Hectic Schedule, no sleep, and a special project

Taken in the Smoky Mountians of Tennessee. I will have some large paintings of this trip soon.

Hello friends! Well, as we make our way into spring, my schedule is starting to fill up for the rest of the year. I will be talking with the owner of an optical shop next week about a 2 month exhibit of my work. They are exhibting the work of local artists, which I think is great. These alternative venues can sometimes yield great results and can get your name out to new collectors. I will still have work available at the Alamance Arts Council, Raleigh Street Gallery, and the Roasted Coffee Depot Coffee Shop as usual. Visit http://www.justinholdren.com/ for more information on those venues. I also have a paint out coming up this summer that I attend every year, so I need to get promo materials ready for that.

Next, we are preparing for a birthday party this weekend - my little girl Sophia will be 2 years old! I can hardly believe it! All of this going on, and my body decides to stay awake at night lately. I am running on empty lately.

Also, I have a large special project that I have been working on, that I will soon reveal here. There will also be a press release about it if all goes as planned! Let's just say it will be a fantastic opportunity in this poor economic climate to get my original paintings for a steal, and there will be a lot of them available.
For now, I leave you with a picture taken this summer in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

Plein Air Painting at Cedarock Park

Here a shot of me painting away at Cedarock park
This is my smallest paintbox. It is a converted cigar box and is great for doing small paintings on location at home and when traveling. It was also much cheaper than my commercially made paintboxes! This shot shows the painting after about 15 minutes of painting. I will post the finished painting soon.

Well, the weather finally cooperated over the weekend and Friday afternoon I stopped off at Cedarock Park and Historical farm on my way home. The pictures are above. I had my small cigar box painting kit with me and did a small 6 x 8 inch acrylic study which I think will work well as a larger piece. I will post the finished painting when I get a picture of it.

Wishing for warm painting weather

Hello friends.

Well, we had about 4-6 inches of snow Monday night, which is a lot more than we normally get. I have been fighting a constant cold/flu that keeps coming back, hence the reason for posting no new paintings lately. I have been too sick and tired to post even when I have new work to show. I will have some new things for you soon. I promise!

Anyway, I am ready for some warm weather so I can get back to some plein air painting. I have been sketching on location, but usually from the car because of the cold weather and the way I have been feeling. I'll leave you with an image from Ocraocoke Island, a nice warm place to take my mind off of the cold weather.

I have some exciting things to tell you, so stay tuned!

Siler City Art Walk - COLD!!!

Well, the 3rd Firiday art walk in Siler City was pretty well attended considering it was FREEZING COLD. I, of course was in a hurry to get to the gallery there that carries my work and ran out the door without my coat. So, I toured the artwalk with chattering teeth, but had a great time. If you are in the area, check out the NC Arts Incubator Gallery. A great artist I know, David Nance, has some absolutely incredible paintings at the gallery. I spent much time just studying his work. I learn so much by studying the work of artists I admire.
I am still doing my daily watercolor sketches and will post some soon along with some new oils and acrylics.

3rd Friday Art Walk - Siler City, NC

Hello friends! Tonight is the 3rd Friday Art Walk in downtown Siler City, NC. Come by Raleigh Street Gallery to see my work on display or just to say hello. Be sure and visit the other galleries and hear the great live music in the coffee shop courtyard. See you there!

For more info about this and future events, email me at paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

Acrylic Painting Trees & Water

"Riverside Impressions"

18" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas ( Work in Progress)

I have been painting and sketching, but have not really finished anything lately. Life gets in the way sometimes! This piece I have signed, but I might still make some changes to it. I sometimes let works sit in the studio for awhile if I don't finish them right away. I look at them as I pass by each day and sometimes I will see some changes that can be made to enhance the painting.

I used a loose, impressionistic approach for this piece, but I will have to study it for a few days to see if I need to refine it a bit more.

