many things. Enough detail is given to get you going in the right direction, it’s up to you to delve in and find out more. I wanted a concise book that could be sold for a small amount.

What

When I started to learn to paint in oils knowledge came in tiny pieces over a long period of time. I gleaned every nook and cranny trying to find things that would help me learn the craft. In this small book I’ll share these ideas and rules that can help you improve your work. I don’t plan to write 300 pages, this is more of a concise manual with little gems dropped in along the way. I want you to be reading and suddenly an idea or suggestion hits you directly between the eyes. You’ll exclaim, This is what I’ve been looking for! Somewhere in the book one sentence will cause you to pause and think… Now I fully understand. For my piece to have depth I need to cool the distance and warm the foreground.

I’m reminded of a circuit preacher riding up to the big oak on a rainy Sunday morning and only one old cowboy showed up to hear him preach. The preacher’s sermon was about three hours long. After the service he asked the old cowboy what he thought about his preaching.

Well preacher, the old, bow legged cowboy drawled. When I go to feed the cattle and only one old cow shows up I don’t dump the whole load.

I’ll try not to dump all I know on you at one time, but just make some quick hitters with a powerful punch. I want you to be moving through the pages when one tiny paragraph jumps out and into your mind. I want for you to have a big grin and say, I’ll be darned. So that’s how it’s done.

The first step on your road to success may have more to do with the medium you select than the quality of your work. I point out in this chapter those working with oils have a superior chance over those drawing charcoal sketches. This is dealt with under pecking order.

What we paint falls into this chapter as well. I was helping one artist who thought the big bright scarlet red butt of a male baboon made a great painting. He couldn’t have been more wrong, the baboon’s rear was not something a CEO would want to hang on his wall. No housewife would want that in her kitchen. Maybe some school boy on drugs might think his painting was cool. What you paint can be more important than how you painted the piece. Choice of subject can make or break a bubbling new career. I see things painted and wonder what made the artist think someone would want to buy that subject. Not long ago an artist emailed me images of their work. He painted paved roads. It was like he stopped in the middle of a flat paved road, took a picture and then went back and did a painting of that boring idea. Maybe if he had included a raccoon crossing or a single sunflower at the edge of the pavement, but a bleak strip of asphalt pavement has little appeal to anyone. Think of subjects that several people might think are neat to improve your chances of selling.

Let me suggest again, when you find a pearl of wisdom in this book take a moment to write the page number on one of the blank pages in the front. I drop in many diamonds of knowledge throughout the book; you might have a difficult time finding that exact paragraph again. If you make notes in the front on the blank pages provided you can immediately turn to the desired paragraph. In putting together this information I found there are lots of special points that only require a few sentences to explain, not enough for a chapter but would get confusing in a Table of Contents. Like a splatter of paint I just splash them in when they come to mind, while attempting to maintain some continuity. I hope my early notice will prompt you to make notations of things you might want to return to later on. Or perhaps share the information with fellow artists. This book is different from my other seven art marketing books. Artist Confidential is like going on a treasure hunt. You will be reading and all of a sudden a pearl of wisdom that pertains just to you will pop out of the shell. Take a moment to make a front page notation and continue your journey. You’ll be glad you did.

The main reason for this book is to help you improve your work; therefore increasing your profit. I do believe artists can earn a nice living making and selling what we produce. I make no apology for my business approach to the art industry. My goal is to see your level of quality and sales improve. I don’t blush when speaking about money. I earned a lot of money in the construction business before I ever considered becoming an artist. Then I earned obscene amounts of money as an artist. Unless you make art that sells you will not be able to stay in the business very long. My second goal is for you to let others pay you to learn to improve your product. When you are beginning there is a need to sell enough to pay for your supplies. If it means painting 4 x 6 oil panels, then just do it. The question you need to answer is what can I sell? I remember when I first began with my gold leaf I discovered an old windmill always sold. Each time I left on a selling trip I made sure to include a couple of old windmills. I would save one back for the tail end of my trip. I’m not suggesting you paint old windmills, but for you to find what sells for you.

