I’m having a hard time keeping up with myself….in a good way!

Photographed in plein air, but it was raining so I painted this in my studio for the Tooele Arts festival plain air competition. I know…I’m a wimp!

So many events to announce…

Flowers for Everyone ~ Solo Exhibition

Holladay Library ~ Gallery Room

2150 Murray Holladay Road

Holladay, Utah 84117  801-0943-4636

Show hangs from March 2 through April 30, 2015

These lovely delicate perennial flowers seem to bloom every Sept 4th on Cami’s birthday. The bulbs were a gift from my sister on the day of Cami’s funeral. My grandson,
Hunter helped me plant them after the funeral services were over. This is the unfinished painting that I will finish today in honor of my sweet daughter.

1st Annual Illumination Art Show ~ IAA (Inspirational Artists Association)

Scera Center for the Arts – Gallery 101

745 South State

Orem, Utah  84058

801-225-2787

http://www.scera.org

Show hangs from March 3 through April 14, 2015

Artist Reception is Friday, March 20, 2015 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM

Angel Portals – Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Spring into Fantasy ~  ISA (Intermountain Society of Artists)

Utah Cultural Celebration Center Gallery

1355 West 3100 South

West Valley City, Utah 84119

801-965-5100

http://www.culturalcelebration.org/isa

Show hangs from March 9 ~ May 6, 2015

Artist Reception on Thursday, March 12, 2015 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM

Spring Fling ~  Stansbury Art and Literature Society

TATC – Tooele Applied Technology College

88 South Tooele Blvd

Tooele, Utah  84074

435-248-1800

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Artist Reception from 7:00 to 9:00 PM

One Evening Only

This little gem was once a watercolor on gessoed board, I finished with oil and love now!

2015 UWS Spring Open Exhibition ~ UWS (Utah Watercolor Society)

Pioneer Memorial Theater – Loge Gallery

300 South 1400 East

Salt Lake City, Utah  84112

801-581-6961

http://www.pioneertheater.org

Show hangs from May 1 ~ May 16, 2015

Artist Reception is Saturday, May 9, 2015 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM

I’ll do my best to be at every Artist Reception, and hope to meet friends, collectors, admirers, and new friends!  My heart is so full at this time…love being a full time artist!!!

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Christmas Gift Ideas from a Prophet and Grandma Bragging rights

Until I get the Christmas spirit in my heart I just want to skip it.  Last night I read this in the Ensign and got zinged!  And I must share it in my blog today…

“This Christmas, mend a quarrel.  Seek out a forgotten friend.  Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust.  Write a letter.  Give a soft answer.  Encourage youth.  Manifest your loyalty in word and deed.  Keep a promise.  Forgo a grudge.  Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand.  Examine your demands on others.  Think first of someone else.  Be kind.  Be gentle.  Laugh a little more.  Express your gratitude.  Welcome a stranger.  Gladden the heart of a child.  Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love, then speak it again!”  — President Howard W.  Hunter (1907-95)

Trying to keep the purpose of Christmas evident in all my gifting has always been a challenge.  It’s so easy to focus on the worldly gifts that are so fun to wrap, unwrap and watch for the glow in the receivers eyes.  This year, our family goal is to share only homemade gifts.  My request is this…I want every one of my 12 Grandkids, even the babies…(hand and/or foot prints guided by parents will be just great) to draw or paint a picture for me.  I have 8×10 frames ready and waiting!  I’m so excited!!!

Christmas vacation 2012 Eric and his siblings, Cole and Jenica spent some time with me in my art studio and we created art!

We did this one together, Eric, Cole, Jenica and I (Grandma) had fun creating this.

Of course I’m not in the picture because I’m taking the picture…Hunter and Camden spent time with Grandma in my art studio using watercolors. Budding artists! Yay!

I think this was one of Camdens, he’s the little guy on the right.

This is one of Hunters masterpieces…He’s the big brother!

I love being a Grandma!!!

May the Christmas Season find you rich with blessings of all types!  Especially the richness that will come from giving gifts of the heart, as the Prophets have always taught.

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“Tell a person they are brave, and you help them become so.” ~ Thomas Carlyle

Ok, so that little video interview says a lot about who I am.

