I think the economy is beginning to loosen up.  I had a great end to the year.  In addition I was in the Coors Western Art Exhibit in Denver, and most of the works in the show sold.  I sold all of mine and was pleased to be awarded the Southwest Art Award of Excellence.  Thank you Southwest Art...

Pastels:

• a 96 color set of NuPastels, or a 120 set of FaberCastel Hard Pastels preferably left in their original boxes

• A set of various soft pastels including darks by Sennilier or Terry Ludwig, and strong lights for highlights and variety.  All Terry Ludwig pastels are great.
  

• Kitty Wallis white  or Linen colors
  

and/or

• Artfix papers, preferably dark blue, black, or dark gray  Canson mi tientes paper in dark or nuetral colors are good.
  

Colors in Oil or Acrylic:  Make certain brands are HIGH QUALITY.  Avoid all student grade oils or acrylics. 

• For acrylics, please use Golden, Utrecht, or Windsor Newton.
  

• Utrecht white is required for all acrylic painters 

General colors:

• Titanium White,  Cad Yellow med, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, cad red light, crimson, (preferably Quinacridon) Cerulean blue, ultramarine blue or cobalt, viridian and black.  Optional colors include cad orange, permanent violet, and Permanent Green. 

• All plein air classes require a back pack and travelling easel,  Recommended brands include a Julian French easel, a Soltec easel, an Easyl Pochade Box and tripod,  or Open Box M and tripod.

• Water based oils are fine.  The preferred brand is Holbein

• If working in acrylic  or underpainting in acrylic, mediums include Liquitex Gesso, Liquitex Clear Gesso, Liquitex Gloss Varnish or Golden Soft Gel (gloss) and Golden Acrylic Glazing liquid (gloss)  to slow the drying time.
  

Please refer questions to my e-mail.

Sorry I haven't blogged (Is that a word?) for so long, but I have been meeting deadlines and traveling so much I have not been keeping up. 

The Plein Air Painters of America had a wonderful week painting together with no show, at Zion National Park.  Some of the works are posted on the P. A. P. A. website (www.p-a-p-a.com).  They will be on display during the October Exhibit at the Haggin Museum in Stockton.  This show will feature our show on the National Parks.  Each member has chosen a park to represent and will have 2 to 3 paintings in the show (two plein air works and one studio piece).  My park is Point Reyes National Seashore. 

We had a terrific time at Zion National Park and the weather was superb.  We did have snow on the last day which was the culmination of the beauty of that park.  What grandeur, and what a breathtaking blessing to see all that beauty.

After that, I returned to the studio for two weeks before heading off to Charleston, South Carolina for Wet Paint, a workshop.  You can go to Coleman Fine Art Gallery to see the work we did.  We worked hard that week. The workshop featured Mary Whyte, watercolors (exquisite!), Albert Handel, pastelist,  Kevin MacPherson, oil paints, and me, acrylics. We all worked at specific places each day.  Kevin had a huge entourage of about forty people following him around, and he is so engaging and such a good teacher that they all seemed to have a great time.  Once in a while somebody looked at the rest of us by accident.  I am exaggerating, but it seemed that the only way I could get any attention was to paint right next to him!!!

Actually it was a very successful week with good sales(for this economy) and lovely work.

Do you want a treat? Check out T. Allen Lawson's website.

We all need to think outside the box!  Maybe these things will help:

1.  Make quality job number one.  Be ready for the upturn with your best work.  Grow in areas that you think will enhance your stature.

2.  When choosing a gallery, don't choose the biggest and best even if your work fits there, but choose an aggressive good gallery in which you are sure to stand out.  I recently waited weeks and weeks for a big name gallery to respond.  I might as well have tried to spit at the moon. Instead, I found a "young" gallery with good taste and a desire to succeed, and my work was in the front.  Since the work was high quality, it inspired other artists in the gallery as well.  It was the right move.

3.  Don't be afraid to discount.  Your work is still the same value in the long run, and people will appreciate it if you are honest.  Send out an e-mail blast to all your fans saying that now is a great time to buy your paintings.  When the downturn is over, their purchases will still be of great value, and you can go back to your high-water mark.  I think if you  are honest with people they will appreciate your situation and you may be rewarded.

4.  I did really well over Christmas, by opening my studio, and having really nice work available at a great price.  Now we can make it through March!!

