Try Two Point One

The Colorist
New School Color
Casey Klahn

Now compare this one. Thanks, Kristina!

Two Point Oh

Let's try this one, with a Colorist American landscape in there, instead of an abstract. And, with a white frame.

Is the whole graphic presentation more coherent?

New Tagline

The Colorist
New School Use of Color
Casey Klahn

Your responses are requested. I am re-tooling and re-working my website, and this collage resulted in an effort to post a descriptive image of my blog. The word "Artspeak" in the old tag line was a stumbler for many - especially because I use a lot of artspeak, myself!

Anyway, the goal has been to communicate my art philosophy in process. The less "wordy', the better, I feel. What are your critiques of the collage, and of the tag line: "New School Use of Color"

Bring Your Own Tissue

My son started Kindergarten today. See the post and pictures at Endless Summer Art Fair, but keep a hanky close by.

I am taking an online class this week related to the art business, through Alyson Stanfield. I will still try to have a post or two, but patience, dear readers...

Mailing Large Fine Art

Unwrapping the Big Strongbox

Logo

My artwork, Large Tri-Color Forest (framed size is @42" x 35" x 2.5"), needs to be shipped to Dayton, Ohio. That's half way across country! In this post, I will detail the professional method for handling this big task.

Full of Foam

Masterpak is the company where I get my puncture proof, and properly insurable boxes. The product itself is known as The Strongbox. Basically, the heavy corrugated cardboard box has two sandwich layers of egg-carton foam, and a cunning middle layer of foam that is die cut both on the rank and file.

They do cost a pretty penny, in spite of the advertisement to the contrary, and they are also expensive to ship EMPTY. The insurance people would frown hard, in the event of a damaged frame, if you don't do your part as an artist to use the professional materials at your disposal.

Mark for Size, Then Rip Along the Die Cut Line

Clean, Shrink Wrap the Frame and Update Your Business Card

Almost Ready

I Add Bubble Wrap

My patrons pay the shipping for the art, and I pay for the box itself, and the return bill for getting my expensive Strongbox back. Also, I charge the patron for the insurance in case of damage or loss to the artwork. In the event that the art is damaged in shipping, I will eat the insurance cost and, of course, refund the patrons for everything.

So far, I have had good experiences with shipping framed (glazed with glass) art cross-country. My carrier, until they screw up, is FedEx.

My strategy in shipping is to use next day air, since the fastest method involves the least handling. As a good example of the perils of slow shipping, I received permission from my kind patrons in Ohio to ship the box itself from their company (based in New York, but shipped from Mississippi) at the lowest rate to save myself money. They were fine with that, but the Strongbox did arrive at my door with a thick layer of dirt on it. Luckily, it was shrink wrapped and the cardboard was sufficiently clean.

I have explored kid glove shipping, but the expense is way prohibitive. Even if my works of this size went for $10,000, I still wouldn't be able to afford the custom shipping offered by carriers such as FedEx or UPS.

If you live in a large, Metropolitan center, there are services available that handle the shipping of fine art, door-to-door. Look into that yourself, as I am going to continue to live in my nice, remote corner of the planet, thanks.

Lastly, I phoned FedEx to pick-up this big item at my door. It's the quickest method, and it also allows me to have a second person here to handle the load-up of the clumsy large box. The weight is nothing to speak of, but the size is difficult to manage. When the delivery guy shows up, I will make out the return bill to put in the box, and the shipping bill to Ohio. Then, the 2" inch tape gun, and a layer of shrink wrap. Don't forget the prayer!

I'll let you know the results in the next few days.

Postscripts:

1. The art and package arrived beautifully. The art is hanging in my patron's office, and the big box has been returned via FedEx.
   
2. Apparently, the Strong Box is not made in Tupelo, Mississippi and the tag pictured above is not correct. The box is manufactured in New Jersey, somewhere, and I will be updating that picture soon to reflect the actual source of manufacture.
   
3. My personal opinion, based on my good results to date, is that these boxes are well worth the price. I am also getting a refund on my shipping cost for the original ship of the big Strongbox. It turns out that the shipping rate is not cheap, but fair compared to other really big packages that one gets.

When Bloggers Meet

Meg Lyman, of CrashOctopus fame, stopped by on her family vacation. She was driving between the Spokane Airport and Leavenworth, Washington.