Today I want to highlight some of my favorite artists.  Last Friday evening I met my artist friends at the Rio Cafe Mexican Grill  for extremely yummy cheesy enchiladas at 5:00 then we attended the SLC Gallery Stroll.  We began at the Rio Gallery where we spent the majority of our time.  Our favorite was by Kate Steinicke called “Utopian Weeds”.  Several yellow flowers hung upside down in a symmetrical pattern.  They were made from clay, wire, filament and acrylic.  I searched the web but cannot find an image or a website to share here.

We made it over to the Art Access gallery and the Utah Arts Festival Gallery where we fought crowds to see all the cool stuff there, and run into other artist friends, but the very very best part was the live music.  A Cellist was playing beautiful rich music.  I did not wish to leave…ever!  I should have asked her name…

The cello played well is perhaps the most romantic music ever! Soothing and exhilarating all at once.

But alas, we did leave and at the Phillips Gallery we saw the most beautiful painting of cardboard boxes by Brad Overton.  When an artist can take something so very ordinary and make it so incredibly beautiful, that’s astounding.  I couldn’t stop thinking about his work.  His colors are very muted and quiet.  His subject matter so ordinary.  But his use of color, reflections and light made the most mundane subject speak volumes. I will include his website here so you can see what I’m talking about, but after checking out his site, know that seeing the real painting is a thoroughly different experience.    http://bradfordoverton.com/gallery-box-series.html

We always enjoy the work at Utah Artist Hands http://www.utahands.com and spent a bit of time there.  At a previous Gallery Stroll we met an artist in the Michael Berry Gallery, adjacent to Utah Artist Hands, named Cjay Helt.  Her work is unforgettable.  Her work is filled with forests and fields of wildflowers, and garden settings that feel like the Garden of Eden.  http://www.cejaycarolehelt.com/index.html

I don’t know if any of these three artists are known nationally or internationally but they should be!  There are a ton of fabulous artists out there.  I’m crazy to think I can compete…but I must!  No-one will interpret visually the way I do. My message is unique.  And I have been assured that there are people out there who will connect with my work, I just have to get it in front of enough people!  I have a new website:  nilajaneautry.faso.com and as always you can buy prints of my work at jane-autry.artistwebsites.com

Oh, and BTW, I delivered the commissioned painting to Sara last week.  Here’s a photo of her with her new painting.

We met at the airport where she was picking up family who flew in for her wedding. The pictures that have been posted to Facebook of her reception are great! It was a beautiful wedding for sure.

Also, a blog was written about the painting for Sara, and my business that I will add a link to.  November 21, 2014 post  http://blog.thebrideandgroom.com

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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The rest of the story~ My process part 2

This is a continuation of a blog entitled: My Process ~ Dangerously Creative (part 1)

This is where you get to see the finished commissioned painting of Sara and Francisco in front of the LDS Temple they will be married in on November 22, 2014.

Sneak peek I put on Facebook as bait… I like feedback!

As I worked I took photos to show the progression and what it meant to add color to a white image.  If you’ve seen the movie “Girl with a Pearl Earring” there’s a moment  when Johannes Vermeer (played by Colin Firth) is talking to the maid, (played by Scarlet Johansson).  He is asking her to look up at the clouds and tell him what color they are.  At first she says, “Gray, and white.” He looks at her.  She pauses and realizes he’s asking her to see as an artist sees, and then she lists several colors that she actually sees in the gray and white clouds.

I sent this image to Sara to see if she liked it and was pleased to have her be honest about what wasn’t working. Her observations allowed me to correct some flaws.

This is the finished temple, (you’ll notice the color cast from a cell phone photo compared to the finished painting photographed with my Canon SLR Camera) with unfinished portraits and no foliage.  Sara observed several things that I was thankful she pointed out.  Her forehead is too colorful, her hairline needs moved down, and the lips on her fiancé are too protruded.

The finished painting of Sara and her fiancé Francisco in front of the St. George Temple where they will be married for time and all eternity on November 22, 2014. It will be placed on a table easel by their guest register. How cool is that?

Working with Sara and Francisco has been a joy.  I’m more than a little annoyed that my college professors had the attitude that working as a commissioned artist was like selling out, and that the only ‘valid’ artist painted and created for their own pleasure, and it didn’t matter if an artist pleased anyone else.  Art for art’s sake…What a selfish attitude!  If I had known what a joy it is to work closely with a client, and paint what they want I would have been making money with my art long ago.

In my last blog: “Sometimes I’ve believed as many as  six impossible things before breakfast.”  I mentioned a free gift if you sign my contact form.  Would you rather have a calendar, or a pack of gift cards?  With images of my art of course.

