It seems commissions are taking a bit of center stage in the studio lately. Having painted five in the last few months of 2011, this year starts out with two already on the books. Unfortunately, I can't really post photos of these because both are gifts for the buyers wives, and I would not want to risk giving it away, but they will both make great stories once the 'coast is clear' to share them, which won't be until the end of this year.
In between I've got a few new studio pieces, this is a new 7"x7" study I did of a Hereford.
I've painted this same calf before with a different view. The eyelashes 'have it' and from the study I decided to follow through with a larger piece, and thus the more detailed 18"x18" shown below.
This Hereford Calf painting "Eyelashes" is 18"x18". This furry Hereford calf was photographed out in Jamul, California, where a group of mixed cows roam a spacious hillside property. I was fortunate enough to have them roam past me, and this one posed for several great reference shots. It was indeed my pleasure to look into these eyes in person.
One more new painting is this study for a Black Angus cow portrait.
I've been working on several commissioned pieces lately, including this one, which - I commissioned myself to paint! Mr. Rich is a hunting/fishing machine, and when he hunts for upland game birds his trusty English Setters do the work of finding the birds. This year I decided I should take my own advice that the best gift one can give is an original oil painting of a personal, special place, animal, moment in time. These gifts live on forever, and bring years of joy, are often a favorite of one's possessions.
Fortunately, photography is my second choice in the arts, and I have accompanied Mr. Rich and his setters on a number of occasions where I enjoy taking photos, so I had a number of them to choose from. I decided that this said it all:
"Annie" 16"x20" oil on canvas
Whether it's a cow or not, getting a painting of exactly what you want is as easy as that!
A polite young man contacted me around October, saying that his mother had admired my work for some time and he and his brother
wanted to get her one of my paintings for Christmas. Being a mother myself, I was quite touched at their thoughtfulness, having thought far enough in advance to carry this out. It turns out they raise Herefords, so I asked for a few photos from their ranch. One of them was
of this great bull named Kansas, and I knew immediately I had my subject.
Another one of the photos they sent gave me an idea of what the landscape around their property looked like, so this is what I did in the background.
Were they able to surprise their mother? This is what she said in an email to me shortly after Christmas:
"It really touched me when I open the gift....because I did not expect anything like this from them. I always believed that a present represented how well a person knows that person. That is why it has been important to me; not how much is spent but what you buy to show how well you know that person and what is important to them. Anyway as I told my boys " It was the best gift I had ever received in all my life and I don't know how they will ever out do this one"
For years I have packed and shipped all of my work. Recently I learned that the UPS store charges about the same to package a painting as I had been spending on materials, so now I take the painting and the shipping address to them, this has been working like a charm for all of my smaller works.
However, when the size gets up there the UPS store is no longer an option. It takes an entirely different plan to get a six foot painting to it's destination. And here's the best part, it only takes a phone call-to the Box Brothers in La Jolla. I make an appointment with them, and they drive a big van out, pick the painting up, delicately place it into the van and secure it with blankets and tie downs, transport it to their warehouse in Rancho Bernardo. There it has a custom crate built, and a couple of days later it is on the road, safe and securely packed.
Recently I sold a 36"x72" painting "Stuck in the Middle" to a client in Ohio, and they were kind enough to take some photos for me of the delivery of their painting so I could share it on my blog. (A special thank you to Jim and Susan Amis for sharing!).
We see the truck arrives with the crate, crate wheeled into garage, opening, unpacking, inspecting and hanging.
Not long after I discovered the simple fact that I needed to paint, I also discovered that I needed to take my own reference photos. Why? Because once an image is created, copyright of the creator is established, published or not. Copyright must be transferred in writing for one other than the creator to obtain it.
This means that photos out of magazines, calendars and online, unless otherwise stated, are someone elses intellectual property, and to use them is a violation of copyright law. This copyright protection applies to photo images, and images of artwork as well, so a 'derivative work' of either someone else's photo or painting is copyright infringement.
(Below is a photo I took in Ramona, California, in March of 2007, on the beef cattle ranch of a friend.)
OK, that made sense, after all it meant my own images would be copyright protected as well, so I did some research and bought a nice digital camera, and the rest is history! Taking my own reference photos, and the fact that I don't paint the same image repeatedly, means that my clients are assured of owning 100% original works. From the initial capture through the camera lens, on to the rich buttery oil paint I work with to translate that initial introduction to the scene or animal onto canvas it's all my original work.
(Below is the same image as above, cropped to the part I wanted to paint. I love this composition, and it's such a small part of the original photo it takes practice to find these little jewels as you look at the whole picture, but that's part of my process and I love it.)