She got the inside scoop on my art fair summer, and I'm afraid had to step around a lot of construction in my new studio. I heard how her Pittsburgh show went, and a little bit about her pastel work.

Everyone Loves a Good Mystery

Home, Sweet Home

While everyone does love a good mystery, the insurance adjuster is less pleased with not knowing the source of my basement flood. We had a service vacuum out the 6 inches of standing water, and after a few days of being at grandma and grandpa's house, we have the water hooked back up and are trying to get the house back in order.

Does the cistern have a surplused service to the house that broke? The pipe from the well might have failed somehow. An underground body of water might be pushing against the basement wall. The pipes and interior walls all look good. It has been a hot, dry summer. The never-ending joys of home-ownership just keep giving and giving.

So, I did what any home handyman would do, and began the process of functioning every appliance or service in the house one at a time, just to rule out internal sources of this enormous inflow of water. Ta Da! The bathtub! Our lovely, antique, claw foot bathtub holds water just fine. But when the plug is pulled, the whole shebang pours into the basement. I never thought I'd be happy to see a flood, but resolving the problem is a relief.

There is a personal and human component to the artist's life. Especially with one's studio being at the home. And with small children, a career-person wife, and the rigors of rural life...well, let's just call it a full plate.

I'll try to bust out some time for a report on my framing soon. You'll understand if it takes a few extra days, though.

PS: On the blogosphere news, I expect Meg Lyman to drop by today. Her dad lives in Eastern Washington, and she is visiting from Georgia, where she is the CrashOctopus.

Pipe Wrench

Hold on just a bit more, folks. Yesterday, after essentially a month away from home, I started the task of putting the house back in order for a series of visitors soon to come. For some reason, I needed a tool from the basement, and guess what I found?

Water! Six inches or so, standing in the basement. O, the joys of home ownership! We spent the night at Grandma & Grandpa's farm, since our water is off now. The kids slept on the floor. Poor Lorie went off to work at her usual 5 or 6 AM, but at least she had a shower at her mom's.

Did I mention that Grandma & Grandpa are in harvest? Those of you with a little knowledge of the rural life know how stressful a time that is. We just added some more!

Anyway, I'll be at the computer very little. Maybe I'll have to bust out that old tool we used to call a pen and pencil, and write my posts the old fashioned way for a while.

Blog Direction

Slowly, now, I return to the land of blogging. My art fair blast is through for a while, and I am re-entering home and studio life in beautiful Davenport, Washington.

Family life, the never-ending maintenance cycle of our old house, and soon-pending guest visits are priorities, now. The blog will be a little less so. But don't worry. I always have something to say.

Katherine Tyrrell has asked for a (detailed!) post on my framing, which you have been able to view at the Endless Summer Art Fair for the past several weeks. That will be fun and easier for me now that I have some photos to show of my framed work.

New directions with my art are on the docket. Also, I wish to continue with my Abstract Expressionists. Perhaps they will need to be interspersed with my personal stuff, since I have so much to post on. Also, look forward to seeing my posts on "our men" here in the Pacific Northwest, the Northwest School (Mark Tobey, Kenneth Callahan, etc.).

Stay tuned, kind readers.

New Look

It's a new day at The Colorist. Since my art is mostly "sold through", I get to begin the process of finding my direction anew. Do I have more "colorist" works in me? If so, what will the focus be? I have a number of ideas, including advancing the blue-centric series, and creating a series of works based on a new color wheel that I am dreaming up. Then, for the future I am thinking of a yellow series.

While the market has a say in my direction, I very much feel that the direction I will take won't be slaved to it. The new directions have more to do with artistic seeing, based on spending a lot of hours looking at my works hung together at the art fairs. I loved the newest set of all blue works, including Blue Wandering, which is now featured in the "stuff" column at the right of this blog page.

It has been so long since I functioned these template tools, that I have forgotten how to format jpegs to "fit" properly. After a few failures, I discovered a very cool detailed view of the image, which you see as a tall image there that I'll entitle "detail". I think I'll leave it up for a short while as a good example of some scratch marks, and scumbling details of my technique. Enjoy it while you can.