All it will cost you is trusting me enough to sign the add contact form so that I can send you newsletters occasionally.

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My Process ~ Dangerously Creative (part 1)

Finding a client, collector, or whatever you call someone who commissions an original oil painting is for a separate blog.  I found Sara and Francisco as a result of the Bridal Expo I was a participant in on July 19, 2014.

This is my simple set-up at the La Caille Bridal Expo on July 19, 2014

My process, how I do what I do, is a question I often get when people view my work.  I am a very patient person, and even though I’m dangerously creative, I am trying to develop a method or process that is consistent and duplicatable.

Your style, and my style is like our signature,  no matter what process we use, it remains unique.  Following a step by step action plan on each painting, consistently is a powerful tool.  You might compare it to memorizing the words and tune to a song.  During the memorization process, and especially after mastering the music you are then able to give your full attention to the emotional message of the arrangement and put your whole heart into the presentation.  Similarly, my creative spirit and my love of experimenting will not be stifled, surprisingly, by following a similar process on each painting. Instead the process opens up new avenues of creative expression.

I am posting photos and instructions illustrating my ‘Temple Project’.  My goal it to draw and paint every LDS Temple in the world.  I’m only 57.  At the rate I paint (very slowly),  I need to live another 40 productive years.  Even though I paint slowly, and often do some art for pure fun, and take a few ‘rabbit trails’ as my husband would call them, I pray it can be done… (you might refer to my post entitled “The Profitable Artist” Vision Statement http://wp.me/p4K6CV-9)

This is the St. George Utah Temple.  The drawing is finished, I corrected the skewed perspective,  and it is now ready to transfer to the canvas.

This is my choice of canvas, this is the purchased ‘cradled panel watercolor board’ I’m going to use.

You see an 11 x 14 aquabord sitting in my art studio sink. I’ve sprayed Cobalt blue liquid watercolor and am in the process for watching it dry, hoping that the dreaded blooms will appear in interesting places or not at all.

This is also a cradled panel, but it is a gessoes board ready to accept Oil Paint.  I’m really good at Bob Ross skies…so in case my client wants a more traditional sky I do 2, giving my client a chance to select the one they like.

This is the finished watercolor sky. It’s a little more artsy than the oil sky. I’m not sure I’m done. I added ultramarine blue over the cobalt. I like the blooming…this type of Watercolor board is very prone to blooms! I think it needs some pinks…

On Sept 11, 2014, I sent images of both skies to my client, Sara.  After conferring with her fiancé they selected the Oil Painted background. So here goes.

I changed my reference photo to black and white in photoshop, this is the underpainting.

The next step is another layer of paint on the entire temple, using the color photo as a reference.  The photos I’m using were some I took back in February when my family took a golfing trip to St. George.

Eventually the Bride and Groom will be in the foreground.

My follow-up blog will take you to the finished painting.  Watch for it…the painting is to be delivered on November 18.

What can I start saying NO to?

Smart Goals reviewed and refined:

Ok, so I re-read my first try at a Smart goal, and the goal I thought I could finish in one day, Monday August 3, (I can get that all done tomorrow, maybe) still remains unfinished.

My current goal is to receive at least 2 commissioned Temple paintings from the 60+ new contacts I got at the La Caille Bridal Expo I spent $600.00 and several hours obtaining.

Potential obstacles or concerns:

1. Well, so far I have emailed all 60 brides, and looked for them on Facebook.  Not many responses at all.

2.  I have one client so far.  I will meet with Sara and Francisco on Aug 27 to do a photo shoot at the Mt. Timpanogus Temple.  They want an 8×10 for the sign-in table at their reception.

3.  Diversions have accumulated:  I did a Plein Air event Saturday the 16th, painting remains unfinished and it is so enticing…I really want to finish it.  Plein Air competition event scheduled on August 23rd.  I paid for 3 entries, which means I have three little landscapes to do next weekend.

4.  Funeral tomorrow, Stansbury Art and Lit Society meeting on Tuesday, Budgeting payday (this is really hard stuff for me and takes several hours) on Wednesday, Fiona’s birthday party Friday, Sat Sun and Monday to do three plain air paintings and then deliver paintings to Local Colors on Monday.