Some new Ebay auctions

Hello friends,
I have re-entered the Ebay market after a year long abscence. I started listing paintings last month again. Ebay is not what it once was in sales, but the pieces I offer there are generally small studies and miniatures that I do not send to galleries. They are great for the entry-level collector because they are more affordable than my gallery work due to their small size. Click on the link below to view my current auctions. Enjoy!

http://shop.ebay.com/items/_W0QQ_nkwZHoldrenQ20artQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZR40QQ_mdoZ

If you have trouble with the link just go to www.ebay.com and search "Holdren Art" from the homepage.

The business of being an artist

Most people think an artist's life is nothing but painting and enjoying doing what you love. While it is true we must paint often to have work available, and it is our passion, it is not all that is involved in the business of being an artist.

I would venture to say that most people would be suprised at the amount of other work that is involved. Just this week I have been catching up on some of these things. I show in only two galleries at the present, so I have less paperwork than most artists who are full time, but there is work that must be done. This consists of not only creating the work, but pricing, making inventories of items in the studio and items at galleries. I also have to keep sales records of sold work, new work must be photographed before it leaves the studio so I have a record of my work and hi-res images down the road if I want to make prints, postcards, etc. I must maintain my website and blogs and keep them updated in order to keep marketing my work.
It's not always as easy as making a work available and then it automatically sells. An artist has to constantly study to improve their skill set, and constantly market their work to collectors. Some gallery reps will do this for you, but it is important for you to get in the habit of marketing your work.
Pricing is not always an easy task either. I still hold a full time job in addition to my painting sales, so my work is really affordable at present, but many people wonder why artists price work the way they do. Being an artist gets really expensive, especially when you use archival and quality materials and framing. Then there are marketing costs, website costs, taxes, and many other expenses. If you sell through a dealer, they may take anywhere from 30% - 50% of your sale price, then your expenses come out of what is left. So when you see a price you think is high, just remember - it is a one of a kind original, and artists don't sell paintings everday, and they need to put food on the table as well.

Anyway, just a rambling post today, but I thought some insight into the life of an artist's business, might be of interest to some. I will have some more paintings posted for you here soon!

Some Watercolor studies

"Smoky Mountains"

Watercolor 4" x 6"

"Beach Study"

Watercolor 4" x 6"

"Arts Council Study"

Watercolor 4" x 6"

This study was done quickly on a cold day. The perspective lines are off, and there are some other problems, but I wanted a study of one section of this historical house that houses the county's Arts Council and Gallery. This will serve as a study for a larger piece. I will use this and studies from different angles to come up with a composition for a large painting.

My pocket watercolor kit has been put to good use. I have been keeping it in the car to ensure I get some sketching time in daily in case I miss my nightly studio time due to other circumstances. The house sketch was done from life, the other two from memory as I couldn't get out on my lunch break. These are loose and not wonderful, but I am an oil and acrylic painter usually. I am enjoying sketching in watercolor though, and may develop some larger work in watercolor.

Daily sketching kit and some Winter Snow!

We had about 4 inches on snow on Tuesday and temperatures never got out of the twenties, which is unusual for North Carolina, even in winter. Usually after low temps, it gets at least above freezing!

I spoke in my previous post about finding time to sketch daily, when I am rushed. I keep this pocket watercolor kit in my car with a small block of WC paper and a bottle of water. It is so simple - just open the box wet the WC pans and mix on the lid with the tiny brush which fits in the box! I am normally an oil and acrylic painter, but my gear for that is larger and takes longer to set up. With this pocket kit, I can sketch quickly on my lunch break to ensure that I get some painting time in, in case I miss my studio time at night.
These little paintings end up being mostly studies for oil and acrylic works, but they are fresh and stand on their own as a nice little watercolor. I will post some of these studies tomorrow. I may even sell these in the miniature/sketches section of my website for a reduced price after I use them for my larger paintings.



Here is our daughter Sophia on our front porch after playing in the snow. She was not happy when it was time to come inside!

Back to painting after artist's block.

Well, I have been absent from the blog for awhile, and one of my goals this year is to be more frequent in my posting. When I started the blog a few years ago, I was better about posting regularly, but since the birth of my daughter, who will be two in March, life has been so crazy and busy - BUT WELL WORTH IT!

