Saturday, December 20, 2008

Will the Circle be Unbroken

This month is the 1st anniversary of the "mike rooney studios-a painting ALMOST everyday" blog. applause noise inserted here,,,,,
"first i'd like to thank,,,," LOL

no seriously, just as i get all sentimental and reflective on january first of every year, this blogging anniversary made me want to reflect, in words, on what it has meant, as it relates to my life as an artist. heres what i came up with.....

Todays post is going to be about blogging. the upside, the downside, the sideways stuff that i have found after doing it one whole year.

as you know, other than the last couple of months, because of events beyond my control, i have posted ALMOST every day for nearly a year. thats alot of paintings, alot of words, and inane thoughts to float around in cyberspace (they say) forever and ever. heres what ive found listed by category, from worst to greatest....

Downright sucks about blogging-
when youre tired from painting all day and it was 100 degrees and all you want to do is eat because its 9 pm, you have to shoot that days painting, making sure there's no glare on it, its not blurry, photoshop the image to make the colors truer, contrast better, hurry i'm about to faint from hunger. remember?
post the photo to blogger, think of a title, write something interesting that people wont fall asleep reading. did i mention that i'm tired and sleepy, as well as hungry LOL
then hit 'publish post', go back and see if it all looks right and you didnt mispell anything. whewwwww! glad that parts done. oh yeah gotta check email while i pop a pop tart in the microwave for supper. done for the day. wow,,,,, 10 o'clock already?

people who dont blog have no idea the time it takes to do online lessons like susan greaves, or write up a post that could go into an instructional manual on painting like frank gardner, or post every (i mean every) day like stephen magsig.
we do it because we love to do it but its grueling! and if you take a week off you feel like youre letting everybody down. your readers, your fellow artists, and mostly yourself because youre a daily painter. thats alot of pressure.

The cool thing about blogging-

Doing small daily paintings is immediate gratification. you paint the little sucker, you take a pic of it, upload it and BOOM your little baby is on the worldwide web for anybody with a computer and internet access from Eastern NC to Mars to see. some want to buy it, some artists want to copy it, some galleries want to hang it, some want to email you and tell you what it reminds them of in their childhood.
another thing i noticed was the comraderie of the blogging community of artists ive met since doing this. theyre from all over. texas, virgin islands, two hours from me in durham, nc, all over. and when i had my small absence they all wrote and encouraged me and told me things that only us artists know, because we are artists. they know the joys, the insecurities, the dedication needed to succeed, and its pitfalls. as only a fellow brother or sister of the brush could know.
thanks you guys!

i also know that blogging is good for the art business and a painters career. that blogging doesnt stop gallery sales, but enhances it. how do i know this?
well take today for example. i sold some small daily paintings to a gallery owner. i have sold tons to gallery owners and their employees.
i was asked once did i think that selling the small dailies would hurt my gallery business. i responded a resounding "no". these little gems are (what some bloggers have dubbed) appetizers and not the main course, when it comes to works of art. they sell cheap, most are small studies for larger works that will be in galleries at a substantially higher cost. so NO they wont hurt gallery sales.
then later today i sold a bunch of large gallery paintings to one of my daily painting collectors, thus closing the circle and completing the circuit. some want to start off small and very affordably and build up to buying one of my more expensive and more substantial pieces. so today was cool in the fact that i sold a gallery owner some small ones, and someone who had small ones bought several of my bigger ones from a gallery.
this is what blogging has meant to me this year. and thanks for sticking with this long post as the cardinal rule is keep a post short or they wont read it. hopefully if you stayed this long you enjoyed my take on this crazy world of blogging.
i'd like to thank those of you who have bought my paintings over the last year, and those of you who tell me you stop by several days a week to see where i'm painting or what i've painted. thanks to my blogging artist buddies who have encouraged me, and inspired me with your beautiful view of the world around you. it has enriched me tremendously.

i'm hungry and tired now and must sign off till tomorrow, bye LOL

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mike- a hearty congratulations to you on making a years' worth of entries.
If it truly does " take one to know one " or, as the local expression here on St.Croix goes,
" who knows it feels it ", I think you very succinctly summed up all that goes on behind putting a decent post together.
There are times when I feel I'll never think of another clever thing to say or title or write about, let alone paint.

