My first watercolour draw has gone ahead and we have a winner from Stevenage. I had a total of 49 subcribers to my watercolour updates and hopfully that number will steadly grow!!
I have emailed the winner and I will be sending the painting my Recorded delivery today.
Hopefully the winner will be happy to post a comment to a speical page I am going to dedicate to watercolour draw winners.
The next painting will be posted later today, so check back to see what you might win this month!
Why Give Art Work Away!!
People have emailed and asked me why I'm giving away paintings away, so here is my answer.
As a full time artist it is really important to know that people are interested in your work in a general sense. Selling on the internet is an impersonal business so to counteract this I enjoy the thought that I can create some form of rapport with my customers. My watercolour draw is a way of doing this. Rather than just bombarding the internet with images on a daily basis and expecting viewers to buy, I can involve people in my art and offer something back because actually, although this is my business, it is so much more satisfying to receive feedback as well as an income.
My philosophy and overall work ethic is that my art is intended to be decorative and should above all else be purchased in order to give pleasure to the owner. I am not really much of a believer in the ownership of art works for their investment value. I would like to think my paintings will be looked at and generally appreciated because they are interesting and pleasing to the eye.
I also believe art is often tremendously over priced, especially when it is purchased through a gallery. I have a small gallery here at my home in the Isles of Scilly which I open through the summer months. The most expensive painting on the wall is around £100 - £150 which includes a quality double mount and frame. I have original work starting from as little as £5 so anyone who comes in can afford to buy something if they want to. If it makes people feel better go to and spend hundreds of pounds on art work then good luck to them, but spending large amounts doesn't necessarily mean better work.
Of course the other reason I like to keep my art resonably priced is that it produces a much higher turnover of work, which in turn means I have to paint more, keeping me on the ball and stimulated. If I get bored then that is reflected in my work - as history will confirm painting is all about mood. One of my favourite periods in art is impressionism, and whilst I am not intending to portray myself as an idealist, slaving away against all the odds, I do agree with their belief that art is about ordinary people living ordinary lives ... and I want to be able to reach today's ordinary people. The internet is a fantastic vehicle for someone in a business such as mine, but the main disadvantage is that my audience is totally remote, which brings me back to the reason why I am offrering work for free.
I hope this helps to explain my motives and thank you to everyone who has spent time looking at my site.
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