Visual Art

The nuts and bolts of buying an original painting

/ Terrill Welch / 16 Comments

I often get asked for advice on what to consider when buying original paintings. Not an easy position to be in for an artist but I get that you want to know that you have made a good decision. Original work can be an expensive purchase and I know you want to make sure you are making the best choice. So here are my nuts-and-bolts considerations for buying an original painting.

Please note: all the paintings shown in this post are SOLD to patrons on Mayne Island, and in Victoria British Columbia, as well as in New York City, the state of Illinois and in Switzerland. For my original oil paintings currently available please visit the Art of Day online gallery store.

Buy what you love. Yes, a painting can be considered an investment but that should not be the primary reason it is enhancing your walls. Many times paintings do substantially increase in value but there is always a possibility that they won’t. When purchasing a painting, my suggestion is that you can imagine continued enjoyment of the work for the rest of your life.

Think about where the painting is going to “live.” What room will it be in? What will it add to that room? What purpose is the painting going to serve? For example, I often suggest a seascape on a wall where I feel the room needs opening up or some movement. Conversely, I will suggest a dense forest painting on a wall in a room that needs a feeling of warmth or privacy. However, sometimes we just fall in love with a work and will create or organize a room or space to enjoy its company.

Stick to your budget with creative vigor. No one needs to be art poor. However, there is usually a way to have a few carefully chosen original pieces in your possession. First, decide on your budget. Next decide if you need to save for your painting or if you are ready to purchase now. If you are saving for an original piece, can you buy a card or a small print of the artist’s work to help focus your intention? This is a great way to support an artist and a successful strategy to eventually being able to purchase an original painting. Also, if there is a specific painting you just can’t live without but it is beyond your current budget – ask about purchasing on lay-away. I have done this with many buyers on what I call a three-payment-lay-away-plan. The buyer makes 3 equal payments on pre-agreed dates and when the final payment is received they take the painting home. Finally, consider making the artist a fair offer within your budget. Pricing is partially subjective and many factors are taken into consideration. I have been known to accept a reasonable offer below a ticket price simply because I knew the work was going to be appreciated. Often, I make a counter offer that adds value without reducing the price significantly such as delivering and helping to hang the painting or paying for part of the shipping costs.

Ask to take the painting home on trial. Sometimes it is just too hard to decide if a painting is right for your home or office space. You are almost sure but you need to “see.” Many artists and galleries will let you take a painting home on trial for a few days. You pay for the painting by cheque or by leaving credit information and it is not processed unless you go through with the sale. Further, with online purchases I offer a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase it will be fully refunded if the painting is returned to me unharmed at the buyer’s expense within 30 days.

Know the quality of what you are buying. By this I mean the physical quality of the products used to create the painting. For example, I use premium quality canvas or mounted boards and good quality water-miscible oil paints. Sometimes artists, out of necessity, will use economy grade or poor quality materials. If it is not obvious what was used – ask. A painting on good quality material using good paint should offer more than one life time of enjoyment. However, poor quality products can be fragile and a painting will need extra care for preservation. You still may choose to buy it but it is best to know ahead of time the quality of the materials used.

Take your time. Be prepared to wait for “your painting.” I have often told this to patrons of my work. It has sometime taken months and even years until “their painting” was painted. The deep smile of knowing “this is the one” is worth the wait. Of course some buyers become collectors and they have purchased a handful of paintings. For some reason it seems to get easier after the first purchase.

If you don’t see exactly the painting  you want, ask about commissioning a piece. I have only one word of caution. Do not ask the artist to paint something just like the one they have for sale only in colours to match your couch. I once had a buyer do this and my response was “have you considered buying a new couch to go with the painting?” Also, not all artists do commissioned work. This is always a good first question to ask before making a request. Sometimes you may be looking for a larger or smaller piece than what is being exhibited and the artist will have what you are looking for in their inventory. So ask for what you want because you just might be able to get it.

There you have it! Good luck with your original painting purchases.

Again, for my original oil paintings currently available please visit the Art of Day online gallery store.

Sprout question: What nuts-and-bolts considerations are part of your art purchases?

STUDY OF BLUE  solo exhibition opens Thursday June 30, 2011.

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

FromMayne Island,British Columbia,Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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KEEPING WATCH original oil painting by Terrill Welch

/ Terrill Welch / 23 Comments

Here it is! The last painting, KEEPING WATCH, of the 15 that will be in my solo exhibition, STUDY OF BLUE  solo exhibition opening June 30, 2011 is complete.

