What’s shakin’ at Rodzart

What’s shakin’ at Rodzart 6-25-2010

What’s shakin’ at Rodzart 06-25-2010.

Hi Folks. Happy Friday! I hope everyone has had a good week. It was another hot week in Valrico, but we still completed five paintings for you.

The first new painting for this week is a 9 X 12 acrylic on watercolor paper called:
Expression 1046. This is an abstract expression in blue, yellow and red.

The next new painting for this week is an 8 X 10 acrylic on canvas called:
Composition 1047. This is a really neat abstract geometric. The painting takes on different characteristics depending on which angle you view it from.

Then we have a 5 X 7 acrylic abstract expression on watercolor paper called:
Expression 1048.

The next new painting for this week is an 8 X 10 acrylic on canvas called:
Dood. This piece is a cartoon I did for the Ghost Adventures crew. I’m a firm believer in the paranormal, and I think these guys do a terrific job. I can’t wait for the new season in September.

Last up this week we have another 5 X 7 acrylic abstract expression on watercolor paper called:
Expression 1050.

I finished creating a new banner for my web site and some of my blogs. I think it looks a lot more 21st century-ish than the previous banner. I did the background painting on a piece of cardboard, and put the text in with Photoshop.
.

This week I thought I’d touch briefly on how I select which surface, canvas, paper, cardboard, or panel, to paint on. Now, I’d like to say that this is a profound and deeply considered artistic choice, but, that ain’t necessarily so.
The truth is, this choice depends more on what I happen to have at hand, than the artistically significant choice.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve been doing a lot of painting on canvas these days. Well, there are two reasons for that. One, paper’s cheap. Two, I’m running out of canvas. After I score enough dough to get more canvas and stretchers, you’ll see a lot more paintings on canvas. Most of the cardboard I use to paint on came as packaging. The strip of cardboard I used to paint my new web banner is an example of that. It was used as packing in a box of canvas stretchers.

I do what I have to do in order to keep painting. In the long run, it’s the image that matters, and not what it’s sitting on.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been getting emails in what appears to be kana characters. Unfortunately, I can’t read kana so I have no idea whether these emails are just Chinese spam, or someone legitimately trying to contact me.
So, if you’re on the level and want to contact me, I’m afraid you’ll have to use English or French.

While we’re talking about email, most of the art sites I list on have a “contact the artist” button. Most of these are what’s called a “blind email”, the email is rerouted from the site to my email address. That is mainly to keep spammers and thieves at bay. However it does get in the way of legitimate communication at times. The moral to the story here is that, if you contact me through one of my art sites, be sure to give me an email address if you want a response.
The simplest thing however is to just use the “Contact me” link on MY website, and then I can get back to you.

For folks around the Tampa Bay area I hope you’ll remember that I’ve got six paintings hanging in “The Art of Hair” salon at 10963 Causeway Blvd., in Brandon. So, I hope you’ll drop by and check them out, and maybe get some great hair styling while you’re them.

I don’t do a lot of endorsements but I would like to mention Doctors without Borders. This is a truly great group of Medical Professionals. So, if you’ve got a buck or two to spare, I hope you’ll keep these folks in mind.

Just a reminder, if you’d like to get this blog by email, it’s as easy as sending me an email and saying so. Right now I publish the blog on Wordpress, Blogger, Facebook, and Myspace, with slightly modified versions (I take out links to other sites), published on ArtWanted, DeviantArt, and Fine Art America.

I’m also on Twitter
Myspace and
Facebook Look me up there if ya feel like it.

I hope everyone has a peaceful and prosperous week.

