Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Lost In The Fog





I don't know about you, but every Monday night at the Mizner household is a special night.  After the supper dishes have been cleaned, popcorn is popped, our favorite beverages poured, we gather around the TV in great anticipation for the greatest show on television-- Antiques Roadshow!  As a history buff, and a lover of antiques, I find the show great fun to watch.  They used to show the type of people who thought their solid gold asp from King Tut's tomb that was purchased for 300 bucks at a Flea Market, was really plastic and made in Taiwan.  But now it's all about "little gems" purchased for ten bucks at a yard sale that turn out to be worth big bucks.  One of my favorite segments though, are old paintings.  Quite often, the appraiser will say something like, "Oh, this is a painting by the renowned 19th century painter, Kneelan Keester.  He's well known for his winter scenes of garden gnomes that have got millions of dollars at auction!  This, however is a summer scene, and not as desirable by collectors.  Since we know it's a Keester, it's worth $210. 00, but if it wasn't signed, it would have no value."

And that brings me to my biggest fear as a painter:  Becoming typecast.  Of course, to be typecast, first one needs to be successful.  And I'm not against that.  I'm also not against the concept of my paintings having a distinctive style.  What worries me is becoming known as the "painter of _____"  That's a condition I call "Sailboat in the fog."  Let me explain.

Artists are known for painting many works on a theme, be they haystacks, or the Adirondacks.  So, let's say there's an artist out there who paints beautiful scenes of a sailboat on its mooring in the fog.  They are well done, with lovely colors and lively brushwork.  They are high priced paintings sought after by wealthy collectors.  The artist knows he's hit a rich vein, so to speak, so he paints more sailboats in the fog.  Sure, they are all a little different;  Maybe the sailboat is a different design, or the color of the fog changes, but basically, they are all sailboats in the fog.  But now let's say he's grown tired of them and now wants to paint cows in a field.  "Oh, no" his gallery tells him, "your collectors only want your boats in the fog".  What to do?  Paint what he knows will sell even if the challenge is gone, or paint what he wants, knowing they probably won't sell?

The opposite side to that coin is by painting different subjects all the time your work won't have a unity of vision.  With each painting being totally different subjects and genres, it's more difficult for collectors to latch on to you.  Now, that little dilemma is far removed from my current circumstances.  As a matter of fact, on the list of things I worry about, being typecast is number 12,226.C, right behind my worry that in just five billion years from now, the sun will be in its death throes, leaving the Earth a darkened, lifeless rock floating aimlessly and alone in the black void of the Universe. 

Who'll buy my paintings then?



.

11 comments:

martinealison said...

I don't know but i like to see this painting you posted...
Kisses

Arianna said...

Beautiful effects with sun and fog! Arianna

Susan Roux said...

As I see it, 46% of the people will never typecast you. 28% will never know you and a whopping 63% will typecast you as that guy who always painted Maine.

Things could be worse...

Susan Roux said...

I really like this painting, by the way.

Patty Meglio said...

You bring up a good point. I guess what you could do is paint what works for the gallery that is selling your work, but also paint what you like if you can manage it. You may need to go to a different gallery or region of the country to sell your different types of subjects.
I am still working on being recognized at all, so it's not an issue for me right now. I wish that I had that problem, though!

Virginia Floyd said...

Well, I'm still just working on learning to paint...although my grandson has typecast me as the lady who paints fruit. So far my problem is that every painting I do looks like it was painted by a different person. Not only do I not have a theme, I don't have a style! Oh well.

I enjoyed your post! And I know exactly what you are talking about. There is an Austin artist who paints stylized Indian women over and over. He's making a fortune in Taos, I think. The first time I saw one of his paintings I loved it. Now I just think it's the same painting again. Yawn. (But he's rich and I'm not.)

Kevin Mizner said...

Thank you Martine-alison, but darn it, I sold this one couple of years ago!

Kevin Mizner said...

Thank you, Arianna!

Kevin Mizner said...

Susan, The other 41.5% were undecided.

Kevin Mizner said...

Patty, I'm still trying to make a decent painting! I know galleries like to see an artist that has a theme. Mine is "The Lone Ranger"

Kevin Mizner said...

Hi Virginia, Keep at it, you'll have a style whether you want one or not! Painting fruit isn't so bad as long as you don't become known as "The banana lady!"