Back

Back from Summer Camp with the family and done with the fairs (I think) for the year. Will post here soon.
I am eager to get caught up on everyone else's blogs, too!
KC

Out of Pocket

My Booth

Home via the Sawtooths in Idaho

Like all of you, I have the summer to enjoy. I'll be "Out of Pocket" for another week while my family and I go to the lake for "Family Camp".

See you next week!

Where the Action is

See my posts at the Endless Summer Art Fair to see what I'm up to these days.

Art Theft and Vandalism

How creepy is it to steal an artwork? Is it a crime against society, in some way? This interesting theft happened recently in Bellevue, WA. I wanted to go in and give the owner a hard time, since he's fun to talk to - but I noticed the gallery had been re-flagged under a different name. That, in itself, can be sad. Maybe the organized thieves saw the new owners as vulnerable, too.

I did suffer an organized serial theft of a couple of my works a few years back in Tacoma. Am I flattered in a back handed way? Maybe a little, but not amused in the least. I was compensated by the venue both times this happened.

Interesting blog on Art Law (also has some good input on the kissing incident):

http://theartlawblog.blogspot.com/search?q=bellevue

Road Trip

Not a Yard Kitty

One of the challenges of living in the country is this neighborhood cat. As I was pulling out from home, my in-laws drove by and stopped to let me know that they spotted a cougar by my house the day before. Only, this one spanned the whole lane of the highway. That makes him @ 7 feet long from nose to tail!

The things I gotta worry about while I'm gone on my road trip...

Tune in here for an update.

Shout Out

This is a shout out to Mike and Susan to say thanks for having me over to your lovely home in Bellevue. Enjoy the Great Magenta Horizon, and it was wonderful to meet you.

Road Trip

See my post at the Endless Summer Art Fair to see what's up.

Rothko-ized

I have become Rothko-ized! Now, I am a fully functioning zombie in the Mark-Mode.

Just kidding. I will be "out of pocket", as the hip people say, for the next three weeks. On the road for Bellevue, Park City and Sun Valley. Reports will be posted at
the Endless Summer Art Fair.

You are owed a better end to the Rothko study. Sorry, I'm not ready for the definitive post, yet. I will have some down time between driving stretches, and maybe I'll get to post a little.

The quick things I can share are my pre-conclusions. Greenberg and that whole gang (including MR) were so impressed with abstraction being the break-out style for modern art that they felt they needed to push it to it's absolute limits. I'm not sure if we have reached those limits, yet. The cracks in that infrastructure developed before the Abstract Expressionist school could run its course.

I disagree with the dialectic that insists abstraction is the end-game of art. There are some solid values to abstraction, and it is fundamental to art as a historic continuum, and as a rudimentary part of the formal structure of art itself. I love the stuff, personally.

Rothko was a huge figure on the American landscape, whose color field art did a better job of breaking away from figuration than Pollock's art, IMHO. Not to compare too much, but the lack of line and the forwarding of the element of color are why I say MR is better. Action painting, as absolutely fantastic as it is, is still very dependent (Pollock's work) on the line.

Let's see. Now that I've dug this big hole, I guess I'll have a fine job ahead of me to fill in the rationales! I don't want to leave you with a comparison between JP and MR. That's too far off the mark for understanding the Abstract Expressionists.

Let's leave you with this awesome photo of The Irascibles, a group of artists otherwise known as the Abstract Expressionists, or the New York School. I wanted to photoshop myself in there as an interviewer, but I didn't want a lawsuit from the photographer. Perhaps you'll just have to imagine that part.

Image of the Abstract Expressionists known as The Irascibles.http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/a/images/abstexp_irascibles_lg.jpeg
"The Irascibles" (photo by Nina Leen, 1950, for Life magazine) Front row, left to right: Theodore Stamos, Jimmy Ernst (son of Max Ernst), Barnett Newman, James Brooks, Mark Rothko. Middle row: Richard Pousette-Dart, William Baziotes, Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, Robert Motherwell, Bradley Walker Tomlin. Back row: Willem De Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, Ad Reinhardt, and Hedda Sterne.

Note:
Want to know more about Hedda Sterne? Fascinating. She is the last surviving member of this famous photo.

Art World Currents

Jane Kallir, in The Art Newspaper, has given us a well-rounded essay on the four pillars of the art world gone askew. I always read these things very critically, as I am very free market oriented. She does a balanced job of describing some of the ills of over-feeding the art world's money hole. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with capitol, IMHO. Money is indeed the root of all evil, but it is not the evil itself - that requires man's imprinteur.