5.  Pray!!!! When you are making work that is uplifting, works to enhance others and describes the wonderful beauty around us, God honors that appreciation and helps.  Ask God to inspire the work, and then sell it for you.

6.  Again, I would like to go back to the first point in closing.  Art is important.  We tend to think it is a luxury, but it gives people deep pleasure because beauty is the personification of hope that something grander is at work.  To make beautiful and heartfelt works is job number one. 

Many blessings.  
Gil

Hi everyone,

Make sure to check out my new online gallery featuring hand-picked original paintings and all new gicleeŽ prints. Please share any feedback you may have about the site. To access the site, click on the link below:

GIL DELLINGER STUDIO ONLINE

Here are a few things to think about when doing a landscape painting.  The color of the sky is everything.  If it is right, all the other colors and values relate to it.  Add the sky color to the deep space to create atmosphere.  When painting a tree, fade the tree into the sky and make it slightly "airier" as it ascends.  Then it will look like it is way up there!!
When painting a figure make the head your "touchstone"  Make certain your legs and torso are the right length by measuring them against the head.  A body should be about 6 heads high.  Squat bodies are always discomforting.
Please check out the new pastels posted under all the current works headings.  Thanks for your attention.  Many blessings

Hey, tomorrow is 9/11.  Remember to pray for America and those who have given their all for this marvelous freedom we have.  God Bless America!

Today I was in San Francisco to meet with Beth Lauderbach, the owner of Scottsdale Fine Art Gallery. What a treat to meet her family. She has a wonderful gallery and a terrific attitude. I was delivering new paintings to her and she was in S.F. to drop her daughter off at U.S.F.
   
I have gone through so many machinations in the past week because of the previous week's events that I have been asking myself; "What is the criteria for choosing a gallery?" First, you need to find out how they treat their artists.  There is a dealer in Sacramento who has a nice gallery, but he is difficult with his artists. I have always thought it is best to stay away. Next, you need to find out how they pay!! Do they pay  in a timely fashion?  You can find out this information by interviewing artists in that gallery for inside information. This year, I called someone I knew that was in a gallery that had approached me.  She told me not to bother, and described some of the difficulties. That's good information.  Make certain you approach those galleries in which you know your work would fit and look good. Would your work offer some unique or satisfying addition?  
   
I am talking to myself as well as the reader. No matter how much a gallery director says they like your paintings and want them, the crucial question is....Will it be seen? That is the only way it can be sold. I am also finding out that prestige means very little if you are displayed in a corner. I have had some very good years with sales and I am somewhat known in certain circles, but I am finding that it all means nothing if no one sees the beauty of my paintings.  Therefore...choose to work with a gallery that is passionate about what you are doing and pays quickly after a sale.  Then the business side is worth the hassle.  By the way...everytime you think you've "ARRIVED",  you find another door and the levels are never ending.  We all need to enjoy where we are at any one time and enjoy the meal before us.  Are you listening Gil?  YES and many blessings  gd

Good news for all acrylic painters and oil painters who struggle with the toxicity of oils or turps.  Golden Acrylics has finally created a dream product. One, that I have been hoping for and even praying for...for 30 years. It's called Golden Open Acrylics and it stays open on your palette for hours and it blends and acts like oil paint. It also has a slow dry-gloss medium that is designed for it and works with other acrylics. The pigmentation is good, but slightly more transparent with some colors. Other than that, it is fantastic. It does not dry out in hot winds if you're painting outdoors. Wow!  Have I been in heaven. 

On another note...do you ever go into a gallery and find your work relegated to a corner or simply not displayed?  I did last week!  I recommend waiting 24 hours before saying anything...(now that I have not followed that good advice and shot from the hip). Consequently, I handled my reaction badly and lost a good gallery and a friend in the process.  I would do it differently, now, but I do recommend standing up for yourself. When a gallery takes on your work, make certain that you expect your work to be seen, that it should have your name displayed somewhere and that you are not going to be relegated to the back room.

HEY! WATCH THIS SITE FOR MY PRINTS.  Nathan and Ramona Dellinger will be starting a Dellinger print business, with some first class giclee prints.  The first ones should be posted about the first of September.

I am off to New Brunswick, Canada and should come back with some awesome new work.  I will be posting a bunch soon.  Until then, many blessings!!!