The painting started out in the usual Terrill-Welch-fashion with an underpainting ready to start working up into a painting.

The large upright canvas did not fit on my easel so I painted down in the sun room which is a deliciously bright place to work.

The canvas had held the movement in the scene from the beginning of the underpainting and I can see that one of my jobs will be to retain that energy right through to completion.

You may guess by now that I am painting my very most favourite arbutus tree overlooking the Strait of Georgia by the light house at Georgina Point. This tree will be featured in one of my photographs on the front cover of this year’s Mayne Island Community Chamber of Commerce brochure and be distributed up and down parts of the west coast of Canada and the United States.

The painting is now starting to breathe on its own, talking back quietly to me as I work.

Now I am close. It is not finished but I am undecided as to what to do next.

I let it rest for a few days and then I finish it up.

KEEPING WATCH 36 X 24  by 1.5 inch original oil painting by Terrill Welch

If you want you can use your inspection skills and see if you can discover what I changed. One change is particularly obvious. The others not so much so.

Please NOTE: I am taking a week off from blogging. The next Creative Potager post will be Friday May 27, 2011. It is time for a little creative downtime before shifting gears into the final preparations for the opening.

Sprout question: What does creative downtime mean to you?

STUDY OF BLUE  solo exhibition opens Thursday June 30, 2011.

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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Apple Blossom Special

/ Terrill Welch / 26 Comments

I am so close to, but not quite, finished my last painting KEEPING WATCH of the 15 that will be in my solo exhibition, STUDY OF BLUE, opening June 30, 2011. You are going to have to wait – maybe Friday, depending on how my week goes.

To sustain you until then, I have some lovely apple blossom photographs.

and another….

and another….

and another….

until finally, they are dancing on the branch….

(image may be purchased here)

By the way, I had the most amazing Friday the 13th. Two of my original oil paintings were sold in pre-sales and will be off to new homes July 27, 2011 at the close of my upcoming show.

ORANGE SEA will be off to a collector  in Victoria, B.C. Canada.

HEAVY CLOUD will be off to a collector in the United States.

May the pieces enrich and bless their new owner’s lives for years to come.

Friday must be one of my good luck kinds of days!

This now means that three of the fifteen paintings to be shown are already sold. A very good beginning – don’t you think?

STUDY OF BLUE  solo exhibition opens Thursday June 30, 2011.

Sprout question: If you could choose anyone of the STUDY OF BLUE paintings to hang on your wall which would it be and why?

(and please don’t say the one I haven’t finished yet, it just might hurt my feelings)

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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AUTUMN BOUNTY and COURTNEY IN THE MOONLIGHT by Sue Wiebe

/ Terrill Welch / 17 Comments

As promised here are two more original oil paintings on canvas by artist Sue Wiebe.

Learning and practicing how to create depth and shadow is an ongoing process for most of us that apply paint to canvas or paper. COURTNEY IN THE MOONLIGHT provides a direct work out for this artistic muscle.

COURTNEY IN THE MOONLIGHT, 12 X 16 inch original oil painting, by Sue Wiebe

Well done Sue! Exquisite!

Sue painted this next oil painting, AUTUMN BOUNTY, during the time that she was working on WATCHING, the painting of the cougar.  There are only so many hours an artist can paint fur before there is an unrelenting desire to break free. This painting certainly does this in spades.

AUTUMN BOUNTY, 11 by 14 inch original oil painting on canvas, by Sue Wiebe.

I have AUTUMN BOUNTY as my laptop background at the moment and smile every time I sit down to do some work.

Sue, thank you for being our feature artist this week. It is always a pleasure to have you here at Creative Potager. I look forward to seeing your work in person in a week from now. There is nothing like a studio walk and a face-to-face viewing.

Sprout question: What creative muscle are you exercising at the moment?

STUDY OF BLUE  solo exhibition opens Thursday June 30, 2011.

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

FromMayne Island,British Columbia,Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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WATCHING original oil painting of a cougar by Sue Wiebe

/ Terrill Welch / 15 Comments

I have a treat for us today with a feature post and a painting by another artist. I hope you enjoy the adventure.

Do you ever get that feeling that you are being watched? Then you turn around, slowly, and sure enough you are being stalked? In this case, artist Sue Wiebe’s daughter, Courtney, found that it was a cougar and was able to take a photograph of it that Sue used as a reference for her original oil painting WATCHING.