Given Miss Kallir's authority as a NYC gallery director, I had to yield to her knowledge on the steep drop-off from the super-heated art auction market to the next levels down. I still feel that the value of art overall is improved by the unimaginably high prices spent at auction, but the facts also speak that the middle market and lower market (hello) are "becalmed".

Is it any wonder that I had a whole month on art criticism? The need for knowledge is suffering, and it seems that the general understanding of this is spreading. If I, as an artist, must strive for originality, then the academic and critical strata of the art world must risk a little, too.

Thanks to Katherine Tyrrell for linking us to this great article.

Urgent Help Needed - Book Pricing

Rip from my book

The book is about ready to go, although the customer service at MyPublisher is telling me to wait while they figure out why I had a mis-print on the spine of the "proof". I'm going to push it forward anyway, since there have been so many changes to the book, it will "send" as a new book with a new file name, anyway.

I need your help,. dear readers, on pricing. Maybe a few of you will wind up buying a copy, too. Here's your chance to "open source" solve the pricing issues I have.

The "wholesale" to me is going to be significant, even with the standard discounts that MyPub offers, and with grouped shipping. I had originally had a retail in mind of @ $49 for the 8.75" x 11.25" linen hardcover. The catch comes when I realize that it will be competing in the broader book market, but it only has 29 pages. It features 35 images, 32 of which are in color, and essays about my art process. Prints of my Colorist American Landscapes are offered nowhere else. And, at that price, I will be earning in the single digits. Call it cheap advertising!

I looked up Wolf Kahn (my sage) on Amazon, and his (much longer) hard bounds are retailed at @ $45, but of course they are older now and get discounts to about $30. My venue, though, will be the art fair and not the bookstore or Amazon. I think I'm going to be OK with the mid forties price, especially with the perceived demand that comes with standing in front of the artist in his booth and in the presence of an installation of originals. The package has "whollop", to coin a phrase.

In the fully steamed department, I see Amazon sellers trying to unload their Wolf Kahn opening catalogs for greater than $100! Don't get me wrong, it's a free market, and it is perfectly legal. But please! Those are ( I know in a commercial setting) given free as a token for attending the gallery during his shows. Is no one polite, anymore? Well, I'll get off of my soap box, now, especially since my English is deteriorating...

Your opinions on my price? Could it be a little more? Or, is $45 too much and they will just languish, in your opinion?

BTW, the text in the rip above is new for the book, and I share it here:

"The fact that one usually begins with drawing is already academic. We start with color," Mark Rothko.

The great Abstract Expressionist, Mark Rothko, has taught us a great deal about color. Don't begin with a subject at all, but rather a color composition. He found it imperative to kill the subject completely, but my approach is to devalue it by repetition.

I have been influenced by the idea that, instead of using a three hue palette such as red, blue and yellow, an artist may arbitrarily choose to function using a two color base. Say, red and blue.

Here's an analogy to help you understand my two-color theory. When I was heavily into mountain climbing, we approached ski-waxing theory by simple numbers. There was the three wax system: Red, Blue and Violet, perhaps - each color was for a different snow temperature. Some wanted five waxes for the ever-changing Cascade Mountain's temperature conditions. I wound up devolving to a two-wax system: Red and Blue Extra. Similarly, the artist may wish to see two halves of the color wheel, and think of the blue side of yellow and the red side of yellow. This is as opposed to seeing three "rote" and separate hues, and instead viewing something like a continuum. The advantages may be that the artist will focus more on the split of each hue, and get a better use of every color (even yellow!).

By the same token, consider a two color system where we have a red-influenced blue and a red-starved blue.

In my current series of blue-centric works, I am discovering the freedom of the one-color composition! How much can I learn about the enduring color blue? What is the importance of line to the one-color work? The same question may be asked of form. The pastel: "Blue Wandering" is in many ways a break through for me. I have added more cobalts, and found new avenues to drive abstract shapes down. The "exploding" violet trunk would never have worked in a multi-colored palette.

Am I traveling two roads at once-a monochromatic one and a limited color-theory one? Perhaps that's what artistic license was invented for.