Rod

Here’s some links I hope you’ll remember:

For original paintings, or to inquire about a commissioned painting, just email me at info@rodzart.com

For original paintings sold at auction go to:
http://www.artbyus.com/auctions.php?a=6&b=85

Original works on paper can be purchased at:
http://rodzart.etsy.com

To buy prints on paper or canvas, mouse pads, mugs, refrigerator magnets, etc. check out:
http://www.artwanted.com/rodzart>
http://rodzart2.deviantart.com/gallery/>

For other cool stuff like T-shirts, clocks or travel mugs try my Cafepress site http://www.cafepress.com/rodzart

To obtain fine art prints, framed or unframed:
http://rod-schneider.artistwebsites.com
http://rod-schneider.fineartamerica.com

This is a group I’d like to mention. Katsel Tsi Chen Cho Kyi Ling Buddhist Meditation center>

What’s shakin’ at Rodzart 6-18-2010

What’s shakin’ at Rodzart 06-18-2010.

Hi Folks. Happy Friday! I hope everyone has had a good week. It was a pretty hot week here in Valrico. A couple of days it got far too hot for
Jack, and we had to come in from the studio. In spite of that though, we have six new paintings for you this week.

The first new painting for this week is a 16 X 20 oil on canvas called:
Legacy of Greed. You’d have to have been on some other planet not to know what this one is about.

The next new painting for this week is a 9 X 12 acrylic on watercolor paper called:
Passion. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve been scorched by the flames of passion, well, I guess I’d have AC in my studio..lol.

Then we have a painting that we’ve all been waiting for…I hope…
DarkWorld III. This one took a little longer than expected, mostly because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to put more detail in or not. I finally opted to leave the detail out and let the viewer decide what’s there. You also get to decide of it’s the way in or the way out. I guess that depends on which direction you’re going.

The next painting for this week is a 18 X 24 oil on canvas called:
Expression 1043. I had an urge to paint something using Florida-ish colors one day this week, and this painting was the result.

The new painting for this week is a 5 X 7 acrylic on watercolor paper called:
Expression 1044.

The last new painting I have for you this week is a 5 X 7 acrylic on watercolor paper called:
Expression 1045. This and the previous painting “Expression 1044” are both free form abstract expressions. I guess you could say that I was in a black and red mood the day I painted them.

For folks around the Tampa Bay area I hope you’ll remember that I’ve got six paintings hanging in “The Art of Hair” salon at 10963 Causeway Blvd., in Brandon. So, I hope you’ll drop by and check them out, and maybe get some great hair styling while you’re there.

I don’t do a lot of endorsements but I would like to mention Doctors without Borders. This is a truly great group of Medical Professionals who put medicine before money. So, if you’ve got a buck or two to spare, I hope you’ll keep these folks in mind.

Just a reminder, if you’d like to get this blog by email, it’s as easy as sending me an email and saying so. Right now I publish the blog on Wordpress, Blogger, Facebook, and Myspace, with slightly modified versions (I take out links to other sites), published on ArtWanted, DeviantArt, and Fine Art America.

I’m also on Twitter
Myspace and
Facebook Look me up there if ya feel like it.

I hope everyone has a peaceful and prosperous week.

Rod

Here’s some other links to remember:

For original paintings, or to inquire about a commissioned painting, just email me at info@rodzart.com
For original paintings sold at auction go to:
http://www.artbyus.com/auctions.php?a=6&b=85

Original works on paper can be purchased at:
http://rodzart.etsy.com

To buy prints on paper or canvas, mouse pads, mugs, refrigerator magnets, etc. check out:
http://www.artwanted.com/rodzart>
http://rodzart2.deviantart.com/gallery/>

For other cool stuff like T-shirts, clocks or travel mugs try my Cafepress site http://www.cafepress.com/rodzart

To obtain fine art prints, framed or unframed:
http://rod-schneider.artistwebsites.com
http://rod-schneider.fineartamerica.com

This is a group I belong to, so I thought I’d give them a plug. Hey, it’s my blog ya know. Katsel Tsi Chen Cho Kyi Ling Buddhist Meditation center>

What’s shakin’ at Rodzart 6-11-2010

What’s shakin’ at Rodzart 06-11-2010.

Hi Folks. Happy Friday! I hope everyone has had a good week.

