On Ethics and Elephants

Elephant in the Room? What? Where? Oh, that Elephant

In the interest of full disclosure, I must point out that I never thought about marketing in terms of the ethics involved. When I think about marketing my books to an unsuspecting public, the thing that leaps to the front of my mind is the “ick factor.”

Writing and cartooning are recent additions to my creative work. I’ve been painting more years than I care to remember, and it’s been my “day job” for the last 25 years. Almost seven years ago, pandas knocked on the door, demanded entry, put their feet up on the coffee table, and insisted that I write stories, draw cartoons, and perpetrate blasphemous adaptations of Sargent and Whistler paintings, all starring pandas.

They were really most insistent.

Arrangement in Black, White, and Gray //Anne Belov //all rights reserved

Selling paintings is mostly, although not entirely, different than selling books.  I’d have to sell  hundreds, if not thousands of books to equal the sale of one decent painting. And so marketing raises it’s (often) not so lovely head.

A recent post by Jane Steen got me thinking about the ethics of self publishing in general and about marketing my work in particular. I am, to say the very least, a reluctant marketer. By following a number of blogs about both the art and the business side of writing, it led me to realize that I was going to have to make peace with marketing, like it or not.

My cartoons appeared on my blog, The Panda Chronicles for almost four years before I published The Panda Chronicles Book 1: Your Brain on Pandas. My method for getting the word out was intuitive and organic. When I started my blog, I finally dove in to Facebook, and sought out panda fans, to see if they thought my panda-centric humor was funny, or whether they would chase me through town with pitchforks and burning torches, tar and feathers at the ready. (They liked them! Huzzah!)

I shared my cartoons freely and my fan base grew. I got an unanticipated bonus by reaching out to people on an individual basis because fans became connections and some friendships (real ones) have grown as a result of this, with meetings and gatherings of panda fans in real life.

The panda Faithful at San Diego Zoo in 2013

To be honest, this is a rather time consuming way of selling books. But I am a glutton for connections, maybe because I spend so much of my day holed up in my studio painting and drawing. When I look at the alternatives: auto tweets, constant buy my book/services links, guest posts which are barely disguised infomercials, I realize that the ick-factor detector is a pretty good ethical guide.

I think we must continually ask ourselves how we respond to marketing appeals by others as we try to figure out how to sell our work. Everyone has different threshold levels of what is offensive or annoying, but if it offends me, why would I do it? I’m still trying to figure it all out, and if I listen to my gut and avoid doing things that make me uncomfortable in the marketing of others, I think I am on the right track.

The sands that publishing is built on are shifting. As more people publish their work independently, we have to figure out how to be ethical, not only in the actual writing, but in how we tell the world about it. We are all on our own, trying to figure out just how we going to continue paying the mortgage, but we are also in it together.

My practice of making connections has served me well, in personal satisfaction and real bridges built, if not yet in monetary terms.  My followers number in the hundreds, rather than the tens of thousands, but they are real names, some even come with faces attached. I have decided to trust that what feels like the right path both artistically and ethically.

What do you think?

hey! Buy my book!

You can see more pandas (for free!) at The Panda Chronicles. You can also…um…find out where to buy my books there.

Something to be thankful for….

I have returned from my “art safari” and I need to write about it, before I forget everything. We visited 19 Art Museums, in less than 19 days (and some of those were travel days), saw 14 paintings by Vermeer, more than 100 (maybe 200, because of the watercolor show in Boston) Paintings by John Singer Sargent, and had sore feet like you wouldn’t believe.

But first, a word from our sponsor…oh wait, that’s me. This Friday and Saturday is the 13th Anne-ual Anne x 2 show and sale, taking place in my studio. If you happen to be on Whidbey Island, here’s the scoop:

be there, or be square! There will be pandas too!

Pass the pie!

 

Saying Goodbye, and Thank You….

No, I’m not leaving, even though I don’t spend as much time on this blog as I used to.  The goodbye is to my friend and teacher, Jack Beal, who passed away almost two weeks ago.  Jack was an amazing person, and an amazing artist.  Considered by many to be the father of Contemporary American Realism, he was a painter to be admired.

I first met Jack and his wife, painter Sondra Freckelton, when they began to offer art workshops at their farm in Oneonta NY in 1990.  They were painters whose work inspired me as an art student in the 1970’s, and I was thrilled and a little nervous to meet them.  They put everyone instantly at ease with their warm welcome, and some of the people I met there, I am friends with to this day, even though we live scattered across the country.