5. Viola Recital next month, need to practice a lot, Singing in the Choir for General Conference on October 4, and then the next week Messiah practice starts so Sunday nights will be busy from next week until Christmas.  Christmas gift paintings planned…hmmm.  Always too much to do.  What do I need to start saying NO to?

6. And I plan on substitute teaching?….go figure!  And there is the yard and housework, exercising and showering….

Business TO DO list:

1. Text all of the brides.  Many young people do not use email anymore, but texting is almost universal with that age group.

2.  Put all the brides in my contact list, (I’m on the M’s.) and then text them all with an invitation to receive a beautiful temple painting as a wedding decoration at their reception, that will increase in value, both monetarily and spiritually as it will also serve as a reminder that their eternal vows are beyond value.

3.  Order cards from fineartamerica.com, or got print.net (check prices) and one month before date of their wedding send them a lovely card to remind them of my services and congratulate them again on their wedding plans.

Painting TO DO list:  

(My process:  Find a photo of the temple I want to draw, hopefully one I took.  It can be someone else’s photo, as long as they give me permission to use it.  It has to be recognizable as a specific temple.  It does not have to be the whole temple.  It has to be a great composition.  I have to be able to put a couple in front, in the foreground after the entire temple is painted.  I will paint the temple as a finished painting, photograph it carefully, and then post it on my website.  Then I can sell prints of the temple without the personalization.  I will also keep the pattern that I draw so I can paint the same temple again if necessary.  (For a new commission of the same temple.))

Steps:

1.  Transfer only the best photos (particularly Temples) from my older external hard drives.

2.  Chose one…make a decision.  Then draw it carefully.  (as of today, August 17, I have 2 drawn, and one more on the drawing board)

     a. Oquirrh Mountain Temple is drawn, and ready to transfer to the 24 x 36 Fredrix cradled watercolor panal.  Background (3rd try, I scrubbed it off twice) is ready to gesso.  (I sprayed it with printer ink!!!) I’m so excited!

     b.  Snowflake AZ Temple is drawn and ready to transfer as soon as the sky is dry.  Stormy sky, With the temple glowing in  front of the storm is the concept.  Name:  Stand Ye in Holy Places  16×20

     c.  Snowflake AZ temple nearly finished on a 5×7 Fredrix panel.  Watercolor sky, clear gesso, and the temple in oil.

     d.  Drawing of St. George Temple is started. (it’s the one Sara and Francisco want)

3.  Apply clear gesso over the sky, seal the edges also, and than transfer the drawing.  Then I will seal the drawing with another coat of clear gesso.  Begin oil painting the Oquirrh Mountain temple regardless of obtaining a commission.

It’s such a fun challenge-being my own boss!

Resplendent Radiance Replaces Darkness

Last week I worked on a mission statement, and asked for feedback from my friends.  So, here’s the revision.

MISSION STATEMENT~ By painting temples, I want to show the whole world the true beauty and purpose of temples: joy, protection, progress, and eventual return as family units to His glorious presence.  The resplendent beauty of each Temple painting, hanging on the walls of Saints all over the world will bring the Spirit of Christ into the homes and hearts of His children.

Soon I will bring all these posts together, and have a business plan I feel confident and comfortable with.  This post is short and sweet, and as always, I love feedback!

The Profitable Artist – If You Glow in the Dark the Darkness Recedes

Today I want to revisit my Mission Statement.  I worked on it a few times, but it all sounded like a vision statement to me so I haven’t actually blogged about it yet.  I’m an Artist, so I’ve written lots of Artist Statements…but those are more specific to a certain painting or a series of paintings.

No matter what I decide to create as I apply my artistic skills to convey an idea, it must be uplifting, encouraging, and radiant.

As I was driving into Salt Lake City, Utah for a day at Local Colors Art Gallery, I was overwhelmed with the way the morning light penetrated heavy cloud cover over Salt Air.  Salt Air is not a temple, but as I viewed it I received a spiritual conviction in my heart that I wanted to paint LDS Temples—all of them!

MISSION STATEMENT~I want to provide lovely oil paintings of temples for the whole world.  I want them to be so inspiring that every LDS home will want a print.  The resplendent beauty of each Temple hanging on the walls of Saints all over the world will bring the Spirit of Christ into the living rooms and hearts of followers of Christ.

If you read my vision statement you know that I am an idealist to the core.  Lofty goals are part of my character.  Realists don’t relate to me very well…C’est la vie!

