Recognize who you are and Go with the Flow

I adore vintage leaded and stained glass windows. My latest painting was inspired by them. Additional ideas came from a fabric design incorporating yellow and blue. These are Swedish colors from my mother’s heritage and cemented my vision. I’m currently working on the composition and will share it with you in my next blog.

This week, the assassination of Martin Luther King on April 4 was commemorated. Because of this, my featured artist is Kevin Cole, a recognized African American abstractionist who uses symbolism and color to convey his message.

Imagine using all of your anger and your pain to create something meaningful and beautiful. Using the bright colors of Africa and the symbolic representation of a noose in the form of a man’s necktie, Cole expresses the anguish he felt when he stood beneath a large tree where slaves were once hanged in great numbers when they tried to exercise their newfound right to vote. Dressed to honor the occasion, the ties they wore were used to hang them.

In many of Cole’s works, the symbolism deepens in what Kevin calls “mapping.” Slave families were split apart and sent to other plantations. Cole maps their travels in three-D shapes and symbols using the same colorful ties, tools and weapons they were beaten with if they tried to escape.

Some of Kevin's stories end up as paintings done in broad swathes of emotion and detail. Cole’s work sizzles. According to The Artist’s Magazine where Cole was featured in the September 2013 issue, “Cole’s work has a musicality born from the background of popular music, jazz, and blues that keeps Cole moving around his studio.”

Cole credits his rise and success to a former “high school teacher (Terrance Corbin) who spotted his nascent talent, and many others who encouraged him along the way, first in college and then in graduate school in Illinois.

“Art professor and mixed media artist Kevin E. Cole was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on January 19, 1960 to Jessie and Sam Cole, Jr. He received his B.S. degree in art education from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 1982; his M.A. degree in art education a year later, and his M.F.A degree in drawing from Northern Illinois University in 1984.

“Cole began his art career as an art teacher at Camp Creek Middle School in College Park, Georgia in 1985. At the same time, he also became an adjunct professor at Georgia State University’s School of Art and Design where he remained until 1998. In 1990, Cole was chairperson of the visual and performing arts magnet program of Tri-Cities High School in East Point, Georgia until 1994. Later, in 2003, he became the chairman of the Fine Arts Department at Westlake High School where he created the school's first arts program.

“Cole’s artwork is well known for including imagery of neckties as symbols of power and emphasizes the relationship between color and music, particularly jazz, blues, hip-hop, and gospel. He incorporates patterns and textures from traditional African cloths to speak to human conditions and behaviors.

“In 1994, Cole was commissioned by the Coca-Cola Company to create a fifteen story mural celebrating the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. The mural took two years to create and was a little over 800 square feet. He has been featured in Who’s Who in Education and received the Award of Excellence for Public Art by the Atlanta Urban Design Commission.”  http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/kevin-cole-41 

Below Cole tells his own story and shares the inspiration for his collective works:

Kevin Cole’s personal online web portal follows if you would like to see and hear more: http://artistkcole.com 

Peddlers of Optimism and Hope

"Dainty Diva" 24 x 20 OIL on Canvas

New apps and sites are popping up everywhere. Each one promises to do more for your business than the last. I’ve tried them all. Most of them are free, at least in the beginning. The success of the app seems to be in proportion to how much you are willing to spend on your dream.

Many social networks are selling something that will make them richer while depleting your budget. Few deliver what they promise. Many of the sites I’ve tried have already petered out; unsuccessful in their attempts to make “the sale.” There’s always a gimmick or a hook to reel you in, but not enough to permanently keep you.

"Flash Dance" 16 x 20 OIL on canvas

What they offer is optimism and hope. “Try us and we’ll bring you oodles of customers.” “Try our service for 60 days and we’ll bring you 1,000 new hits.” If your hope is still there after 60 days, there’s a charge; but you may be willing to fork out a few dollars per month to keep your dream alive.

Peddlers of hope tie into our gullibility. They, too, have a dream but they’re counting on you to make it come true. So we bite! We take the bait and run with it, hoping that eventually we’ll make up for our losses. After all, “it takes money to make money,” or so we’ve heard.

"With These Hands -- Hope" 16 x 20 OIL on Acrylic underpainting

Our insecurities add insult to injury. We begin to believe the network hype. We’ve bought into it before when we try a new product or test a new theory. We’re sold when our hopes and our vulnerabilities meet at the tipping point. It’s like a global game of chance. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. You follow me, I’ll follow you. You befriend me and I’ll befriend you. You look at my stuff and I’ll look at yours.

If we’re lucky, that rare interested person comes along and takes the time to look at our wares. They may even consider buying. A purchase here or there keeps our dreams alive, and we’re off chasing rainbows on the next latest and greatest app or social site.

"With These Hands -- Love" 24 x 18 OIL on canvas

Time is a valuable commodity. How we use it and where will determine our own personal success. Connecting with the appropriate online audience and with targeted customers is the key. 

We must be shrewd as well as friendly. We must learn to weigh the value of each opportunity. Otherwise we may end up spinning our wheels in a kaleidoscope of schemes and distractions.

The Economy is getting better! Oh, Really?

Two more galleries in downtown Fort Myers are closing. The monthly Art Walk has been a huge success for shops and restaurants, but it has drawn more art admirers than buyers; a definite sign that the economy is still in a slump.

Some galleries are doing better than others. The ones located on the main thoroughfares adjacent to shops and restaurants are holding their own which indicates it’s all about location, location!

I personally have done better online than I’ve ever done in a show. The audience is larger and more widespread. When you’re in a booth on the street or a gallery, viewers and buyers must come to you. If the weather is bad your audience is limited. If you have a local fan base, you may get “sympathy” buyers who purchase a few cards or prints to butter up your ego, but token sales do not pay the rent.

My major sales have come either from commission or by contact from a buyer who has viewed my artwork online. I don’t have to haul my paintings to a site and worry about scratches or damage. I don’t have to set up a display. I don’t have to battle the wind, the heat or the rain. I’ve met some wonderful people who were looking for something specific and found me through their own personal search.

Don’t get me wrong. If the timing and location are right, I’ll battle the elements with the best of them. But if I had my druthers, I’d take selling online any day. Yes, there is something to be said for personal contact. When a buyer sees and talks with the artist before a purchase, it makes a personal connection that may lead to repeat sales and a friend. However, in our technological savvy world, emails and Skype can do the job just as well.

The most important part of any transaction comes in keeping your word and delivering what you promise. Promptness and follow through trumps the handshake of yesteryear and confirms your professionalism. Then as now, quality still holds the key to repeat business and devoted followers.