November « 2009 « Sean Neprud

Archive for November, 2009

My Art Thanks

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

It is a bit cliche to write out a list of things to be thankful for on Thanksgiving.

Oh, well.

I’m thankful that I started my current series of prints, it was the kick in the butt I needed to start making art again.

I’ve tried a lot of things over the last few years, coaching, teaching, blogging, and design, but none has felt as satisfying as art. I’m pretty sure I’ve finally landed on the thing that I’ll stick with for quite a while, and find my fortune and glory from.

I’m thankful that I know what is next. I have been working on completing this current series, and until I’m done, am not starting any other projects. I’m hoping to be done by the end of 2009, and can start the next project on Jan 1, 2010.

Ideas aren’t the problem, it is the time to execute, and the time to invest in getting my chops back. With that in mind, I’m thankful that I am dedicated to this. Fortune and Glory does not come to the timid.

I’m thankful to every one who has bought one of the prints (30% sold out already, sign up for the newsletter to get in on the pre-release sale). It has been an encouraging way to start this pre-launch of my art.

The truth that I am discovering is that success with this “art thing” takes a ton of work. It is a job to make art, and another job to market and sell it. Both benefit from full time engagement. Working this in with a full time DayJob gives me a more work than should be possible. It’s a good thing I am a little obsessed with this, so, strange as it is, I’m thankful for my obsessive and compulsive tendencies.

Please, feel free to subscribe to the RSS feed or check back frequently, because I am just getting started with all of this. It is going to take a while, and you are invited to watch it happen.

Posted in Other Stuff | 1 Comment »

Be An Artist: Get a Sketch Book Today

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

[Be An Artist is a new series of posts I am starting – each gives a quick, actionable tip to help you start making art today]

The artists most valuable tool is his sketch book.

It is also a good test of your commitment to art.

One of the two most important things I need to do every day is draw. (the other is to write, which I’m doing now)

I actually didn’t get any time for drawing yesterday. I spent the entire weekend in front of my computer writing the emails and recording some audio content I am going to send you when you sign up for my newsletter.

By the end of the day yesterday I was pretty fried, and didn’t get to it. I should have though.

Anyway, enough about me, onwards to you!

What do you need?

Getting started with a sketch book is pretty low overhead. It doesn’t require much. For about $20, you can be in and out of the art store with everything you need.

Required items:

A sketch book
Some pencils
A pencil sharpener

That’s it.

Take some time when you are buying your sketch book. You are going to be stuck with it for a while, so make sure it is something you like. Don’t get too nice of a sketch book though, I don’t want you to have something so nice that you are hesitant to “mess it up”.

I use regular old pencils that I you can get anywhere, and a cheap plastic pencil sharpener, the kind you can get at your local drug store.

Glenmorangie Bottle - Ink and Colored Pencil

For Over Achievers

For those of you that aren’t satisfied with mere graphite, here’s a few more things you can get to spice up the sketch book.

Eraser
Colored Pencils
Oil Pastels
Pens/Markers

This will give you the ability to mess around with some color, and do more in depth drawings in your sketch book.

What to draw?

Good question. It doesn’t matter though.

I even draw myself - Oil Pastel Sketch

An artist’s sketchbook is for herself, not for others. It is a tool to improve and hone the skills an artist needs. to this end, it doesn’t matter what you draw, it only matters that you draw.

I like to draw whatever is around me.

If I am drinking a cup of coffee, I’ll draw that. If I am sitting on my bed, looking at my desk, I’ll draw that. If I just bought a bottle of Scotch, I’ll draw that.

The what isn’t as important as the how. The point of the sketch book is to improve the skills of seeing, processing what you see, and turning that into line.

Create a habit

The best way to make sure that you draw on a regular basis is to make it part of your daily routine.

I draw in the evenings, after I get home from work. I draw for an hour. I either make it the first thing I do when I get home from work, or the last thing I do before I go to bed.

I need this sort of structure and habit, but another structure might work better for you. It does take effort though to make it happen.

You will be pleased with the work you do, as long as you stick with it, and your progress will amaze yourself.

= = = = = = = = =

The images in this post are from my Flickr account. Check it out by clicking here. There’s not much on it yet, but I am starting to fill it up.

