Barn and Truck-9x12-SOLD

$150

'07 and '08 Studio Sale

Here's one from the rural NC hiway's last summer. the state's full of old rusty trucks and old buildings like this.

Save on this painting, that's selling now, for not much more than my new smaller works.

India Point Boats-8x10

SOLD

Painted this with one of my fave bloggers Kathy Weber in Rhode Island. She loves boats as much as i do, and thats alot!

Looking Out Over P'Town- 12x16

Commission- SOLD

Had fun repainting this scene for a commissioned piece. i moved some buildings around making the composition better and changed a few shapes for the better. This one came together effortlessly using a photo reference for the drawing part and a previous painting for the color notes.

Topsail Shimmer-6x6-SOLD

Sat up on the bridge going over to topsail island to get this one. everybody and their brother felt the need to gawk and honk their horns at me. at least nobody threw a coke can at me and knocked me off the railing into the water 100 feet below.



The Color Selection-a sketch-8x10

$50 unframed

i taught a private lesson this week and she wanted to learn the cape school technique so of course we painted blocks in the tradition of henry hensche.

Here she is wondering what color to mix.

One Eye on the Sea-9x12

To purchase- contact me for price and availability

This is one from my Cape trip. its in Eastham, Mass. and is the Capt. Penniman house and was the most expensive house on the cape in its time. can you imagine that? the house sits way up on the highest bluff in the area and has a spectacular view of the outer cape coastline for miles and miles in both directions. what a sweet pad this guy had!

He was the owner of a whaling ship and made his fortune with whale blubber that people, i guess, burned in lamps (pre-electric lights era) and other products made out of the whale.

i named this piece "one eye on the sea" because they say that when he wasnt sailing looking for whales that he'd get up in that cupola on the very top of the roof and watch his family play around the grounds of the house, but he'd always keep one eye on the sea!

i loved the way parts of the house lit up yellowy-orange in contrast to those sweet purple-lavender shadows.

Island Houses September Light-12x16

To purchase contact me for price and availability

I'm having a problem!

since i got back from cape cod and saw all those knife paintings they do up there (and Cape School technique is in my blood too) it has brought back my desire to paint with the knife like i did when i first got back from key west last year. i made several DVD's for Jerrys Artarama on how to paint with knives and i enjoy doing knife paintings. Sales say some folks like them too. the gallery in cape cod took every knife painting i did when i was up there. Fountainside gallery in wilmington nc just sold two this month.

then i have a few people say "i dont particularly like your knife paintings. i like your brushed stuff!" To which i say "different strokes for different folks". but then i've had gallery owners tell me that they were sometimes told this...."it doesnt look like a Rooney" and when theyre hung with my brushed work, it does look like someone else did them.

Now THAT can be a problem.... i think???

but until it causes irreperable damage or galleries refuse to take brushed AND knifed, i'll continue to do what pleases me the most. if that means having two different looks, so be it!

What do you think? leave me a comment below!

Another Island Afternoon-8x10

If you like this one and want to purchase it, drop me an email to check on availability and price

This was the first painting done plein air on Topsail Island. i really like this one. thats why i wanted to play with it again, and went bigger!

How to Market Your Art Using a Blog

I wrote this article on blogging yesterday for a friend who asked for some tips, so i thought i'd post it here. i know alot of my readers are painters who are holding down other jobs but aspiring to "take it to the next level" so here's something that i hope will help you!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If youre selling all the art you want, this article is not for you. It contains information youre already doing everyday and everywhere. No need to read any further.

But if you'd like to sell more art and keep more of the profit read on.

Three words- Start a Blog!

When i first heard of blogging years ago, i wondered how it could sell art. In my search i found a guy who had started a blog and was selling a painting a day. His name was Duane Keiser. So i read up on what he was doing, and found others were doing well selling online, too. So i started a blog, and found it very easy to do.

Here are the steps and a few tips to start a blog and get traffic to it.

Go to my blog at mikerooneystudios.blogspot.com and click the "create a blog" button on the top of the page.
Follow the self explanatory directions and make your first "post". A post is nothing but an entry where you can have just words, or words and photos. You can publish the post with a click and your post is on the worldwide web.

Now what?

You want traffic to come to your blog so you can sell your art, of course! It doesnt do any good if your brother and aunt are the only ones looking at what you've got for sale so here are some tips to get traffic.