But somehow, I think the combination of blogging and painting keeps you in check to do both better.

And as you say, it's all exposure of some kind and as we know from these pages, the world is smaller at times than it seems.

Looking forward to many more submits from you and know that you are an inspiring artist to me too.

Frank Gardner said...

Hi Mike, Happy Anniversary on the blog.
You really summed it all up. The ups and downs of blogging. The ups outweigh the downs though.
Here's to another year of almost daily paintings on your blog.

Merry Christmas while I'm at it.

mike rooney studios said...

bonnieluria-
i love the st croix expression. sounds like what bob marley would say if he were still around.
the world is tiny when everybody is so 'connected' as this generation is. look forward to the day when i can sit down and look into a camera and do what i have to do blogging wise without typing anything. that will really be cool because i talk ten times faster than i type.
you are an inspiration to me as well. keep up the good work and happy holidays. hang an ornament on your palm tree for me ok?

frank-
the blogging world is full of benefits, and after is all said and done somewhat addictive. i love the immediacy of the daily paintings, the comraderie of the artists with each other and the marketing possibilities it provides us. you have been very inspirational and when i log on i always check out your blog to see what beautiful vision of mexico or new england youve given me that day. thanks my amigo. hope you and yours have a feliz navidad and bueno neuvo year (only did one semester of spanish- could you tell?) i do know every word to Lynard Skynard songs tho'! thats southern-speak! LOL

Alice Thompson said...

Applause, Hooray! and Cheers...
I tip my hat to you Mr Rooney.

I am not a daily painter and know that I will never become one. I tried once last year and got up to Day 10 and knew that I'd better jump off that train to avoid a crash collision. Each days painting was taking longer and longer and before you know it my "painting a day" was taking all of one and half of the night... you skip eating to save time. Suddenly your daily painting takes you two whole days... the housework begins to pile up, the cat is catching her own meals... people now think you are avoiding them, you begin to appear dysfunctional and- well, you get the idea.

"Artists gotta be artist" someone told me once.

Thank you for keeping it real with all that you had to endure to come full circle. You must have lots of ENERGY. Be sure to give yourself a break, like on Sunday.

I have the same problem that you have when it comes to photos, Sometimes they come out a little blurry and overexposed. I have my new camera now and am trying to learn it. Not as easy as it looks.
I think your pictures are as good as i can help you get. We both now need an expert to chime in and give us help.

mike rooney studios said...

alice
your help has been invaluable on the photo front. no more blurry small ones, thanks to the macro thingy.
i know what you mean about getting off that train. ive almost done it several times but stayed on till i forgot i wanted to get off! a year later here i am still doing it, and excited about the coming winter, which to me is the "daily season". winter is rainy, and cold and a great reason to paint inside small.
workshop students love to buy the daily's and that helps keep sales rolling along until spring when gallery sales pick back up.
the small, quick ones suit my painting temperament as well.
i'm glad you and i met in this crazy blogosphere, alice. thanks for everything!

anne h ward said...

Mike...Merry Christmas!!! What an inspiration you are. Not only a favorite painter/person, but am lovin your blogs. You keep it so real. I, like your friend, Alice...know I will never be a daily. Life outside painting is bigger than my ability to paint everyday. I will do what I can and then try to do more. You have the gift of encouragement and I, for one, have been a beneficiary. Am looking forward to Colors 101 in MHC. In the meantime, enjoy life, LOL! and have a Blessed Christmas.

mike rooney studios said...

anne
good to hear from you again. where ya been?
thanks for the nice words. i love what i do and want to get others excited about their gifts too.
your gifts are your art talent, zeal for life and the ability to make others feel special. for that thanks!
after the holidays i'll be announcing the february color 101 class that'll be in MHC on a saturday.
i think everybody will be itching to paint after they take some time off for the holidays dont you?
merry Christmas and happy new year!

Anonymous said...

Very nice wok. I like your topic.

mike rooney studios said...

alltimeprint-
thanks alot.