For several years artists have been encouraging me to write a book on the confidential rules and well-guarded secrets of professional artists. How to make art that connects with buyers. Art they can sell. I have learned a multitude of small helpful tidbits over the many years of my career. When followed they will increase the success of the products of both beginners and seasoned professionals. First and foremost: There are no absolutes in making art. There is no one best way, but rather the key is a combination of small steps put together that will increase your salability. I know an artist who does some amazing pieces using plain toilet paper for his brushes. For bigger areas he works with Bounty paper towels. Another lady does some astonishing paintings with nothing but a big, bold 4" house painting brush, smoothing the oils with her fingers. Renoir made brushes from his furry cat’s tail. Dalhart Windberg can paint equally as well with a brush or painting knife. With that said I do recommend you use the best brushes you can afford. I find it’s difficult to pull a line or smooth a shadow with cheap brushes. Then take extra good care of the ones you purchase. We DO NOT use soap and water to clean our brushes. That takes the natural oils out of the brushes and will cause them to fray over time. We use Turpenoid Natural to clean the brushes at the end of the day. It smells like fresh squeezed orange juice. This product gets all the extra oil paint out of the ferrules. We wear the bristles down to a nub, but what’s left is still fresh and as flexible as if they were new.  This tip alone will save you a lot of money.

Before an artist can paint on a plain board or raw canvas, they must prepare the surface with a ground or undercoat of plain white gesso. Acrylic gesso is the best, but you also can use exterior latex house paint for the initial coats. Then the artist can sketch onto the surface using a charcoal stick, 4B pencil or paint that is made thin and quick-drying with turpentine, odorless mineral spirits or Liquin. We use Turpenoid odorless paint thinner instead of turpentine. This costs a tad more, but the absence of any odor in our studio more than makes up for the extra cost. Artists often sketch their work in a brownish or bluish color, to suggest where the tone (light and dark) will be in the finished painting. We use what I call MUD, a mixture of equal parts of Alizarin Crimson and Ultramarine Blue.  Liquin, a non-yellowing medium for thinning oil and alkyd colors, is added to the mix. It also speeds the drying time. Basically we make a value drawing of the subject we are going to paint. Then color and detail is put on in single brush strokes or impasto layers. I never liked using charcoal because it’s too easy for the black particles to dirty your paint.

The great Norman Rockwell drew his illustrations in accurate detail using 2B and 4B pencils. Then he used varnish to set the drawing. If he made a mistake while painting he could wipe off the oils and still have his detailed drawing intact. One of the highlights of our life was visiting the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. On display was a sample of a piece he had started with an explanation of his method of varnishing the drawing.

For portraits we make our own gesso mix for coating the canvas. We apply three coats of white acrylic gesso, sand each layer. A fourth coat with the addition of a tablespoon full of Marble Dust is then applied. Stir the marble dust into the gesso while adding water; you want to produce a thin wash. Softly apply a final coat with a foam brush. The marble dust adds a nice tooth to the surface. Marble dust can be purchased in small jars. You don’t need much.

The canvas we purchase for Mikki’s use comes double primed with gesso. She applies white acrylic as a thin, final coat on the surface. When sketching her complicated compositions on canvas the drawing is easily wiped off with paint thinner acting as an eraser. For instance if she makes a mistake as she is drawing a large archway freehand and wants to remove her oil sketch, she simply dips a bit of tissue in the thinner and the errant line is easily wiped off. That’s because the acrylic is not as binding with the pigments as gesso. I just hope she doesn’t read where I said she makes mistakes. I’ll be eating cold cereal for months!

Please allow me to make sure you understand what I’m saying. The canvas we buy from Sunbelt Manufacturing in Longview, Texas has a double coat of gesso. Mikki adds an additional coat of white acrylic. Oil sketches can be easily corrected on this surface. I suggest you sign up for Mikki’s teaching blogs, www.mikkisenkarik.wordpress.com, where she shows her step-by-step process of painting.

Sunbelt Manufacturing Information. Speak with Pat Conner, the owner, at 800.333.8412. Please remember, you have to purchase a box of any particular size. This means you have to order either six gallery wrap or twelve of the normal stretcher bar canvases in