04/14/2008 03:50:44

I hate the thought of confinement. A lot of the reason I paint is because I am free to express myself. I am also a business woman and therefore presentation and customer demand are essential components as I see it so what to do?

Perhaps the cohesiveness must come from us. We must convey the common denominator in such a way that what apears to be non-cohesive at first glance is really unified by x. 

X cannot be so obscure as to be intangible to a majority however. 

I suppose then a body of work would be descirbed as x produced by  .... versus artist = x.

Which is easier to market - the artist or the style of art.

Apparently conventional marketing states the type of art is easier so we conform.

 

04/06/2008 14:02:52

I must agree with all the artists who voted to mix it all up on the Butt.  I think all artists have streams of work that go underground for a while, and sometime integrate, sometime spring up unexpectedly and remain isolated for a while.  I have now lost track of all the free sites on which I have posted work, they seem to be exploding right now.. I try to save the cohesive stuff for my web site, which can be the place to send juries, and put my best foot forward.  I like getting feedback from peers w/o having to hang a show (and even then I don't get too much feedback) so this site is really great for that and for the community that its design for which it seems to lend itself.

04/04/2008 22:28:38

Hi Robin,

You've given me something to think about. I use Scuttlebutt as a place to show everything, all mixed up, even experiments. I don't think of it as a selling tool, but that's maybe why I haven't sold anything! I'll have to think this one over.

CU Soon,

Lisabeth

04/01/2008 05:29:57

Thank you for your input everyone.. reading these comments makes me think cohesive body of work can consist of one unifying element - Libby makes a good point and in a few weeks when I am visiting Rome I may come home and paint a Rome series which could consist of flowers, still life, landscapes, cityscapes, although the cohesiveness would be in the medium I paint in which is watercolor, and also in the subject matter which would be one place, Rome, but I guess this is a tricky topic to figure out if you are trying to present your art in the most professional, strongest way without wanting to bore the viewer. It would be easy if there was a simple rule book, you can do this, you cant do that, etc. etc. etc. but then I guess it wouldnt be art!

04/01/2008 02:51:27

Let's face it. We all need something we can consider as "bread and butter" art. Something that the customer recognizes as "ours" and they purchase easily.  However, I like to get out of my comfort zone and try new and different. That's the reason it went from oils to wax (encaustic). But I realize I cant abandon oils all together. I think you buying clientel will get to know the deeper you if you try new and different.

03/31/2008 22:49:57

Exactly what is cohesive?  Is it the same medium, the same subject, the same theme, etc?  What if you paint a series on someplace you have traveled that includes figures, landscapes, buildings, still life, wildlife, plantlife?  Is that cohesive?  What if they are in different media?  I don't think cohesive is necessarily painting everything to look alike.  That would be might boring.

03/31/2008 22:10:54

This comment is related to the one by jameswhenry, just above it.  And really,  I have never known how to handle it.  There is a local art league here that has a monthly show and an associated solo show in a side room off the main gallery about 9 times a year.  There is stiff competition for the solo shows and one of the criteria for getting selected is that the show must be "cohesive."  My personal opinion is that they have taken it so far that it is "homogenous", all the paintings look the same.  For example, one guy did pencil portraits of everyone in his family, aunts, uncles, cousins, everyone, all the same size, all on the same paper, all in pencil. The skill level of this guy was very high, but it was like looking at the same picture 30 times.  He did sell some, even though why anyone would want a pencil drawing of this guy's Uncle Bob is beyond me.   

I have had curators tell me that mixing genres, landscapes and still lifes for example, confuses the audience because they cannot figure out who you are.  Personally, I think that is a good thing, but I am sure that is a minority opinion.   Keep up the good work.

03/31/2008 14:58:11

Surprise, surprise...it's me, the cat out of the bag...

Actually Robin, now that I see this latest post, maybe you should stick with just landscapes. If you're utilizing Scuttlebutt more like a true portfolio and want to get more landscape work then I suppose going one direction would make sense. I'm just posting my stuff for the heck of it, so I'll continue my chameleon ways : )

Aa always, the compliment is much appreciated.