Another new member...

Pat Graham · 06-18-2004, 12:56 AM

What a wonderful forum to happen across while I was surfing the net! It's exciting to have access to the wealth of knowledge that the talented members of this forum have.

Now, to jump right in with both feet....I'm Pat Graham and am a life-time resident of the Pacific Northwest for 49 years. My husband and I have 2 grown daughters, one with a learning disability who still lives with us. I have years of non formal and formal art training extending back to when I took my first oil painting class in third grade, many other courses in my younger years that my parents placed me in, 6 years of continuous art classes from 7th through 12th grades (I maxed them all out) followed by 2 years of commercial art training and a portrait oil painting class a few years later. I worked in advertising for several years then freelanced in commercial art doing mainly clip art, letterheads and commissioned portraits. Health issues arose which caused my eyesight to blur to the point where I couldn't see detail or distinguish color properly so I turned my creativity to other things; mainly clay work and crafts. During this period I also began working with Special Education students full time and continued to do so for ten years. 2 years ago, after quitting Special Ed. (Burn out is not uncommon at the 10 year point!) I was able to have surgery to restore my vision well enough to paint again. To be perfectly honest, this re-entry back into the art world is proving to be a bit scary as I'm being forced to face some of my fears and uncertainty regarding my work. The Best of Show award I recently won did good things for my confidence, however, even though it was not a portrait, but a charcoal of glassware.

I also grow orchids in my home, belong to a forum for orchid addicts and have included in a national orchid publication color pictures of my orchid drawings. Besides this, I have just recently been voted in as a member of the local Pacific Gallery Artists League and am enjoying the refreshing fellowship of other artists on a regular basis.

The attachment is of a commissioned pastel portrait of Rick Renick which I did before my vision went bad. Most of the work I've done recently is of non portrait nature, but I am beginning to venture back into this area again using charcoal, graphite and conte' crayon. Hopefully, before too long I'll be able to post another, more current, portrait.

Thanks for taking a peek and also reading my condensed bio.

Pat

Steven Sweeney · 06-18-2004, 02:44 PM

Welcome, Pat,

Gosh, a Twins fan and an orchid addict -- that combo may be our first, here. I would think that you might have a few still-lifes in your future with orchids present.

Congratulations on your restored vision, both physical and vocational. Hope you'll be able to put it to much pleasurable use.

Holly Snyder · 06-18-2004, 03:09 PM

Hi Pat,

Nice to have you on board. I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Holly

Pat Graham · 06-18-2004, 11:07 PM

Hi, it's nice to meet both of you and appreciate the welcome. Thanks!

Holly, I visited your website and enjoyed checking out your various years of paintings. I have a question for you....do you find that people value oil portraits more than acrylic? Not that I don't care for your oils, but your acrylic portraits are very nice and I'm curious as to why you switched.

Steven, I'm trying to find some way to integrate orchids and portraits that excites me. One of these days...In the meantime I have been enjoying using watercolor to paint flowers. Am I allowed to share a non portrait? I'll post it, but if it's not allowed I'll remove it ASAP.

Linda Brandon · 06-20-2004, 02:35 AM

Hi Pat,

Welcome to the Forum! I know that there are more than a few Forum artists who have had vision problems, so you're not alone here. I enjoyed looking at your work and hope to see more.

Pat Graham · 06-20-2004, 08:35 PM

Hi Linda,

I enjoyed looking at your work as well when I hopped over to your website. I especially like your outdoor portraits with their fresh and 'airy', cool of the evening appearance. One of these days I hope to offer a site of my own on the www, but will continue to view and sigh over the beautiful works by forum members until that day comes.

By the way, congratulations on your award winning painting you have posted on your website! I recall seeing an image of that portrait somewhere not long ago and it doesn't surprise me that it became an awarded piece.

Holly Snyder · 06-21-2004, 02:32 PM

Hi Pat,

I think oil paintings are considered to be more valuable than acrylics, mainly because acrylics are a relatively new medium and thus don't have the same history and fame of the many masterpieces that have been created in oils. Honestly I don't know though. Personally I like oils better than acrylics, because of being able to work wet-in-wet much longer. I think that one can achieve generally the same look or style in either medium, even if the technique is slightly different. I suspect the difference you see between my acrylics and oils is more my recent attempts to develop a looser style. Several other artists here have worked in both oils to acrylics, I can think of Marvin Mattelson and Terri Ficenec off the top of my head.

By the way, if you do have an opportunity to develop a web site, I would encourage you to do so as you get back into commissioned portraits. It's so easy to be able to give potential clients a business card printed with your web site address, from which they can quickly check your work and see if you're the artist for them. You could display your portraits as well as your other work, and highlight your Best of Show paintings. Perhaps some of the Pacific Gallery Artists League members know of an outlet for web site creation?

Cheers,

Holly

Pat Graham · 06-22-2004, 02:53 AM

Hi Holly,

I guess it's going to take time for acrylic paints to prove themselves. Personally, I love the way oil paint handles and blends, too, but with 2 active Abyssinian cats running around wild I can't find a 'safe' place for the canvas while I'm not working on a piece so I'm focusing on other mediums for now. Having a studio (extra kidless bedroom) in my home can pose some challenges! However, I certainly am not complaining.

Interesting that you would suggest checking with the PGA league regarding setting up a website. For a small fee per year members can have a web page with up to 9 painting images, a brief bio and their personal photo linked to the PGA website. I think as soon as I get a couple more paintings done that really thrill me I'll go that route and test the waters. Who knows where that will lead? Have you found your website to be beneficial for bringing in customers?

Pat

Holly Snyder · 06-22-2004, 10:39 AM

Hi Pat,

I don't know how much success people have had with their web site "bringing in" customers. This was mentioned in a recent thread somewhere and I think the general consensus was that it wasn't that helpful in that regard. However the benefit is the ease with which someone can view your work on your site after they've heard about you from a show or word of mouth or whatever.

Holly

Linda Brandon · 06-24-2004, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pat Graham

...with 2 active Abyssinian cats running around wild I can't find a 'safe' place for the canvas while I'm not working on a piece ...

How about hanging them high on a nail in the wall to keep them out of the way? The paintings, not the cats.

It's handy to have a website to which you can direct clients who are curious about your prices. You will quickly weed out those who think a portrait should cost less than a Sears photo shoot.

And thank you for the kind comments about my work, although I'm painting fewer outdoor portraits than I used to.