Someone to Watch Over Me// oil on linen// Anne Belov// 2006 all rights reserved

The painting you see above is one that I did after my last trip to the farm in 2005, it is of the guest room where I slept, in an alcove off of Sondra’s studio.

Breakfast With The Queen of Diamonds//oil on linen//Anne Belov // 2006 /all right reserved/

I learned so much from  Jack and Sondra, and I owe a great debt to them.  My paintings are the better for having studied with them, and I am a better person for having known them.  Jack’s health was not good the past few years, but Jack, being Jack, managed to surprise everyone several times and survive into his 80’s. He was not always the easiest person to be around, but he was honest in his enthusiasms and generous with support.

He lived big, and is gone too soon.  We will miss you.

 

Forgeries @ Froggwell is only 4 weeks away!

Here’s an update with news of my upcoming shows!

froggwell

I can hear the timer ticking down the days to this years forgery extravaganza! Of course, in my usual fashion, I decided to do a painting for the show that is

A. In egg tempera (a very time consuming medium) and,

B. More than 5x larger than any other egg tempera painting I have done to date.

What was I thinking?

Meanwhile, this Friday I open a show at The Rob Schouten Gallery in Greenbank, with other Island superstars, Rob Schouten, Pete Jordan, and Sharon Spencer.  Rob and Sharon will also be exhibiting at this year’s forgery show.  Here’ are three of the paintings I will be showing at Rob Schouten Gallery this week:

I do like a little bit of red in a painting, don’t you?

Meanwhile, several of the artists showing at this year’s show at Froggwell are already done with their work (what a bunch of…

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More Studying from the Masters!

I’ve talked before about how much I learn from painters that I admire, both from the past and in the present.  I would gladly give up everything I owned if I had painted every one of John Singer Sargent’s paintings, or perhaps Mary Cassatt’s as well.

Last year I spent some time learning the ancient medium of egg tempera from Fred Wessel, who is an out and out master of the medium, and a nice guy to boot. I recently finished this egg tempera painting back home in my studio, and I gotta say, that I almost wrenched my shoulder patting myself on the back.  I’m pretty sure it’s good, because yesterday evening some friends came by and one of them made a beeline for the painting and was almost speechless with admiration.  I love that.

Botticelli’s Daughter //Egg tempera on panel //Anne Belov // all rights reserved

But for me, there is more than one genre of masters from whom I study, and that is, of course, the greats of cartooning.  Many of you who know me, know that recently I started drawing and writing cartoons in a serious way.  Well, the cartoons aren’t serious, (what fun is that?) but I am quite serious and committed to series, The Panda Chronicles, appearing both on my blog, as well as now two books in print.  I’ve written before about some of my cartooning idols: Garry Trudeau, Lynda Barry, Bill Watterson, and Darby Conley.  I recently discovered another cartoonist, whose books I am devouring like red velvet cuppycakes.  I quit reading the newspaper more than a decade ago (oh, their decline is all my fault!) so I wasn’t aware of Pearls Before Swine, other than to occasionally notice it when I picked up a random paper.  I really didn’t get it, and in fact, thought it was pretty badly drawn.  Like many cartoons with recurring characters, you have to read a number of strips till you get with the program and fall in love with the characters. Stephan Pastis, the creator of Pearls, recently wrote an illustrated middle grade novel called Timmy Failure, about a rather incompetent boy detective and his polar bear assistant. It has  a bear?  Well, I just had to read it and it was hilarious, and so then I had to read all of his cartoon collections. OK, I’m still not in love with his drawings, but they are perfect for his irreverent, snarky humor, which I am completely in love with.  Huzzah! Studying from the masters is so much fun!

Well, off to do some more “studying”

A riff inspired by one of the greatest.

Will the real ovation please stand up?

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Thanks, Patricia.

wax and wane

I’d like to take this time to ponder something that might offend some of you, while others will applaud from their seats. I’m stuck on what has developed into the inevitability of the standing ovation.

A standing “o” used to be special; reserved for the outstanding performance. This once emotional and passionate show of appreciation has somehow turned into a reflex ­‑ a quixotic gesture that now means about as much as a polite handshake. What happened?

I first noticed the phenomenon when I moved from Chicago to the Northwest. An avid theater and concert goer, I began to notice the tendency of folks to spring to their feet at a curtain call, even if the performance wasn’t worthy. By the time I moved to Whidbey Island and jumped back onstage into the theater game, and found myself attending double-digit numbers of performances each month for my work, I realized the ovation…

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The Power of Yes…..

