Getting Your Art Out to the Public, Part 1 So, you want to be an artist…Don’t just sit there… Do something!

How to Put Magic in Your ART with Light

Its been some time since we had our campfire chats, with the fires last fall and then the early snows that blanked The Grand View Ranch in two feet of snow. The temperatures have warmed up and this week and the snowed has melted so this week became the first campfire of the year. I love our group of like-minded artist and a few guests that love horses gather around the fire and as always our conversation go way into the night way after the fire burns down and were all huddled closely around the ambers trying to stay warm while we marvel at the crystal clear skies loaded with stars that go on forever. Last night the evening skies where full of falling or flying stars, one can't help imagine with all of those stars out there just how small we are in the big wonderful universe.

Alice a landscape painter,  looked up and smiled to say “All those stars out there, they are all like  the artist in the world, everyone is a star, each point of light straining to be seen with every bit of power it can muster, How does a artist one stand out in the universe of stars?”

Good question, I replied, looking up and smiling, I thought WOW, how clever my friends are, to ask such “Grand” questions. I pointed into the night sky and looked for the brightest star. There, I said, you see that one, they all looked over the jagged dark tree tops and viewed in the direction of my finger pointing into the night sky, That one there is the brightest one, that one is you. You have to stand out to be noticed. Sometimes with subject sometime with technique but most of the time Its the light that makes a painting stand out.

There is so many artists out there, so many venues that artist can share there work with other artists. from museums and local coffee shops, Video and social media to magazines art shows and newspapers, it is mind-exploding to even begin to understand your purpose that your art has in this huge competitive arena. Light is the KEY!


Listed below are 5 keys that are important to remember to make your art stand out among all the stars in the universe.

1 Choosing Your Subject- I ask my chocking students a question that most artists have a problem answering. “Who Are You?” great art is often a reflection of the artist. Your subject should be something that moves you. not just a photo in a calendar. If you love nature or the figure your passion for the subject must be real. Most artist that paint what the markets want and that only makes the artist intrest fade and their carriers short, Just like a shooting star their art shines bright but burns out fast. Your work must feel like its purposeful, It needs to feel like the artist really needed to express a moment or thought. It should capture a desire that the artist needed to create it.

2 Composing Your Subject- make sure that the viewer gets whey you are trying to say about your art by arranging elements that move you are displayed clearly and that every part of the composition is adding the viewer to see what moves you. the world does not need any more “Cheap and Cheerful Paintings”.

3 See The Moment- most art dies even before the artist starts because the artist does not see the completed art piece. Great art is created on an empty canvas even before the first stroke is placed. Imagine, see with your heart and mind the finish thought that you want your art to say. Start with an opening stroke that is clear and directed and purposeful with confidence that this work will be a masterpiece!  If you are not moved, neither will your viewer. Stay focused on your on your message and work towards the image you imagined at the begging of your efforts.

4 See The Light- Without light, nothing can be seen, imagine the light, see how it will affect the subject. Every story in art is created with light. whether a painting or sculpture light is the foundation for the subject to breath. Don't just paint to fill up space. paint with light and shadow. every stroke, every angle, every color is affected by the light that falls within the compassion. Not one stroke should be wasted without addressing how light would affect it.

5 Impeccable Quality- Do your best, the craftsmen of the early 20th century would sing there works with “Alles, Ich Kann”  (All That I Can) meaning this is the very best I can do right now.  Ask yourself that question. IS this the very best that I can do? is there something I can do to make this composition better, It the feeling I have towards the subject one that moves me? Adopt that before you sing a painting

Asking these questions may make your art stand out of the crowd and if you don't understand maybe you can view this video that may answer some of the questions that you might have to make your art “GRAND” and stand out in the world.