As I mentioned in my last post, I have not only learned a
lot of Neal’s literal creative process, but also how he manages his business
(because even though he is a painter, he is most definitely his own manager and
businessman.) I have witnessed that his final creative product is a beautifully
produced painting. But I have also had the contrast of being been up close and
personal with all the work that goes into making that painting possible. Such as
the physical creating of the panels and canvases he paints on, his constant
communication with clients/galleries, his planning and traveling for various
painting competitions across the country which he is involved in, different
painting organizations he’s on the board for, etc (the list could go on.) My
point is to emphasize how much other types work Neal has to put in that is
“un-art related” but yet directly impacts every aspect of his artistic career.
As I have continued to work with Neal, I have thought of
ideas where I can bring this skill set back to school with me and beyond.
However I had the wonderful opportunity to have the experience where I could
practice this before I head back to school.
About a week ago, I was blessed to be a part of a wonderful
collaborative showcase in Philadelphia held by the organization RAW: natural
born artists. I was notified mid June that I would be involved in the showcase,
and a midst my excitement I was unaware of how much work that I would have to
put into this show. Though my showcase is technically unrelated of my summer
fellowship, I found that the experiences I had with Neal and what I learned
really helped me in order to organize myself and do everything I had to
literally prep for the showcase.
Some examples of where my fellowship really came in handy
include my heightening organizational skills and making many, many to-do lists
(It has helped that I would make many lists during my fellowship to track my
progress and what tasks I need to still get done), understanding the finances
and creating budget systems and ALWAYS keep your receipts (working with Neal’s
inventory and invoices for frames/canvas, I was more easily able to go about
how to strategizing my needed items and prices vs. quality), sizing and making
the mattes for my work (working with frames and panels most of the time with
Neal, I had more clarity what kinds of materials would be best and even how to
matte something in general.) These were just a few of the main things that I
picked up from my fellowship that ironically were unrelated, but yet still used
in an artistic environment that many of us as young artists will experience
with the growth of our career.
I am very thankful for all the experiences I had with my
summer fellowship and also for the application of my skills to the an actual
event that has helped me learn more about my professional goals and how I would
create it in the future.
Attached are some photos from the showcase as well as the
link to the organization if anyone is interested in getting involved! It was a
lot of fun!
http://www.rawartists.org
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