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The Profitable Artist ~ S.M.A.R.T. Goal setting

S: Specific – The goal should identify a specific action or event that will take place.

M: Measurable – The goal and its benefits should be quantifiable (whatever that means…$)

A: Achievable – The goal should be attainable given available resources

R: Realistic – The goal should require you to stretch some, but all the likelihood of success.  Your ultimate goal is to succeed at whatever you set out to do.

T: Timely – The goal should state the time period in which it will be accomplished

Sigh.  Uggh.  This is the hard stuff here.

Tips:

*Develop several goals.  A list of 5 to 7 items gives you several thing to work on over a period of time.  Too many portends failure.

*Attach a date to each goal.  State what you intend to accomplish and by when.  A good list should include some short-term and some long-term objectives.

*Be specific.

*Write down your objectives and put them where you will see them.  The more often you read your list, the more results you get.

*Review and revise your list.  Experiment with different ways of stating your goals.  Goal-setting improves with practice, so play around with it.

OK.  Here goes.

Identify your goal:  My current goal is to receive at least 2 commissioned Temple paintings from the 60 new contacts I got at the La Caille Bridal Expo I spent $600.00 and several hours obtaining.

Outline all potential obstacles or concerns:  Well, so far I have emailed all 60 brides, and looked for them on Facebook.  I have one potential client so far.  I’m waiting for her to tell me when I can drive out and meet with her and her fiancé to plan the project.  I’m thinking I should text all of them also.  Many young people do not use email anymore, but texting is almost universal with that age group.

Steps:

1.  Clean up my contact list….yikes! It’s a royal mess.  I had the guy at the Apple store sync iCloud with my iPhone and my iMac and ended up with a ridiculous contact list…I may delete the whole list and start over manually.

2.  Put all the brides in my contact list, and then text them all with an invitation to receive a beautiful temple painting as a wedding decoration at their reception, that will increase in value, both monetarily and spiritually as it will also serve as a reminder that their eternal vows are beyond value.

3.  Order cards from fineartamerica, and one month before date of their wedding send them a lovely card to remind them of my services and congratulate them again on their wedding plans.

Well, that wasn’t so hard after all…I can get that all done tomorrow maybe.  So, now it is time to set the next smart goal since I do not plan on creating another blog until next Sunday.

Observation:  After Monday’s craziness…Monday’s are always crazy, Sundays seems to be a goal setting day for me always.  First I spend 4 hours at church and get all kinds of advise on what I should do, and I write it all in my church journal.  I find myself feeling positive and excited while there, but a bit overwhelmed when I get home and begin planning my week.  And then Monday comes…and I think I have to get it all done on Monday.  I have to vocally speak to myself and say “You have all week to do all this stuff-one thing at a time!  Breath!  Breath!  Breath deeper!  Yoga is the best thing I do for myself each day, especially Mondays!  (whoops, rabbit trail)

My next goal:  Find a photo of the temple I want to draw, hopefully one I took.  It has to be recognizable as a specific temple.  It does not have to be the whole temple.  It has to be a great composition.  I have to be able to put a couple in front, in the foreground after the entire temple is painted.  I will paint the temple as a finished painting, photograph it carefully, and then post it on fineartamerica.  Then I can sell prints of the temple without the personalization.  I will also keep the pattern that I draw so I can paint the same temple again if necessary.  (For a new commission of the same temple.)

Steps:

1.  Transfer only the best photos (particularly Temples) from my older external hard drives.  (This may take the rest of the week)

2.  Chose one…make a decision.  Then draw it carefully.

3.  (Process)  Paint the background in watercolor on the 24 x 36 Fredrix watercolor board. Check YouTube for tutorials about pouring on watercolor…the texture of the watercolor board does not respond like watercolor paper.  I’ve already scrubbed off a sky I painted and am ready to start over.  When I absolutely love the sky I will apply clear gesso over it, seal the edges also, and than transfer the drawing.  Then I will seal the drawing with another coat of clear gesso.  Begin oil painting either the SLC Temple or the Oquirrh Mountain temple regardless of obtaining a commission.  My panel is 24×36 and just waiting for a beautiful temple painting!

I am so excited!  I can hardly wait till Tuesday!!!  But wait…if I get some commissions I’ll have to do some traveling and meeting with clients…wouldn’t be such a bad diversion.

It’s such a fun challenge-being my own boss!

My New business card

 

Line Upon Line

My new business card