I went from 10 people per month to getting over 2800 per month, in a few years of posting everyday. And thats considered a small amount of "views" considering the biggies in the online art biz probably get 10 to 20 times that! But i do know that i sell tons more stuff online with 2800 views than i did when i had 10.

Here are some tips to up your traffic-

When you write your post be sure to make sure the writing is interesting to your core readers. The writing adds interest and ties your reader to you. Make it as interesting as possible with stories that will have them coming back day after day. Imagine reading a magazine that has the same thing in it day in, and day out. You'd quit buying it wouldnt you? For example you're out there painting and your umbrella fell in the water etc. people like to hear about the painting experience and will come back again and again to hear about it.

Mention other bloggers who have high traffic on your blog. That way when someone Googles their name, your blog will pop up on the screen.

Mention famous artists on your blog. Same thing.

Identify your core group(s) of readers and write to them. its ok to have multiple core groups. Examples could be: workshop students, collectors, people who are interested in art, gallery owners etc. One day you do a post for one group, and the next, another.

Get people who already have lots of traffic on their blog to put you on their sidebar so you can get plenty of hits from their hard work.

Write or show something interesting and send it to someone who has lots of blog traffic. Chances are they will include it in their blog post that day and have a link to your blog. That means everybody who goes to their blog will probably be curious enough to follow the link to yours, thereby upping your traffic.

Comment on as many other bloggers posts as you can. When people see a new name on their fave bloggers blog, they'll usually click and go to yours.

Write articles and send them to other bloggers and offer to let them use it. Of course have your blog address in the article so others will go check it out.

Have the blog address on your business cards and in all your advertising.

Everywhere you go leave these cards around.

Do free giveaways on your blog. People love free paintings and will keep coming back to see whether they won or when the next one is.

Join an online gallery like DailyPainters.com (and many others). These online sites get tens of thousands of hits a day and this will add to your traffic exponentially. Not only will you snag them once, but if they like your blog, they'll email all their friends about the great blog they found. This will happen day in and day out.

The most important thing though is to post regularly. If you dont, or if its boring, you'll not only not pick up new traffic, you'll lose what you do have. The more you post the higher up on the page you'll be when people Google your name or any words or names that were in your posts. This is huge. Say i write about something and mention the name Monet. If i post enough when someone googles Monet, your post will pop up on the Google page. So you can see that its beneficial to be a name dropper!

So get that blog started and start selling your art online.

(Mike Rooney's blog address is: mikerooneystudios.blogspot.com. Feel free to use this article for any purpose, as long as this address is included)

Topsail Drive in the Afternoon-16x20

$790 Framed at Fountainside Gallery

This is the finished painting

Thought y'all would like to see how the painting is started. the small painting is the 8x10 i did yesterday afternoon on site to work out the composition, values, color harmonies etc.

i paint in the shadow colors in cool blues and purples and various muted cool colors. then i paint the shapes in the light with various oranges, yellows, and pinks.

i have found that rubbing my 1/2 and 1/2 OMS and walnut oil magic potion on the gessoe makes the earlier stages of the painting less "dry" and "scrubby".

i'm loving doing these bigger pieces now that i've solved that problem. the potion makes the edges easier to keep looser too. give it a try!

Red Boat Woods Hole-9x12

to purchase email me or contact Sandpiper Gallery -Cape Cod, Wellfleet Mass.

This one has a funny story.

i had been painting with all my gear in my hosts garage the night before i did this one. hurricane bill was raging with rain and wind and i decide to go paint. so i get down to woods hole (about 30 min drive) and realize i've left my easel, paint supplies everything in the garage. so i dig around in ole bessie (my 93 toyota) and find a few panels, a few old crusty paint tubes and a huge painting knife. one way too big to be doing a panel this size with, thats for sure! anyway.... gotta use it. its all i had. then it starts to rain on me and the panel's so wet the paint is sliding around. oil paint and water dont really go together. i just keep wiping of the panel and piling on the paint thicker and thicker until it starts to stick and here's what i ended up with.

moral of this story is... make sure you dont ever, ever go anywhere to paint far from ole bessie!

The Pilgrimage 2-14x18

in Hornberger Collection

Fourth Hole Wianno Club- 9x12

In Hornberger Collection

Palm and Marsh-9x12

'07 and '08 Clearing out the Studio Sale

A scene from Surf City. very peaceful with the sailboat breezin' along in the background. this is exactly why i love the intercoastal waterway in my hometown!