Recently, I have made the acquaintance, at least a “virtual” acquaintance, of a number of   talented writers. Through a series of thises, thats, and the others, I was involved in the launch of Dana Sitar’s new book, The Writer’s Bucket List.

One of the thing that struck me during this process was the willingness among all the people  involved in the launch to endorse Dana and help to promote her work, making launch week a big success.  Huzzah! Besides the warm fuzzy feeling that comes from helping a talented, hardworking writer get a project off to a good start, I’ve gained someone who I can occasionally call on to be a sounding board and am now part of a community of writers that are a valuable resource for my fledgling writing career.

As From Above //Oil on panel // Anne Belov // all rights reserved

So now that I’m in endorsement mode, I’d like to endorse the Kickstarter project of some friends of mine, who are also members of the community of artists who have gravitated to Whidbey Island.  Robbie Lobell and Maryon Attwood formed their company Cook on Clay about two years ago, although their combined careers in art and clay total more than 50 years.  This project is in order to help fund an new kiln, which they desperately need in order to make their business sustainable. Their cookware is beautiful as well as functional, and I’m pretty sure that I will be a MUCH better cook when I use it.  Check them out here.

Because I said yes to helping Dana with her book launch, and yes to supporting Maryon and Robbie’s project, my life feels richer. A lot of people said yes to supporting my Kickstarter projects and many unexpected riches have come my way:  validation for my work, a new community of people who love panda satire and bought my book, new eyes for my paintings and printmaking, and yes, even a bit of actual money, (though not so much that I am fiscally rich or even solvent at the moment, but that is not the point here.)

It’s true that sometimes we have to say no, to avoid being sucked down into life’s undertow, but think about saying yes to some things that bring you pleasure. I think you’ll be glad you did.

Upcoming Events

Thanks to all who have checked in lately. Here are some upcoming events taking place in the next few months.

I was recently invited to be in an exhibition in Seattle, Still Life 21, which will be held at the Ida Culver House in North Seattle. Here’s the info:

Opening Thursday, March 14th, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. A group show at Ida Culver House Broadview 

Modern day still life depicting the new detritus of life revealing the context of objects in our culture. New views, deconstructed perspectives, and alternative approaches to materials will be considered. The show continues through July 7, 2013

40 Shades of Blue// Oil on Panel//Anne Belov //all rights reserved

This is one of the five paintings that I will be exhibiting.

In April, I will teach a three day workshop at The Whibey Fine Art Studio in Langley, in the practice of egg tempera painting.  For more information on the class, or to sign up, check the WFAS website.

Limone #2 //Egg tempera and oil on linen //Anne Belov // all rights reserved

Hope to see you at one of these events.

Playing well with others….

Those who know me well, know that I am not a big fan of belonging to co-op galleries, or anything that involves going to meetings..  You could say that I’m not really a team player, and no wonder…I was always the last to be picked during any mandatory sports torture while at school, so I come by my reputation as a lone operator honestly. (Well, also the reputation as a cranky curmudgeonette, but the pandas are helping with that.)

So fast forward…um…a whole bunch of years to today, where we find our heroine agreeing to be part of a group effort to help launch a young writer’s new book on writing. Why am I doing this?  Through a process of this, that, and the other, I answered a call to take part in some mutual guest blogging here and there, and Dana Sitar was one of the people that invited me to play on her blog.  Of course I brought the panda kindergarten along.  I, in turn, invited her to come and write something for the Panda Chronicles blog, my celebration of all things panda.  

A panda point of view on the idea of bucket lists.

Some funny things have been happening in the last few years, and one of them is that I’ve been doing a lot of writing.  What once was torture is now fun. Could a group activity, like helping someone with the launch of their new book be fun? Well yes, it certainly could be.  Dana Sitar’s new book, A Writer’s Bucket List: 99 things to do for inspiration, education, and experience before your writing kicks the bucket, is kind of like having your own private creativity coach, sitting on your desk at the ready, to help you embrace your inner writer and jumpstart your creative spirit.  I’m taking part in a blog hop to launch the book.

Here’s what Dana says about her book:

A Writer’s Bucket List is a launching point for all of the possibilities of being a writer. Instead of another how-to on any kind of writing, this book is a“Why not?” for the writer’s life. The list is a combination of the unique steps that have formed the author’s career and bolstered her creativity, and the things she still plans to try. The book offers some conventional and some unconventional steps on the path through a writer’s life, why they matter, and advice for getting started.