I am back to painting regularly, I just have gotten slack in posting new work and comments to the blog here.
I did have a lull in December, where I would start a painting, and just wipe it down, or go out to paint on location and just pack it up. I think all artists go through this sometimes. I have millions of ideas for paintings in my head all the time, but I was just going through a period where I didn't feel inspired to paint, which is rare for me. I think it was the busy Christmas season coupled with the fact that I am balancing my career as an artist with my full time job and my family responsibilities. It can be difficult to move ahead in your painting when your painting schedule has been moved to late at night and you are tired. But I want to progress in my painting to move towards my goal of painting full-time, so being flexible in my painting schedule is necessary. Could I start my studio time earlier in the evening? Yes, but then I would miss out on the little time that I have in the evenings with my wife and daughter. I would rather spend quality time with them, and paint after they are in bed.
Anyway, I have found a way to get some daily sketching time in that doesn't take much time at all. I will share that and some studies in the next post.

New year, new goals

Hello friends,
I have been absent from the blog for awhile doing family things like getting ready for Christmas and playing "Santa" for my little girl who will be two in March. I have been back in the studio this week and have been doing some plein air studies as well. After the new year, I will start posting those results, but right now - more family time!

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com - email me with questions/comments

Christmas Exhibit - Alamance Arts Council

"Water Lilies"

14" x 11" Acrylic on Canvas

$300 Framed

"Smoky Mountain View"

5" x 7" Acrylic on Canvas - Plein Air Study

$100 Framed

"Antique Teapot"

5" x 7" Oil on Canvas

$100 Framed

"Winter Shadows"

7" x 5' Oil on Canvas - Plein Air Study

$100 Framed

"Randolph County Farmland"

8" x 10" Oil on Canvas

$200 Framed


The Alamance County Arts Council is having its annual "Christmas at Capt. White's" holiday exhibit. The pieces above are in the exhibit. If you're interested in them, call the Arts Council at 336-226-4495 or stop by if you live in the area. The Arts Council's galleries are housed in a historic painted mansion and it is beautifully decorated for Christmas. Items available in this exhibit are paintings, sculpture, pottery, handmade ornaments, soaps, jewelry.... you name it, they have it! Stop by for a visit. They are located at 213 S. Main St. in Graham, NC, about half a mile from I-85/40.

As always, email me with comments or questions. I would love to hear from you.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

More Travel Pictures & Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope all my friends have a Happy Thanksgiving! These are some more pictures from our trip to the Outer Banks this past summer. I am finshing up some paintings from this trip and a Tennessee trip and will post the results soon.

This is the coastline at Ocracoke Island. Because no development is allowed on the beach, you can look all directions and see nothing but beach, dunes, and ocean. It feels like you are miles from civilization and it is a great place for quiet relaxation, or in my case, painting!
This is Cape Hatteras lighthouse at the Outer Banks area of North Carolina. We stopped off at the various lighthouses on the Outer Banks on our way home from Ocracoke Island.

Here is a shot of a beach access walkway on Ocracoke Island. The island has a quiet beauty to it and I have many photos and reference sketches to use in the future. I am thinking about a whole series of NC Coastal Paintings.

This is Bodie Island Lighthouse. Unlike Cape Hatteras, this lighthouse is not located near the coastline, but near a waterway in the salt marshes surrounding the Outer Banks area.

Hope to show some new paintings soon. I have been painting for Christmas exhibits, but just haven' t got those images uploaded yet. Will do soon hopefully!

Summer Travel Pics, Outer Banks

Well, after a long abscence I am back. I promise to try and be more regular with my posts! My schedule is extremely hectic with working a full time job and having a second career as an artist. Add to that trying to keep up with our energetic 19 month old, and blogging time is last on the list sometimes!

Anyway, as the weather gets colder here, I thought I would post some pictures from our summer travels. I will do this over seperate posts to spread out the different trips. Hope you enjoy them. These are some pictures from a trip to Ocracoke Island back in July at the Outer Banks of NC.
The pictures have descriptions under them.

My wife Lucinda and our cutie Sophia enjoying some great food at a restaurant overlooking the harbor.