Ocracoke Rental-SOLD

5x6-oil on canvas board

A cottage over on the island of Ocracoke NC but very reminiscent of anwhere on the coast.

loved the light on the roof, railings and grass out front. will remind you of summer when its cold out in a few months!

today was filled with gallery, studio, and art business (trivial) errands. stuff that piles up on you when you are out of town on a painting trip. paintings need to be mailed out, galleries called to touch base, fix dinged frames, email upcoming workshop hosts, and a myriad of minutae to do. it has to be done but isnt very rewarding. its preparing for the months ahead. all part of being in the business of selling art and teaching the craft to others.

dont forget to sign up for my workshops in raleigh in november at the Art of the Carolina's Expo and Workshops. just google Jerrys artarama and art of the carolinas for a schedule. instructors are flying in from all over the country to teach and students come from all over the east coast (and some from the west) for this thing. the vendors sell art supplies at ridiculous prices and i usually buy six months worth of painting supplies that weekend to save money!

Afternoon Mooring-8x8

sorry for the glare on the pics. i'll reshoot and re-post when i get close to the studio

To purchase contact me by email

Three Boats (Wellfleet Harbor)- 8x10

At Sandpiper Gallery in Wellfleet

drop me an email for availability and price

More from the trip.

taking it easy today after the marathon drive. just enjoying laying around watching tv with the wifey today. back hard at it tomorrow.

PTown Alley-8x8-SOLD

Well, after almost 1000 miles headed south i've just got home from my whirlwind new england painting trip. was in Providence R.I. friday painting with Kathy Weber, one of my favorite bloggers and then on to the DC area to visit my mom. i'm back in carolina tonite. i added up all my miles since i left to go to cape cod, and returned, and its the same as a coast to coast trip. california is around 3ooo miles from NC, and thats what i've driven in the last two weeks (including all the day trips to provincetown from osterville on the cape) thats a lot of miles. thanks ole bessie for getting me there and back trouble free.

now i'll be concentrating on local carolina landscapes and city scenes to restock sold paintings in my galleries. always more work to be done.... or as i've heard since i was a kid, "no rest for the weary!"

Beach Heather-6x8-SOLD

We dont have this beach plant, called Heather, in NC. i was amazed at the way it was spread out all over the dunes. so of course i had to do a painting of it. its from the "secret spot" joyce showed us a few days back.

Danny's House-9x12

to purchase email me or contact Sandpiper Gallery in Wellfleet

This one was done while standing on the roof of my pickup. it got me way up high were i could see the water in the background. i was parked near a playground and every last kid had to say "mommy why is that man standing on top of his truck". everywhere i go i feel like an oddity. even when i'm on the ground, people are amazed to see someone outside painting for some reason.

Done with a knife in the strict sense of the Cape Cod School technique. you should see all the subtle temperature changes in this one the computer screen just cant pick up.

The Lobster Pot-SOLD

Here's a Provincetown fave, the Lobster Pot. Maybe i'll eat there tomorrow. its a cool looking building and when its lit up by afternoon sun, a fun subject to paint. everybody thats ever painted PTown has probably done it.

Overlooking Rooftops (Provincetown)- 12x16

contact me if you want to purchase

or contact Sandpiper Gallery in Wellfleet

The Pilgrimage-9x12

SOLD

Cape Corner -8x8

to purchase drop me an email

First Glimpse-8x10

to purchase- email me

the first painting when i got to cape cod

Second Glimpse- 8x10

to purchase- email me

was walking down the street while painting in provincetown today and met a california artist i love named jennifer mcchristian. i've been following her blog for a couple of years and recognized her sitting on a bench. how wild is that?

my wife will be astonished that somebody really was who i thought they were. i've mistaken folks a time or two, but not today.

Google "jennifer mcchristian blog" and check out her phenomenal work.

Shining in Woods Hole-SOLD

This is from Woods Hole on Cape Cod, where i'm painting again this week. really love the glimmering water and the backlit boats of this early morning scene.

what is it about a harbor with mirrorlike water that is so calming?

South Cape Beaches-9x12

SOLD

this is a very crowded beach in Woods Hole. the third of the day. am enjoying pushing paint around on 9x12's today, which is a little bigger than i usually do. was really doing a lot of 8x10's last week. no rhyme or reason to my size choices. maybe there is a subconcious reason, and i just dont know what it is.

South Cape Sunset-9x12

SOLD

Hit my stride today.... this was the sixth and final of the day.

the key to very edited paintings is speed. put down just the necessary elements to tell the story. believe me! there was alot of stuff in this scene i left out, or i'd still be out there painting!

feel i paint better the faster i go. why tickle something for hours when you can try to boil something down to its barest elements?