Fortunately for us, Sue took some photographs of her painting in progress. We will start with a look at the underpainting.

Next we see the painting building and coming alive.

In the finished work it feels like the cougar is ready to spring from her hiding spot under the edge of the log – those ears slightly flattened, attentive, watching.

WATCHING 20 X 30 inch original oil painting by Sue Wiebe.

I asked Sue if she could tell us about her experience of painting this incredible painting:

It is the biggest oil on canvas I have done so far.  It taught me to painting standing up so I had a better range of motion.  But the truth of the matter is, I think, the name says it all.  The cougar watched me through the whole painting.  I would set her aside, sometimes for long periods of time, as other aspects in life needed to be attended to or I puzzled over achieving the effect I wanted, but she was always watching and waiting.  Sometimes, even demanding, that I take the time to finish.  She is finished, and yet, she watches.

If you remember from time to time over the winter Sue would comment on Creative Potager about the hours it was taking to paint fur. Well now you know the rest of the story.

Sue has been featured on Creative Potager in the past but for those of you who didn’t know she is my sister. Painting is something that we share with equal passion. On Friday I have two more of her paintings that I will post for you to see. They are a still life with the most stunning shades of orange AUTUMN BOUNTY and a limited palette painting called COURTNEY IN THE MOONLIGHT.

Sprout question: What is a creative passion you share with a sibling or other family member?

STUDY OF BLUE  solo exhibition opens Thursday June 27, 2011.

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

FromMayne Island,British Columbia,Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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Story of the HENDERSON HILL Original Oil Painting

/ Terrill Welch / 37 Comments

Have you every had that feeling where you know you have made a mess of something and there is nothing you can do but start over again? My painting of HENDERSON HILL has come out of such an experience.

The beginning started reasonably well. I had decided to do my underpainting in blues so I could paint on it wet.

The elements of the composition settled into place without much trouble.

I continued to paint, working happily away until…

It was a mess. I poked and dabbed and added and moved the paint around on the board. It did no good. The painting appeared to be resisting my best efforts. There was nothing left to do. I scraped.

But the idea for this painting still intrigued me. I waited. This past Saturday, ten days after my first attempt, I try again. It needs some finishing touches but I believe it will make a painting.

Yesterday, I finished it.

(prints available of this image here)

HENDERSON HILL 20 X 16 inch original water miscible impressionist oil painting on gessobord with 2 inch birch cradle by Terrill Welch.

This painting will be part of my upcoming solo exhibition “STUDY OF BLUE” opening June 30, 2011 at the Oceanwood Resort onMayneIsland. The painting is currently priced at $900 Canadian. Please contact me directly at tawelch AT shaw DOT ca if you would like to hang this lovely on your wall.

Sprout question: When was the last time you walked away from a creative mess?

UPDATE May 15, 2011:

Every once in awhile a special connection is made between a painting and another creative being. In this case it is with poet and more, Bat-Ami Gordin

Henderson Hill

On Henderson Hill any time of the year
  the branches arabesque in the breeze.
Birds boldly appear, on the tips of twigs
  that smear into clouds from the trees.
As a doe grazes calmly with her twins,
  the heavens and sky, seem to  freeze.
Prepare your mind to paint serenity;
  equanimity pacifies enduring unease.

© 2011 Bat-Ami Gordin, All rights reserved.

Posted with permission. You may have notice her poem posted in the comments below but I decided it needed to also be places up here next to the painting. Thank you so much Bat-Ami Gordin! It is an honour to connect in such a collaborative way.

This week is jammed! There is voting on Monday and going to pick up the truck. Dentist appointments on Tuesday and a full day of meetings and commitments on Wednesday. I shall be able to get back into the studio on Thursday IF I am lucky. Who knows what I will have to share on Friday. We shall just have to wait and see. Have a wonderful week everyone.

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

FromMayne Island,British Columbia,Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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Be Patient

/ Terrill Welch / 22 Comments

Can you remember a parent or grandparent saying “Be patient!?”

Well this is what I told myself this morning. I am so close to finishing the last original oil paintings for my solo exhibition STUDY OF BLUE opening June 30, 2011 at the Oceanwood Resort on Mayne Island, British Columbia Canada. Two of their luxury rooms are already booked with guests who are planning on coming to see my paintings. One painting has sold as part of the pre-sales offered. Images of thirteen of these paintings are now in a folder on flickr in preparation for their journey to be posted in the Art of Day online gallery.