Tags: Be An Artist, Sketch Book
Posted in Drawing | No Comments »

Your 1 Most Important Activity

Friday, November 20th, 2009

Something you can do today is more important than everything else you will do.

Jack Daniel's Bottle Sketch

There is one activity, one thing, that will help you to get what you want, create your masterpiece, or advance your career.

For me, this is drawing.

Despite all of the marketing I may be able to muster, the success of my art is going to depend ultimately on the quality of my art. Since I am not an abstract expressionist, I need to be able to draw (though I would argue that even abstract need to have strong drawing skills).

Drawing is the primary skill that all of my artwork flows from. Without drawing, I can not make art. I would then have nothing to sell and nothing to market.

I need strong drawing skills.

I have recently started a habit of drawing every day, for around an hour. Implementing a habit takes time, but I know that I need to implement this habit as a non-negotiable habit. It is, after all, the most important thing I can do.

I have started very simply. I draw things that are around me. A couple nights ago I drew the desk in my office. Last night, an empty whiskey bottle. What I draw isn’t as important as just doing it. The ability to transform lines into an image, and to recreate what I see on paper is a fundamental skill.

I will not succeed without it.

Everybody has a “most important thing”

This idea does not just apply to artists and drawing.

Whatever you are creating, one thing is the most important thing to do today. If you are a blogger, writing is the most important thing for you to do. If you create iPhone apps, writing code is the most important thing to do. If you are dieting, then exercise is the most important thing for you to do.

The people who succeed are the people that do their most important activity every day, no matter what.

What is your most important thing?

What is that most important activity?

It is the one thing that you cannot have success without.

If I did not have this website, my email newsletter, and mobs of admirers, there is a chance I could succeed on skill alone. It may not be likely, but it is possible.

The successful people are going to be those that do whatever they need to do to succeed, every day. If you do it so much it becomes habit, all the better.

Overachievers are ok too

I lied. I actually have two most important things. One is drawing. The other is writing.

I have two jobs. One is as an artist. The second is as a marketer. The success of each is supported by success of the other.

As a marketer, my most important activity is writing. I’ve written about my morning power hour elsewhere, but maybe I’ll bring it back up here one of these days.

My alarm goes off at 5:45 every morning, so that I can sit at my computer from 6:00 to 7:00 am and write. I write blog posts, email newsletters, sales copy, etc. The important thing is that I write. Sometimes I have no idea what I am going to write, and that’s when I produce that blog post that kinda sucks.

It is more important to write something badly than to not write at all.

I separate my two jobs into morning and evening. In the morning, before I go to DayJob, I am a marketer. When I get home from DayJob, I am an artist. Each of these times has its most important thing to do.

What is your most important thing to do? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Posted in Drawing | 1 Comment »

By all accounts, I shouldn’t be Writing

Monday, November 16th, 2009

I had a busy weekend.

I redesigned this site, and I wrote the first draft of a number of pages on this site that will be the lifeblood of sales.

I created a checkout cart and a gallery of art. The foundation is in place to actually make sales.

I signed and numbered the 101 Woodblock Series. That itself is a lot of work.

I have spent an unholy amount of time in front of two computers all weekend. In fact, when I was going to sleep last night, I had some some great ideas for the sales copy I have to refine this week, and had to wake up, grab a pen and paper, and write down the ideas.

I shouldn’t be sitting in front of my computer again this morning.

The prints that I have been making and discussing on this site are going on sale this week to Insider Newsletter subscribers. Selling art on the internet takes a whole lotta work. Who woulda node?

There are some changes coming down the line to BDD.

The best content, and new, better, multimedia content is going to be moved to an Insiders Only area. Don’t get me wrong, there will still be good stuff here, but the best stuff will be Insider-Only.

The newsletter is available to everyone, but you have to want it. That’s the key. This is a two way relationship, and you have to want to build a relationship with me as much as I want to build a relationship with you.

Now may be your last chance to sign up for the newsletter on the old, not very good sign up page.

You see, I showed the signup page to a friend of mine that is actually good at writing sales copy, and he revised and tweaked the copy on that Newsletter signup page. I haven’t changed it to the new and improved copy yet, but let me warn you: the new copy will force you to sign up. The new copy is so good that you will actually lose control over your free will when you read it and sign up for the newsletter.

Once I use the new copy, that is.

The old copy leaves it up to your free will to sign up. Free will is pretty cool. I guess.