We didn’t have the most productive so week I’m afraid we have only one new painting for you. Some weeks we do more canvas priming and drawing than we do painting. If nothing else, Jack didn’t scare up any snakes this week, so I guess that’s a plus.

The new painting for this week is a 9 X 12 acrylic on watercolor paper called:
Expression 1039.

DarkWorld III is pretty much finished, but as with many paintings I need to step a way from it for a day or two before I decide if it’s completely finished.
I fully expect to have it here for you next Friday. I think you’ll like it.

I thought this week I’d touch on my particular style of art. Now, don’t confuse style with genre. I work in several different genres, i.e. Abstract Expressionism, Abstract Geometric, Supremacist, and occasionally surrealism.
My style, of simplicity, remains the same across all the genres. Although I’d like to call it minimalism, that’s a genre on its own and doesn’t really describe what I do. I suppose we could call this simplicism, but I think that might be misinterpreted too…lol.

Simply put, I like to keep things simple. If I can accomplish what I want with two brushstrokes, I won’t use 10. One of the hardest things in painting is to know when to quit. In other words, say what you want to say and then shut yer yap.

Let’s take for example
the jagged edge. I could have kept going on this painting for a good long while, but I accomplished what I was after with the paint you see, and it was time to stop. A line or a shape in the right place can say an awful lot if you just let it.

Why simply things to this degree? Well, I don’t speak for anyone else, but myself, I think the world is way too complicated already without me adding to it. Art serves a lot of purposes in society, but for me, my art is mostly a way to dodge reality. I hope that’s what it does for you as well.

Before I go, I just want to mention one more little thing. Almost every time I talk about stuff like this, there’s some ahhh-teest out there who wants to argue with me and wave his art degree in my face. Well, as my Ol Dad used to say, “tough shitsky”. You may have time to waste looking down your nose at people, but I’ve got too many paintings to finish to get caught up in pointless arguments. Let’s keep it simple folks.

For folks around the Tampa Bay area with impeccable taste in art, I’ve got six paintings hanging in “The Art of Hair” salon at 10963 Causeway Blvd., in Brandon. So, I hope you’ll drop by and check them out, and maybe get some great hair styling while you’re there.

Just a reminder, if you’d like to get this blog by email, it’s as easy as sending me an email and saying so. Right now I publish the blog on Word press, Blogger, Facebook, and Myspace, with slightly modified versions (I take out links to other sites), published on ArtWanted, Deviant Art, and Fine Art America.

Here’s some links to remember:

For original paintings, or to inquire about a commissioned painting, just email me at info@rodzart.com
For original paintings sold at auction go to:
http://www.artbyus.com/auctions.php?a=6&b=85

Original works on paper can be purchased at:
http://rodzart.etsy.com

To buy prints on paper or canvas, mouse pads, mugs, refrigerator magnets, etc. check out:
http://www.artwanted.com/rodzart>
http://rodzart2.deviantart.com/gallery/>

For other cool stuff like T-shirts, clocks or travel mugs try my Cafepress site http://www.cafepress.com/rodzart

To obtain fine art prints, framed or unframed:
http://rod-schneider.artistwebsites.com
http://rod-schneider.fineartamerica.com

I’m also on Twitter
Myspace and
Facebook

I hope everyone has a peaceful and prosperous week.

Rod

What’s shakin’ at Rodzart 6-4-2010

What’s shakin’ at Rodzart 06-04-2010.

Hi Folks. Happy Friday! I hope everyone has had a good week.

It’s been a pretty hot week; temperature wise; in the studio this week, and we also had a dangerous snake encounter. However I did manage to finish three paintings for you.

The first Painting is an acrylic on an 8 X 10 inch canvas called:
Composition 1036. This is an abstract geometric; in a style I’m sure you’re familiar with.

The next is a 5 X 7 acrylic on watercolor paper and is called: surprisingly enough;
Expression 1037. This is an abstract expressionist painting using sort of a minimalist technique.