Would you agree that this is a fine start? So why am I be asking myself to be patient.

I have two paintings to complete to reach my self-imposed fifteen minimum for the show. I wanted to complete them this week. I have no particularly good reason for wanting them done this week other than I am so very close to finishing. This nearing-the-end-of-a-big-project is always a critical time for me. Starting with three “seed paintings” I have been holding the energetic space for this creative process since November of last year. I have set aside my photography to focus on my impressionist painting. I have said “no” too many things as make room for this one priority. There is an energy that builds around this kind of step by step flowing determination to reach a goal. It is like seeing the last 2 km marker when running a marathon. We know we are going to make it to the finish line but we must hold our focus for a strong finish.

This is where I am at. I have the underpainting reading on a 24 x 36 inch cotton canvas.

And I have a bit of a mess I have scraped and started again on a 16 x 20 inch birch framed gessobord.

I went to sleep with the intention of rushing flip-flopping to the finish line today. But instead, when I awoke, I told myself “be patient and finish strong.” So instead of picking up my brush, I looked at the calendar. Tomorrow is Good Friday and it is Earth Day.

It is the beginning of a four-day weekend with one more week in the month of April. I have time. I can finish these last two paintings at a moderate and inspired pace. I can finish strong. Afterall, they are not my last paintings – just the last two on this leg of my artist’s journey. The solo exhibition is an arbitrary self-defined finish line. I am about three weeks ahead of schedule. I shall be patient.

Sprout question: When was the last time you needed to be creatively patient?

Note: The next Creative Potager post will be on Tuesday instead of Monday due to the long weekend. Have a most pleasant and enjoyable Easter Weekend.

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island,British Columbia,Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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FIR TREE original oil paintings by Terrill Welch

/ Terrill Welch / 18 Comments

This week my hard drive crashed and it is not recoverable. Fortunately, most things were backed up and my photographs were on an external hard drive and most of them are backed up again on flash drives. I lost a few images but not many. Lucky! However, I did lose all my newer email addresses so if you have exchanged emails with me in the past year, and would like to continue to be in touch, drop a line and I will add you to my address book.  Somehow this all seems to be less of an issue now that we have facebook, twitter and such. I might even be persuaded to pick up the phone 🙂

I plan to write a more about this experience on Monday in a post called “impermanence.”

Now, let’s have a look at this week’s painting. I started out just going to paint a few edges but these two small canvases had a ground on them and were sitting beside the easel. Well I looked at the edges of another painting and I looked back at the two canvases. The 8 X 8 inch pair just had to be done.

I knew what I wanted to paint. We have been getting a lot of evening sun here with glorious gold light hitting the trees just before it leaves us for dusk.

Starting from “ground.”

A ground is different from a underpainting even though it may be the same colour. With a ground there is just a layer of paint that is put down with no intended painting blocked in or even in mind. Yes, I dislike wasting paint so these canvases were just too close to the last underpainting I was doing and they were grounded 😉

The painting took shape quickly.

I didn’t stop again until close to finishing.

When hung, the two paintings would be separated by a couple inches – I think, maybe more. Or they could be hung like this ….

This side by side is possibly my favourite.

Here they are trimmed up pretty with no distractions.

FIR TREE SKY original oil painting by Terrill Welch

FIR TREE POND original oil painting by Terrill Welch

I haven’t had a chance to decide if I will sell them separately or only as a pair. What do you think? Should they be kept together or be allowed to go into the world separately and be a surprise to some unsuspecting buyer that there is another half to their painting?

These paintings will be part of my upcoming solo show “Study of Blue” opening June 30, 2011 at the Oceanwood Resort here on Mayne Island.

UPDATE: FIR TREE SKY has been SOLD at the opening on June 30, 2011. FIR TREE POND has been SOLD to a separate buyer at the close of the show on July 27, 2011.

Sprout question: What keeps you rolling through unexpected events with ease?

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch Online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

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SALISH SEA 4 original oil painting by Terrill Welch

/ Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

I am introducing the painting process of SALISH SEA 4 with a quote from Elizabeth Rosner’s book Blue Nude published in 2006:

It was what he admired about Bonnard, or at least what he loved about the famous stories in which Bonnard was applying paint to works already hanging in other people’s houses. Something about never letting go, always feeling there was one more stroke to be added, one more note of the Unfinished Symphony. As if even death wouldn’t be the ultimate form of completion but just another stop along the way.