There are actually a lot of photos available to artists in the public domain, and this is a viable option that many artists choose as a means of gathering source material, it's a matter of process and personal choice. For me that doesn't work, it means other artists can also use the same image, and you might find the same composition on another artist's website in their style, and that's just not my personal preference as an artist. The people who respond to my work are very important to me, and I think they appreciate knowing that I work from my own source material, and the composition they own will not appear somewhere else as painted by another artist.
(I've painted this image two times, once as an 8"x8" study, and as an 18"x18" more detailed painting.
This is the 18"x18" painting, completed in 2007.)
I found one such exception when I ran across the piece on the left by Linda St. Clair on her website in the "new work" category the other day, it made me stop in my tracks and ask, if my clients see this, will they wonder if I copied this highly successful artist's piece? Although the painting styles are different, and some of the colors, it still struck me as unusual. They are so similar I understand how there could be confusion. Isn't this a remarkable phenomenon?
Left: "Yes sir, that's my baby" Linda St. Clair, 2011 Right: "She Takes After Her Father's Side" Denise Rich 2007,
I realize images of cows can often be similar, they have very distinct ways of 'posing' and expressing themselves and I have on occasion seen things that closely resembled my work, but still had enough individuality to make it clear that it's from different source material. I think it's an interesting point to show our similar paintings together with what must be similar reference, and have emailed Linda St. Clair a request for her reference material, which I will post here as soon as I receive it.
Because I work from my own photos, and can produce dated, original source material for each of my cow paintings it is a rare situation indeed, and that's why I do it. That and the love of being in the field with the cows, experiencing the sights, sounds and yes, even smells, which all come back to me when I look at the photo as reference in the studio.
Rather than put a lot of money into advertising, I have a contest a couple of times a year where someone
wins a painting. I think it's more exciting, more fun, and more effective to find new fans through word of mouth.
It's time for the next Win a Painting contest!
This time the contest is for a unique, original oil painting from your best photograph.
Do you have a special photo that you think would make a great painting?
Do you have a special pet that you would like an oil painting of?
How about that fantastic photo you took on a fabulous vacation?
Any photo is eligible as long as you own the copyright and it's tasteful!
Pick out, or take your very best photo ever, this is your chance to win
an original oil painting of your best photo for free!
To enter, simply email your photo to me atdenise@deniserichart.comwith the subject
line "Painting contest entry".
I will be accepting entries only through this email, until the end of October, which should give
you time to take some good ones of your pet or ? if you don't already have one. I will acknowledge
each entry with a reply.
First of November I will upload all entries into a single album here on my Facebook page,
and the voting will begin!
Guidelines:
One photo entry per person,pick your very best one that you feel would make the best painting!
voting opens November 1, vote by leaving a comment (likes don't count)
You can vote on your own photo,
you can invite your friends and family to vote
you can vote on as many photos as you like, but only once per photo,
entries close October 31
voting closes November 15
winner announced November 16, based on number of original comments
Value depends on the size, which will be determined by me, based on the winning composition, but guaranteed to be at least $650
One photo entry per person, but you have until the end of the entry period if you change your entry. No changes after the close of entries.
Photos will be uploaded into the album in the order of the date of receipt, which means the first ones to enter will be the front of the album, the last ones to enter will be at the end of the album, so don't delay for best position!
Please do not tag or post your photo on the wall, as I want all photos to be seen at once when the voting opens!
(I reserve the right to modify the guidelines if a serious need arises, like if I forgot something really, really important. I'm sure someone will let me know about it if I did!)
Someone is going to win, go ahead and enter something, it's free!
Questions? You can either email or call me in the studio, 619-933-5935
I started painting cows back in 2004. I published my cow art online and started blogging about painting them in February of 2005.
Within a year I was discovered and approached by Deutch Inc, the advertising agency of the California Milk Advisory Board's Real California Milk campaign, interested in putting some California cow art on their website, and the rest is history!
"It Was Fun While It Lasted" 16"x20"
by Denise Rich 2007
After a visit to the filming site of the two Happy Cows ad spots, "Green Acres" and "Fog", I painted six original oils featuring
the real Happy Cows from the ads. Now it's been several years, and I'm very pleased to say that the website has recently been
updated to show my current works, which you can see here.
Don't miss the Happy Cow television commercials, also available for viewing on Real California Milk dot com on
Happy Cow TV, they are brilliant, always amusing and I personally never get tired of watching them!
