A Day in the Life

High bid for Wanchese Sunset is $60 from R. in NC. todays the last day of bidding. i'll post one more update tonite and the highest bidder when i check emails tomorrow morning will win. shippings free too!

Send a blind bid on Sky at Sunset. same procedure as above will apply.

i was checking out frank gardners blog yesterday and he had posted what his average day was like. i loved it. it gives others a glimpse into the life of a working artist, and is as intriguing as looking at one anothers studios. i wanted to participate too and he "tagged" me. tagging is like saying you'll do one and pick two others, and they do it tagging two more, etc.so here it is along with a few photos for context.

This is a shot of my living room/studio. i had the studio in a separate room, but recently pared it down and moved it into my living space. Much better and i tend to keep it a little cleaner between jobs since i have to look at it all the time.

since i have two kinds of days depending on the weather i'll describe them both. i always paint outside on days when its not raining and mostly market my work, deliver paintings, and paint studio paintings from my plein air studies (and my photos) when its raining. so i'll put S for sunny day scenario and R for raining.


Wake up around 7 or 8 as late as 10 ( i hate clocks, watches, etc.) i get up when i'm rested and i always read my Oswald Chambers devotional for that day (for about 10 min) Here's a shot of my pickup truck. inside i have a painting holder (shown on the right) that keeps wet paintings from touching. the space where the yellow toolbox is holds those big clear storage containers filled with paint, more canvas boards, extra brushes, etc.


First half of the day until noon:

S- get on the internet check emails and look at the weather.com site to see what the satellite image looks like and whats heading my way. this helps me decide whether to keep the trip short or if i can drive an hour away to spend the day painting.

R- check email, internet, weather, breakfast then come back and do marketing stuff ie. write to organizations about sponsoring a workshop of mine, emailing galleries to keep my name forefront in their minds and not forget about me (this helps sales since youre always on their mind. Squeeky (sp) wheel gets the grease right? email former students to touch base with them so when a new class comes around they'll remember you. i usually have those tv court shows playing in the background. you can multi-task them both without distraction LOL, enter paintings on database, and take digital of everything i did in the last couple of days. work on the blog (i try to post everyday, if not every other)


Midday-

S- i should have one painting 'in the box' finished and i eat a bite before looking for another spot to paint. i have several beaches where i know multiple sites of things to paint so i can go straight to something else i wanted to paint last week or a few days before. but sometimes i have to ride around all afternoon to find the next spot to paint. you cant be on somebodies property, it has to be somewhat close to the truck (so i dont have to hike too far with all that painting gear) and the angle of the sun has to be right for that particular scene. if its better in the morning and its already afternoon, i'll remember that when i'm driving around there again in the morning and go straight to it.

R- Frame paintings, organize the plein air gear so i dont waste suntime doing it, check emails again, call galleries on the phone, plan upcoming shows, workshops etc., run a few personal errands ( again, dont want to waste suntime doing them) and make sure on rainy, and/or cloudy days that i'm near the tv for the Sopranos at 4 (i'm addicted to that show!)


I eat supper when i get hungry, i dont have clocks etc in my house, or a wristwatch so i'm free as a bird to non-conform. one good thing about this is you never stand in line. only clockwatchers all eat at the same time, or go to the bank on their lunch hour etc.

S- after daylight savings time (and the days are long) i find the third and last painting of the day.put everything away for the day, and clean up, its now around 10 pm. turn on the tube while i check emails and my favorite artist friends blogs, and answer those who responded from my morning computer session.



R- i love to paint at night so i wait till it gets dark and paint, usually to some jazz on the satellite tv station. by now ive mostly marketed, emailed, goofed off looking at blogs and working on my blog, so i feel really guilty not having painted much so i get at it! the whole time praying for a sunny day tomorrow. call my wife (who lives at our house about an hour and a half from my beach studio) and a little more painting.
Here's a shot of my painting storage room. nothing more than cheap storage shelves with old frame boxes taped together into big blocks that keep the paintings seperated. frames and unpainted canvases are also in here.


Around midnite, unwind, watch the weather report, clean up, fall in the bed with dreams of sunny days dancing in my head.wake up and do it all again.hope you enjoyed this glimpe into my life. if anybody would like to blog their schedule please email me rooneystudios@hotmail.com and i'll tag you.