This is a view of some North Carolina barrier islands. I took this shot as we were riding the ferry to Ocracoke Island. Ocracoke feels like it is a world away from everything. It was a great place to vacation and paint.

This is similar to the type of car ferry we had to ride on to get to the island. Our daughter loves the water and she was thrilled with the ferry ride.

A shot of me and Sophia in front of the beautiful Ocracoke lighthouse. Ocracoke Island has a great history of pirate stories. It was one of Blackbeard's places to store his loot.

We stayed in this lodge which had just been redone in many of the rooms. This is the oldest hotel on Ocracoke. If you are into high rise condos, then Ocracoke isn't for you. The island has mostly lodges, inns, Bed & Breakfasts, and small hotels, but you won't see any high rise condo towers!

I will post some paintings from this trip as soon as they are finished.

As always, email me with comments or questions about my work!

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

New giclee' prints available and some news

I have decided to make some paintings available as giclee' prints. You can purchase them through the Imagekind website. Just go to http://justinholdren.imagekind.com/ and view my gallery of available prints. If you don't use the link above, you must type in the web address as shown or go to http://www.imagekind.com/ and search "Justin Holdren" from the homepage, but the link above will take you direct to my print gallery. You can purchase prints starting it $12.74, and the price increases with size and paper upgrades. Imagekind also offers matting and framing services for an additional cost.
As time progresses, I will add more paintings available as prints. If you need more information or would prefer for me to order the print for you, just email me at paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com .

Some news also! The Alamance County Arts Council is having their annual Beaux Arts Ball tonight. This is an annual black tie fundraiser which raises money for the Arts Council's programs. Two of my paintings will be available in the silent auction. If you are in the area, I think you can still buy tickets at the door. Back to the blog tomorrow with new paintings!

http://www.justinholdren.com/

I am still here.....

I have been absent from blogging for longer than I expected due to on overwhelming schedule right now. I have been painting and will have some completed pieces posted soon. Tomorrow I am off to a private farm in Graham, NC to go to an artists' paint out. I haven't been able to get any plein air (on location) painting done since our beach and mountains trip. I am looking forward to it, and hope the weather brightens up a bit... it is rainy and gloomy right now.
Be back soon with pics of new work!

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com
www.justinholdren.com

Finally home and missing my daughter

Well, my wife and I arrived home from Tennessee on Wednesday and I will have some pictures for you tomorrow on the blog here. My inlaws are staying in Tennessee through Saturday and since my mother in law watches the baby while my wife and I are at work, she is staying with "Grandma" in Tennessee until tomorrow. She is in good hands I know, but this is the first time my wife and I have been apart from her for more than a day and it is killing me. I miss her so much that I can't even concentrate in the studio. She has been our joy for the last 17 months and I can't wait to see her tomorrow.
Most of you know that I am primarily a landscape painter, but since my daughter was born, I have felt the urge to start working on more portraits. I will show some portrait work here soon as well.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com
http://www.justinholdren.com/

More fun in Tennessee

Well, tomorrow my wife and I will be driving back from Tennessee to come home to North Carolina. I did squeeze in a small 5 x 7 acrylic plein air painting yesterday, but I am on my inlaws laptop here and don't have a way to post the pictures of it( no memory card slot)!
Also very sore today as we did some white water rafting yesterday. I couldn't carry the camera or paint from the raft of course, but my mind's camera captured scenery for future paintings. Anyway, Im will have more pictures to post when I get back home to the studio. Be looking for some new paintings when I return.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com
http://www.justinholdren.com/

Tennesee Trip Update

After a beautiful drive through the Smoky mountains yesterday, we arrived in Tennessee. We normally stay in a private cabin, but are staying with inlaws at their Wyndham Resort Condo. We are in the Pigeon Forge Area, so it might be a challenge to find a quiet spot to paint because we are staying in an area that is really developed, unlike staying in a cabin in the back roads, but I will sketch when I can and post it here soon.
Be sure to check my website and blog soon as I will have many new paintings from my recent travels here in Tennesee and from our recent trip to Ocracoke Isalnd and the Outer Banks, NC.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com
http://www.justinholdren.com/