Of course it's not all fun and games, some of it is right down to business, California Dairy business that is, as
99% of California Dairy Farms are Family owned. These fast paced days too many people, especially kids have
no idea where their food comes from. Don't miss the beautiful documentaries from Dairies across the state, check
Once or twice a year I run a 'Win a painting' contest, with the winner chosen by random drawing.
Entry is simple, just fill out the form. This last contest the entries closed at the end of June, a few complications
delayed the drawing, but here it is:
There is always a story behind the winner, and this time is no exception! When Jordan was notified that he was the winner
he didn't quite recall entering. At first I was disappointed, because a lot of you are anxiously waiting to see if you were lucky
enough to win, so the fact that someone won who wasn't especially looking forward to it seemed like a bit of a let down.
Then I got more of the story, in Jordan's words:
"You cannot imaging how surprised I was to learn I won the painting. The remarkable thing is, the other day I unexpectedly attended an art show at a local pub, where I won an oil painting as a door prize, so this marks the second painting I've won in my life in as many tries. If only my lotto tickets would turn out this way :)
Although I enjoy art I would not consider my artistic tastes to be very sophisticated. I can tell you that I like a certain piece of art, but I cannot begin to explain why. I know that I liked your art when I saw it so I entered the contest. As for how I ended up on your site, I have no idea. I think I just stumbled on it via google and after winning the painting at the pub I thought I might as well put my name in. I can't remember what search strings I used to find it, or what I was originally looking for. This is a little unfortunate considering I studied information seeking behaviour in library school.
Your assistant asked me if I liked cows. To be honest I've never thought much about them. I guess now that I will have a couple of cows staring back at me from my desk I will have plenty of time to think about it. After I got the phone call my mind kept running through a clip I saw on “The Soup”from the show Toddler's and Tiaras where a little girl keeps chanting “I get a cow” :) "
Jordan Drew
After reading this I was just fine with the situation, in fact, it's quite obvious it was meant to be!
Congratulations to Jordan, I'm so glad you won the painting!
8"x10" Holstein Heifers will be on it's way to Canada shortly and I can't wait to hear what the next
installment in the Jordan acquiring artwork saga will be, but I'm glad to have been part of it.
Now that blog title isn't meant to insult anyone, and I'm probably not talking about you :) however there are some folks
out there that just don't get it, and I'd like to try and explain what I think "it" is.
1. It doesn't have to be expensive, it just has to be special to you.
It's about satisfaction and just plain enjoyment, having things that give you a special feeling when you look at them. Not just an "oh yes, that matches the couch perfectly" feeling, but an "oh that takes my breath away" or "makes me smile every time I look at it" feeling. And it doesn't have to cost a dime!
I can't say it any better than this comment from a client I was conversing with recently about her art collection:
"I just gather things that I like, are visually striking (like your cows) or that mean something to me. I framed a drawing of an Easter bunny I did when I was little. People love that one! And a felt purse my mom made years ago. I started buying art when I was at Iowa State in the 70s and still have and display them."
I love what she said and thought it deserved sharing, as well as the Easter bunny drawing she mentioned seen below!
(Thank you for sending this to me Diane, it's wonderful, I especially love the flower hat.)
She collects art she likes, is visually striking, or that means something to her, having already gotten over thirty years of enjoyment
out of work collected in college, and still more out of one of her favorite childhood drawings. It really is that simple.
2. It might be expensive, but what does "expensive" really mean?
There is a Starbucks to the right of my studio, and the courthouse to the left. Every day I see the same people walk past my window and come back with a $5 coffee. It has occured to me that "expensive" is just a matter of priorities for some, how many of the people who spend at least $100 a month on fancy coffee would say they can't afford to collect original art? For a years worth of
Starbucks coffee anyone would be able to have a great collection going. That's $1200, which would give you a lot to choose from in terms of original art.
Now I'm not saying anyone should give up their Starbucks, them's fighting words, I only suggest that if you do love art, it might actually be worth as much as that caffeine indulgence, and the enjoyment factor with art keeps on giving, in fact will last much longer than you will.
Add the fact that many artists, myself included, will work out payments, and there is no reason
to deprive yourself of either one, certainly no reason to say you can't afford fine art.
I loved the two together, how even though both cows are Herefords in this
small study it's evident that they are distinctly different. Golden grasses are a favorite, the actual scenery here was just perfect and
a nice compliment to the color of the Herefords.
There is always something about a piece that has attracted my attention and focus, sometimes it is a simple expression of an individual, other times it's the social or interactive behavior of the cattle. Are two cows in a painting better than one? In all cases it just depends
on what makes you smile, or feel a special feeling, and that can come from unexpected places sometimes, can't it?