The last is another 5 X 7 acrylic on watercolor paper and is called:
Expression 1038. This is an abstract expressionist painting similar to, but not exactly like Expression 1037.

I’m still working on DarkWorld III, and I hope to have it out next week.

Getting back to the snake encounter. It seems that Jack managed to corner a copperhead rattlesnake right outside our studio door last Wednesday. Fortunately, I was able to yank him into the studio and slam the door before things got ugly. Snake encounters are pretty common around here, but the two black snakes which live by the studio usually try to avoid Jack. Copperheads apparently, don’t believe in détente.

As anyone who has a website or a blog can tell you, the minute the site goes live, you’re besieged by spammers. Each week I have to pry about a hundred spam comments out of my blog. I do my best to keep the spammers at bay, but some does slip through. So, if some spam does make it onto the blog, I’d appreciate an email and I’ll get it deleted. Does anybody actually buy anything from these crooks? I sure hope not.

One of the more mystical things in art is how art work is priced. Now, I don’t speak for anyone else, ever, but I can tell you how I arrive at a price.
Before we start though, I want to mention that, I never compose a painting with the thought of making it commercial. I paint what I paint. I have to sell a painting now and then in order to keep painting, and I’m just vain enough, I guess, to think the world is better if I keep painting.

First, lets consider that outside of the cost of materials, a piece of art really has no intrinsic value. With a few exceptions, a piece of art has no practical use. Art exists to cause some sort of feeling in the people who look at it, but you can’t eat it or hammer nails with it.

Consequently, the only value that attaches to a work of art; or any other good for that matter; is what someone is willing to pay for it. How much I decide to ask for a particular piece starts with the materials involved. If I sell a painting for less than the cost of the canvas and paint, I’m not going to be able to keep painting very long.

After the cost of materials, come other costs like shipping. The bigger the painting, the more I have to get for shipping.

Lastly, and this is the big one, is, how much does having my name on it add to the value of the painting. This, I base on what people have paid for similar paintings (of mine) in the past. If I’m selling a lot of paintings at a given price, I’ll nudge the price up a little. I try very hard, however, not to lower prices. Why? The simple truth is that if I do that, I’m devaluing paintings which I’ve already sold, and that’s very unfair to people who’ve supported my work in the past. My relationship to my collectors is very important to me.

Before we leave this subject I want to make one more point. I don’t paint for money. I paint because something in me compels me to. But, let’s try to remember that: paint costs money, canvas costs money, mortgages cost money, food costs money. Sorry folks, but that’s the ugly truth here, and is just one of the many reasons why I say “reality sucks”.

Before we wrap it up for this week, I was wondering if there were any out there who’d like to have this blog delivered to them each week by email.
If so, just drop me an email. If there’s enough response I’ll put together an email list. In addition, if we do that, I’ll refrain from offering original paintings for sale for a week after I publish the blog in order to give you first shot at them.

Just a reminder that I’ve got six paintings hanging in “The Art of Hair” salon at 10963 Causeway Blvd., in Brandon. So, I hope you’ll drop by and check them out, and maybe get some great hair styling while you’re there.

Here’s some links to remember:

For original paintings, or to inquire about a commissioned painting, just email me at info@rodzart.com
For original paintings sold at auction go to:
http://www.artbyus.com/auctions.php?a=6&b=85

Original works on paper can be purchased at:
http://rodzart.etsy.com

To buy prints on paper or canvas, mouse pads, mugs, refrigerator magnets, etc. check out:
http://www.artwanted.com/rodzart>
http://rodzart2.deviantart.com/gallery/>

For other cool stuff like T-shirts, clocks or travel mugs try my Cafepress site http://www.cafepress.com/rodzart

To obtain fine art prints, framed or unframed:
http://rod-schneider.artistwebsites.com
http://rod-schneider.fineartamerica.com

I’m also on Twitter
Myspace and
Facebook

I hope everyone has a peaceful and prosperous week.

Rod