Click here to sign up for the newsletter.

So anyway. I may be writing more on this blog about the sales and marketing of art and the culture of art, in addition to just the production of art.

This should be a nice resource for artists, collectors, and most of all, folks who just like art.

Best,

Deacon

Posted in Other Stuff | 2 Comments »

Current Project: The 101 Woodblock Series

Friday, November 13th, 2009

The 101 Woodblock Series was created when acted on the knowledge that the only way that I was going to be satisfied with life is if I actually made art, something that I have known is important to me.

101 Woodblock Series - Number 1

For years, I let things like having a “real” job and working get in the way of creating art. I still have the job to pay the bills, but making art is what actually give me satisfaction.

They always say that you should follow your passions and do what you love to do, but after I finished up college and entered the workforce, that passion got put on the back burner.

It’s been sitting there for years, and I did my best to ignore it for a long, long time, but I finally got to it. I realized that I am not actually going to make anything in this world unless I, well, make something in this world.

I decided that the best way to get to it would be to create One-Hundred and One woodblock prints. Each would be different, and this project would slingshot me back into the habit of making art.

I do this because it feels right to do this.

I have finally felt, in the last few months since starting this project, like I am doing the right thing with my time, and with my life.

So what is the art about?

I like to combine plants and organic growth with graphic design shapes and mechanical stuff, like gears. The 101 Woodblock Series is largely about the designs and images that I can create by combining imagery of plants, flowers, gears, machinery, and abstract, graphic elements.

101 Woodblock Series - Number 3

In some ways, I think that the art is about a combination of peacefulness and diligence, peacefulness from the imagery that comes from nature, and the diligence of mechanical function. In some way, this imagery mirrors the creative process of printmaking, which combines artistic creativity with the craft and skill of the printing process.

What is a Woodblock Print anyway?

These prints are all made by the process called relief printing. Often blocks of wood are used to print from, but blocks of linoleum are also used (especially when your local art store doesn’t stock woodblocks).

The block starts out nice and flat, and certain portions are carved out of the block. When ink is rolled onto the carved block, the roller only touches the portions of the block that were uncarved.

The ink is rolled onto the block, then the block is pressed against paper to transfer the ink. Each color on the final print requires a separate block to print. This can be quite a few blocks per print!

A woodblock print requires both the art of creating an image, balancing the colors and making all of the artistic decisions that an artist might with a painting or a drawing, as well as the craft of printing. The blocks must be aligned, the color mixed correctly, applied to the block smoothly, and transferred to the paper evenly.

101 Woodblock Series - Number 15

Art Up For Grabs

The prints in this series are currently available to Insider Newsletter subscribers only. Insiders get the opportunity to purchase one of these prints for my costs to make and ship them. I’m only charging enough to cover my costs for the paper, ink, and blocks that are going in to making these prints, and for the cost to ship it to you.

This offer is only going to last until the series is done, and then the price for all of the prints in this series will increase. If you want to get a piece of hand-printed original art for about the cost of a sandwich and a soda (at least in Downtown San Francisco), click here and sign up for the Insider Newsletter.

UPDATE, 7 Feb 2010: This project is done. The low price is going to remain until mid to late February, then the price increases.

UPDATE, 22 Feb 2010: The promo time period is over, and these go to full price.

The Details

Each print is:

Hand inked and printed on Rives BFK paper
Completely unique. No two are exactly alike.
paper size: approximately 11″x15″
image size: 9″x12″
Shipped in a large flat envelope between rigid cardboard

For more information about this series and how to add one of the series to your collection, sign up for the Insider Newsletter.

UPDATE, 18 Jul 2020: These aren’t really for sale anymore.

Tags: 101
Posted in Printmaking | No Comments »

Harder Than Art

Friday, November 13th, 2009

When I was in school getting my art degree, guest lecturers would speak about how to be a successful professional artist. They made one thing was abundantly clear: being a professional artist is two full time jobs, one as an artist, and one in sales and marketing.

Back then, I always thought to myself, “whatever. Sales and marketing can’t take that long.”

It turns out, I was wrong. The 101 Woodblock series is almost ready for a pre-launch, available for newsletter subscribers. Putting everything in place to start marketing these things has been a lot of work. Far more than I imagined when I heard guest lecturers say this back in college.

