More Thoughts on Art, Art Marketing and Publicity

Mendicant, oil on canvas, 30"x20"
Status: available

Artists love to create their stuff. Many of us like to remain engrossed day and night in our media, our canvases, our paints, etc. etc. We stay awake whole nights to finish a piece. We think about it when we are not working at it, and thus become the subject of our family and friends' jokes because of our absent mindedness. That is the lot of all artists, we say. That our end is to create art, the things we love.

But is it enough to just create? What is the goal beyond this? Should we conceive an idea, then spend days and nights making it, and when it is finished, should hang it up on our walls for good? Eternity would find these pieces on our walls when we are not there anymore?

Many artists among us would disagree on that. What is the purpose of art? Is it to show just beauty, so that the world becomes a more beautiful place? Many modern pieces of art would not fit the label of 'beautiful things'. They may even be ugly.

So, is the purpose of art to educate the world? Some would stress this fact vehemently. Art educates the world. Especially by encapsulating the present, it records the present, and preserves it as history for future generations.

Therefore, spreading art becomes important. And thus, marketing of finished art, through publicity, and sales, enters the list of things that an artist needs to do. And many artists are inept in that.

What is Art? A Question I Often Ask Myself

The above pictures were taken at Pismo Beach in California, during a trip to Arroyo Grande to meet a friend. Our friend led us to the beach, and then the cliff, from where the drive through beach was visible at a distance. On the edge of the cliff, was this small park like feature with provision to sit and enjoy the landscape. It also had a few small but strikingly beautiful flower plants.

That was months ago. But what has remained firmly printed on my mind about that trip are these pictures of the flowers. Even thinking about them fills me with unimaginable joy. The other elements of that trip have become remnants by now, and not very clear.

Were those flowers art? They were not part of a painting or a sculpture. But they were there, at that moment, and even afterwards, some of the most beautiful things ever created. And now, the question arises - who created these flowers, this divine beauty?

Art Marketing and Similar Topics

Landscape, soft pastel on paper, 6"x6"
Status: available



With the art market once going into a slump simultaneous to the current recession, many questions have risen in artists' minds all over. How to market in such an economic condition? Would art hold an important place when other needs are to be met more urgently?

The traditional methods of selling art are still available. Gallery shows, group shows in public buildings, weekly and periodical shows, curated national and international shows, competitions are a few at the top of the mind. Beyond that, the other way to market has been through word of mouth, referrels, catalogues, advertisements.

Very few artists are now unaware of the great importance the latest electronic media, the Internet, has assumed on the context of marketing art. A lot of debate is going on about whether artists generate sales through the internet, but whatever is the result, utilizing this media for marketing and publicity is gaining popularity.



Some New Thoughts on Art

Can there be any new thoughts on art? The same things keep coming and going. They rise in the mind, then disappear, then rise again.

This is most true of work that has been started, worked on for some time, then abandoned for some time, and then picked up again. Why does some work (most work, to be correct) require such an incubation period/ And why do they emerge better, afterward. Even though the initial thought with which the work was begun, had changed.

Fair Weather

Oil on canvas

50"x40"

Artist: Anuradha Rajkumari

Status: sold

The above mentioned painting is one such example. It was started and finished in the year 2007. But much went into its initial conceptualisation, then execution. Not only because it was a large canvas, but also because I was experimenting with colour and texture.

Size of a Painting

Title: Between Heaven and Earth

Medium: Oil & acrylic on canvas

Size: 36"x36"

Even in painting, the question of size is sizeable. At least for some people. Some like things miniature. Like miniature paintings, writing your name on a grain of sand. Some might wonder - is that even possible? And how? For others, like architects, large format is the buzzword. Large buildings, offices, townships, cityscapes, skyscrapers. They laze in the sunshine of the humunguous.

For people like me, it is the size, but in the two-dimensional sense. As an artist, I have been most comfortable painting on canvases that are 20"x24" or more, like 40"x40" and 40"x48". It is an accepted fact that a larger surface creates a greater impact.

But it does not mean that one paints a better painting on a larger canvas. A good artist paints equally good pictures on both sizes. But the point is about comfort. If an artist ios comfortable with a larger canvas, then why not?

I have been trying to make smaller paintings too. And the greatest advantage, I feel in that, is the lesser paint and time it takes. A smaller painting gets done faster, so my results are there to see quicker than it would be normally if I do a large canvas. And I think that is not too little an advantage.

And then, one can do a lot of practice in smaller formats. Like with charcoal, ink and crayons. As the days pass, I discover more advantages.

It will be some time before I find out the exact size that would be right for me. But meanwhile, I would continue to work on both large and small canvases. There are joys in both.

How does an Artist Feed herself???

Creating art is the main aim, the life's goal of an artist. She would do anything to create, hold a paint brush and make the marks on canvas. Stroke by stroke, the picture emerges. A thought that takes a shape, color, produces vibrations. Connoiseurs stop and look at it and sigh in amazement.

The result of an artist's labor is breathtaking. It brings happiness, knowledge, inspiration, to others. And mostly that is what an artist gets. Admiration from people, acknowledgement about her talent, encouragement, publicity, fame.

The more mundane of all the things hardly crosses anyone's mind when they look at an artist's work. How does the artist sustain such a passion, day after day, holding brush and mixing paint, giving shape and color to one vision after another, for the world to see? Is it just her passion? How does she get her material like paint and canvas? Does it come from an unknown quarter? Is it being donated to her for free from art lovers? Who sustains an artist while she is at work, creating the breathtaking striking works?

Some time the artist has to stop, while she is working, as sher stomach makes her lose concentration. She cannot live on air. And she has to live somewhere, store her supplies in some place, under some shade. From some shop she has to procure her supplies.

Most people expect an artist to just thrive on plain air. As if, due to their exalted profession, they do not require food, clothing and shelter like the rest of the human race. Such an outlook is harmful. It has not helped the artist one bit to be looked at with such regard. People have to look closely at an artist, and recognise her for the work, the hours put in, the labor, the expenses. Art is sometimes just ground level hard work and logistics.

Beauty and the Duty of the Artist

The recent years have seen the overwelming availability of information. What they call information explosion, or information overload. In this situation, one thing that is obvious is that all kinds of information are floating around, in tne various kinds of media available.

A new generation has grown up in the midst of this overload. I wonder if youngsters today can discriminate between the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the same way previous generations had been able to.

Now more than ever the profession of the artist assumes more importance. It is the duty of the artist to depict what is good, what is beautiful, what is not ugly, in their creations. The question now is, are they able to do that?

All kinds of art is being created, reflecting the contemporary world. Much of these are not beautiful, but they are being created by artists. Use of extremely clear images, especially in art installations, using materials like blood, urine, stool, gunpowder....it is doubtful whether they are creating any beauty at all. They may be more educative, for in the line of activism. But art?