(p. 58)

The underpainting that is the foundation of this 24 X 48 inch canvas was included in Monday’s post “The Breath of Stones.” There are 10 images in today’s post capturing the beginning to end… if there is one… of creating SALISH SEA 4. I will make an effort to be brief but there seems to be much to say.

They are a little hard to see but the top right paints are French Ultramarine blue and Viridian. These two colours will play prominently in the development of today’s painting. I sometimes use my own photographs for painting reference but I am not known to “paint” a photograph. I often take several reference images for paintings — similar to how artists used to sketch and then use these as reference for developing a painting when they got back to the studio. Though sometimes a painting may be close to the reference image, the photographs are meant to influence and guide but to not to be copied. Otherwise, I might as well keep the photograph and print it on canvas …. and sometimes I do just that!

Are you ready? She’s a bit bright but here we go …

A gray beginning and it doesn’t look like much yet.

I am using mostly a 2 inch brush here. My aim is to keep the painting loose and flowing. The small palette knife you see there is just being used for mixing. Now to add a little teal blue.

Working for a long while and equally using a #10 brush, along with my 2 inch brush,  I get basic elements of the painting in place.

A part of me wanted to pause right here and not go any further. But after a break I decided to keep working.

Picking up the large 2 inch brush again I whisk paint onto the canvas in big strokes. The sea is rolling in and I am riding each wave. If you remember my challenge was to bring the viewer into the painting from the top left and move their eye forward and down to the bottom right. See at the end if you think I have succeeded.

I have started working with three different large palette knives to build up selected texture. Then I add some highlights but the painting is saturated. There is a glare from bright sunlight and my body and being are tired.

It is time to stop – for now.

Over the next two days I spend a few hours adding a stroke here and there. I brighten up areas that have become muted from painting wet on wet. Mostly, I observe, feel, breathe and let it be.

Then on Thursday morning I started in early painting and had it finished in a couple of hours.

Well, almost… I think!

SALISH SEA 4, a 24 X 48 inch cotton canvas original oil painting by Terrill Welch. This painting will be shown as part of solo summer exhibition opening at the end of June. If you are interested in purchasing in advance of the show please contact me directly via email at tawelch AT shaw DOT ca .

This is one painting dear readers, that I suspect more than one of you will be completely enamored with an earlier version. But that is how it goes when you are privy to the creative process of a painter.

I dedicate this painting to French Impressionist painter Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) who also favoured using violet in some of his painting.

SALISH SEA 4 is definitely another stop along my way.

Sprout question: How is your creativity just another stop along the way?

Happy April fools day and best of the weekend to you!

News Flash: Introducing Terrill Welch’s Online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com (okay it is a small flash… there is still a lot of inventory to enter but it would be great to hear what you think)

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

HEAVY CLOUD original oil painting by Terrill Welch

/ Terrill Welch / 22 Comments

I remember being asked one time to paint a scary monster. It was a class exercise to get us out of the habit of creating beautiful paintings. I had a horrible time. I painted a dragon-type monster. The instructor laughed a deep belly laughed and told me it was a great monster but would not likely scare anyone. I think my painting “HEAVY CLOUD” has also suffered from my optimistic nature. It is obviously heavy cloud but not very dreary.

Let’s have a look…

Starting with the underpainting you saw on Monday I began building up the painting.

It isn’t really making a lot of sense yet but feels good so I keep going.

Then I painted for a long while. I left it to rest overnight and I did a few minor edits. I believe it is done. But I reserve the right to change my mind.

HEAVY CLOUD 10X12 by 1.5 inches, cotton canvas original oil painting by Terrill Welch

This painting will be shown as part of solo summer exhibition opening at the end of June. If you are interested in purchasing in advance of the show please contact me directly via email at tawelch AT shaw DOT ca . The price of this work is $420 Canadian unframed.

I most often see a little light coming in from somewhere no matter how gray it gets. There is just a touch of sun catching the sky above the mountains and it is coming to rest on the tips of just a few of the great coastal peaks so we are sure not to miss it. It seems to be saying – tomorrow is another day.

Have a great weekend!

Sprout question: What creatively allows you to express dreariness, gloominess or your darker side?

 

© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

 

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