Anyhow, the prints I am making for this current project will be available only to Newsletter subscribers, for a cut rate. The pre-release price is just enough to cover my materials and mailing expenses.

I’m doing these as a crash course in fine art printmaking after all, and, well, as a marketing gimmick. The best marketing is done by giving people far more value than you ask in return after all.

Details will be coming out next week on the Insider Newsletter. If you want to get a head start on signing up, click here to get on the newsletter.

Tags: 101, Marketing
Posted in Other Stuff | 1 Comment »

If you have to ask, you don’t get it

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Either that, or I am just f**king around.

This is not an apple or something

Please, imagine that the above is some sort of thought provoking art.

Small posters of this photograph are available for $75 each. Contact me for details.

Tags: Apple
Posted in Other Stuff | 2 Comments »

What the 101 Woodblock Series Means

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

Hey –

I recorded this audio presentation for you to check out. I want to let you know what this 101 Woodblock Series is all about, and what it means to me.

I don’t want a shroud of mystery around my art, I want you to know what the deal is.

You can play the audio in this little doohickey below, it is only about 8 or 9 minutes long. I was drinking coffee while I recorded this, so feel free to pour yourself a cup of coffee while listening.

[EDIT: This audio is no longer available]

As I mentioned in the audio, CLICK HERE to see the online gallery[LINK REMOVED] of 101 Woodblock Series prints.

Tags: 101
Posted in Printmaking | No Comments »

A print is not necessarily a Print

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

The word “print” can mean a couple different things. It is frustrating to me when I tell people that I make prints and they misunderstand, and I think it has led to a fair bit of confusion for the average art connoisseur.

A “print” can be:

A hand created and printed piece of artwork, created either as a monotype, relief print, intaglio, or lithograph
A high quality reproduction of a work of art using photographic and mechanical means. These are also sometimes called “lithograph”
A poster

I’m going to go a little in depth into each one and explain the difference.

Handprinted Art Prints

These types of prints are drawn on the printing element by hand, inked by hand, and hand printed or run through a manual printing press. The main methods used to print these types of prints are monotype, relief (ie. woodblock), Intaglio (or etching), and lithography. Silkscreen can be included in this list, though silkscreen seems to be more widely used for craft rather than art.

Each print made by these methods is an original work of art. In fact, there is no “original” to speak of, because no image is being reproduced. The image is being produced for the first time with the printing elements (the plates, block, stones, etc), it is just being produced a number of times.

When people refer to Fine Art Printmaking, it is this type of printmaking that they refer to. Since these prints are original art, these types of prints maintain and increase in value over time. These are the type of prints that investors and collectors purchase.

This type of Printmade Fine Art is the type of prints that I make and sell here on BDD.

High Quality Reproductions

These type of prints are often referred to as a “limited edition Lithograph” or a Giclée print. These are high quality reproductions of an original work of art. The original art is created, and then photographic and mechanical methods are used to reproduce it.

These prints will often be signed and numbered, and issued as a limited set, so these can be easily confused with Printmade Art prints. This gets more confusing because these are often referred to as “lithographs”. The tricky thing about this language is that pretty much everything is a lithograph. Newspapers and magazines are lithographs, they are just produced by industrial lithography, rather than hand-printed lithography.

These types of lithographs are not hand printed in the fine art sense, though there may be an operator working the printing press.

Sometimes these will be called Giclée prints. Giclée is essentially a really fancy ink jet printer. (And I mean really fancy. I’ve seen Giclée printer produce prints, and they look mighty nice.

Though these types of prints are often limited editions, they do not hold and increase their value as well as original printmade art. They may maintain some value, and increase in value, depending on the artist and the work, but they won’t be an investment like a hand printed art print.

Posters

We all know about these kind of prints. These are the type that we hung in our college dorm room, to show off our appreciation for Van Gogh or Monet. These are the type of print that you will get at Museum gift shops or stores that sell art prints.

These prints are a great way to be able to look at your favorite work of art. Certainly, I know that I won’t ever own a Manet or Renoir painting, so this type of poster would be the appropriate way to have this art in my apartment.

These types of prints are not signed and numbered. They are mass produced, and are a consumable good. They are pretty, but they are not original art.

Tags: Giclee, Lithography, Poster, Print
Posted in Printmaking | 2 Comments »