 

A Writer’s Bucket List challenges you and strengthens your creativity, encourages you to forge your own path, find your own education, and discover the type of writing life that’s Just Right for you. 99 tasks from the life of a writer help you get started in your unique journey, and step-by-step instructions, tips, and resources guide you through the toughest steps. Inspiration and bits of advice from top writers and bloggers in the industry are thrown in there, too, to fan the flames of your creativity!

Dana is young…young-enough-to-be-my-daughter-young (I should be so lucky) but she has an impressive list of accomplishments already to the credit side of her life ledger.  Perhaps she is continuing from a previous life, so that she is way ahead of where most of us are at her age. No matter how old you are, if you are at the beginning of your creative journey (and quite frankly, this book has valuable lessons to be gained for visual artists as well as writers,) you would not go wrong by buying a copy of Dana’s book and trying some of the exercises. Even some that seem hard to you.  Especially those that seem hard to you.

Her book launch takes place this week. You can pick up a copy here

Dana Sitar is a freelance journalist and indie author. She shares resources, tips, and tools for writers in search of a path through DIY Writing. She has been writing professionally since 2010, blogging unabashedly since 2011, and traveling perpetually since she discovered that one feature article could purchase enough gas for a cross-country road-trip.

Dana has written for Writer’s Market, The Daily Cardinal, The Onion, Baystages, SF Weekly,Laughspin, and Maximum Ink; as well as dozens of writing and career blogs, including The Creative Penn, Make a Living Writing, and Brazen Life.

Anne Belov paints, writes, makes prints, and is the founder of The Institute for Contemporary Panda Satire. You can find her paintings at the Rob Schouten Gallery, her cartoons on The Panda Chronicles, and her new book here. She will be teaching beginning egg tempera at the Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio in April. for more information: contact WIFAS  She also writes regularly for The Whidbey Life Magazine, a free journal of art and culture on Whidbey island.

Letting Loose the Bears…

 

I’ve been trying to come to terms with the knowledge that I have shamefully neglected this blog, and you, my 3 1/2 readers who haven’t completely given up on me.  Whenever I resist doing something, there is always some logical, if not good reason that I am resistant. I’ve been thinking about what that reason could possibly be and after some discussion with one of my friends, I think the reason is something like this:

Pandas are way more fun than a “serious” blog about fine art.

Am I right, or am I right?

The last four years have been the embodiment of that curse: May you live in interesting times. And the times I have been living in for the last four years have been interesting, to say the least. “These interesting times”  include the  collapse of the housing market, (which affects art sales) the stock market, (which affects art sales) and the job markets, (which affects art sales.)  Did I mention that the art market, at least for us non-deceased blue chip artists, was severely affected?

But a bright spot appeared in my peripheral vision, while I was contemplating my crumbling art career.

Pandas.

They came sneaking in the back door, giggling and rolling around and breaking things, eating cuppycakes and running for president.  I won’t tell the story here, but if you want to know more about the pandas, they have their own blog, The Panda Chronicles which you can read and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.

Back when I was in art school (and never mind how long ago that was,) I got it in my head that if you were to be considered a “serious artist” who did “serious art,”  you must never stray from the path of seriousness.  I tried to be good, I really did.  I didn’t even indulge in printmaking, for goodness sake, let alone illustration or …gasp…cartooning.

On Pins and Needles // Egg Tempera // Anne Belov // 2012 all rights reserved

But just as I have no intention of giving up painting to draw cartoons all the time, (I am kind of good at it, after all, and it has supported me for the last 25 years) I also don’t want to give up this blog, which has mostly been about my art career, at least until now.  But I am too old and too cranky to follow the rules any longer. I am letting loose the bears.

So here is my goal for this blog: I will try to post once a week on Tuesdays.  They may be very short posts, maybe just a new painting I’ve been working on, or an observation about the process of trying to get my first children’s book published.  Or it may be a story that I have written. I am not going to restrict myself, or hide my pandas under a basket. (As if they’d stay there!) It’s time to give unrestricted free reign to my creative process and outpourings.

Arrangement in Black, White, and Gray //Anne Belov //all rights reserved

After all, when I named this blog after one of my favorite paintings, I named it: Nothing Overlooked.

Anne Belov paints, writes, makes prints, and is the founder of The Institute for Contemporary Panda Satire. You can find her paintings at the Rob Schouten Gallery, her cartoons on The Panda Chronicles, and her new book here. She will be teaching beginning egg tempera at the Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio in April. for more information: contact WIFAS  She also writes regularly for The Whidbey Life Magazine, a free journal of art and culture on Whidbey island.