Just Chillin'

No paintings to post today

Wouldnt you know?? the hurricanes have followed me to cape cod. there was a ton of rain and wind and no painting today. probably good to rest while i wait for the sun to come out and i start the grueling sunup to sundown shift. when youre out of town you have to make every cent count so production is the name of the game. i'd love to say that i'm the consumate "purist" and only care about "the art" but hey.... this is my blog and honesty is the rule of the day, here anyway.

this is a business like any other business... produce a product, keep costs low, sell at a price people cant say no to, and get out enough of it to not lose weight from starvation because you didnt do one of the above LOL

so far this recipe has kept me fat and happy. dont know how the rest of the world does it, dont care. only care if i keep getting fat.

didnt say you'd get rich or famous mind you. just working steady, paying the bills, buying a toy to play with once in a while, and eating regularly.

wanted to mention one of my new "codder" friends. she shows her work in the new gallery i just got into in wellfleet, Lora Barret. she's a great artist and lady. check out the link here.

there is some fantastic talent up here and i'm stoked to see all the Cape Cod School of Art disciples that paint this area in the tradition of Henry Hensche and Charles Hawthorne. i have a real connection with them even tho ive never met them (and are seperated by almost half a dozen states). we are connected by the technique and "ethos" of the schools influence.

Woods Hole Mooring-SOLD

6x8

a neat little place with dingies all over the shore that people take out to their sailboats in the harbor

Orleans Morning- 8x10

to purchase drop me an email

My wonderful painting partners and guides this week. who says the south has the market cornered on hospitality? and these ladies love to paint. we hiked into this location thru poison ivy, a mile thru the woods and up and down dunes. they were as stoked as me to get up to that view and paint!


High above Truro working on my new favorite size- 22x28. Gave this one to dear friends Betsy and Doug Hornberger. i'll post the finished product soon.



My dear old 93 toyota bessie. key west to cape cod since march and thousands of miles in between this summer. she's my baby. i'm over this girl like sailors are over their boats.

Hurricane Dannys on his way to the cape. seems i'm a hurricane magnet. if i'm in NC they want to hit there. i come to new england they hit up here. should be out of here by sunday and i can get back to slinging paint.

When it got cloudy and we couldnt paint, we went to an awesome gallery today called the Rowley Gallery and was very impressed with the artists represented there, and with elizabeth, the gallery owner. a very top notch gallery and lady. check her out at 84 route 6a if you're in Orleans Mass.

Truro Cottages-SOLD

5x7- oil on canvas

Heather on the Cliffs 2

8x8

To purchase: drop me an email

Sorry for the delay in posting from my painting trip to Cape Cod. i got here and tried to get online and my broadband card wouldnt work.

ive been painting sunup to sundown everyday, and just found the time to find a Wi-Fi hotspot, so i'm just now getting online. i'll be posting more now, promise.

i uploaded Heather on the Cliffs 1 and realized i had some tweaking to do on a shape or two, so i gave you Heather 2 before Heather 1.

i have some great news. i'm happy to report that i've been picked up by Sandpiper Gallery in Wellfleet here in Cape Cod. now i've got even more incentive to get up here regularly (like i needed it. i fell in love with this place the day i started painting!)

High dunes a hundred feet over the ocean, cape cod architecture, millions of boats, coastal mudflats, bays, marshes, whats not to love?!

i've already completed 12 paintings in just 2 1/2 days. i'm on a tear.

I wanted to publicly thank my dear tourguide and fellow painter Linda Young for helping me find my way around the Cape and Joyce for showing me a sweet "secret spot" hint: the cliffs!

Swan Quarter Sailboats-SOLD

on its way to Australia!

My last post from NC until i get back from my paint trip to Cape Cod.

a lot of folks dont realize that painting is as much about the mind games as it is about the skill. sometimes you psych yourself out and have to find ways to overcome it. the closest thing i can tell you its like is.... when you play pool and youre shooting the game winning eight ball into a really close pocket, you can psych yourself out thinking how easy the shot is, and MISS!

in painting... if i go a few days without painting... in my mind, i think i wont be able to paint. i dont want to go to cape cod with a few days of not painting haunting me. so i went out today, even tho' i really didnt feel like it. saw this scene and changed the way i felt LOL

a good scene to paint will do that for you.

My next blog post will be done from Cape Cod. hope you like 'em!