Rich Sigberman Art & Illustration 90

Yesterday I created a birthday gift for a friend of mine, in her favorite color scheme. It is an abstract piece with some words integrated into it. I know my friend (whom I have never met in purson yet, incidentally. It has been a marvelous long distance email relationship, not of the romatic variety) will be thrilled when she gets is, and this does my heart a lot of good. All of this is my way of saying that recently some of my favorite art lpieces have been those created with the express purpose of being given away as gifts.

To an extent, I try to use the art talent I have to create pieces that will lift the spirits of people. While self-expression is important to me, so too is the affect the art may have on viewers - especially when the art has been created expressly for one person or couple in particular. So, today I will pack and ship the artwork off to Norway, and know that when it arrives, the recipient will feel very good.

My studio has a fine view of trees and a mountain. While I am far from being a landscape artist, I do use the view for inspiration of another kind, one that includes an appreciation of nature, beauty, and this earth . Also, I use the colors I see out there, and incorporate them into my abstracts expecially. I figure we need to take our inspiration from where we can get it, even if it doesn't translate directly or obviously into our art.

Attitude counts a lot, for the way we go about creating, going about our daily business, running our art businesses. I am trying to have a sense of gratitude at all times.

Today, in addition to packing up the art, I will continue to get ready for a three day festival in Oakland, put my best foot forward, and hope it turns into a successful show.

There is a song entitled, "I Fall in Love Too Easily" which I sometimes think applies to me and art. We've had an interesting relationship over the 23 years that I've been priveleged enough to be working full time as an illustrator and fine artist, one with many ups and downs, moments of total ecstasy as well as moments of doubt. I wonder if every person in an art profession, be it actor, writer, visual artist, or performing artist goes through this too. My guess is that the answer is "yes".

Basically, I fall in love with every piece of art I work on, and that means no matter what the budget, or even if there is no budget (I frequently create art pieces for gifts), I will spend a lot of time on a given piece, going over edges, building up layers of watercolor until they have achieved the desired result, getting new ideas as I go along. I'll bet this is a common issue for many people in many different fields, not just art - that is, putting in a lot of "extra" time that is not bill-able. So, it has to be categorized under "love", yes?

The business end of art involves parts of the mind and personality that are frequently at odds with the parts that make for good artists. We all know that most artists are not supposed to be good at maketing, for example, either by being disorganized or too introverted. We all hear other people make excuses for artists, referring to them as if they are a different species. While there may be a bit of truth to this, we artists cannot accept those excuses, and can't use them for our business issues. And, we can't use them to create any art that is less than the finest work we can possibly do. These are lessons I've been learning.

Festivals are the best way I have found to put myself and my art out there, sell my art, and get new commissions, and they are physically draining. I live in the Marin County area, and the three festivals are, respectively: Oakland's Art and Soul Festival, the Solano Stroll in Albany (just north of Berkeley), and the Monterey Jazz Festival. Just thinking about them makes me tired, but I also get excited as I put together my inventory of past pieces, and review the art I've produced over the years. It is a source of pride to me that I've overcome lack of training and confidence to be doing art full time since 1983, both as illustrator and "fine artist', working in my chosen media of ink and watercolor.

I wake up each day and remind myself that it is a real privelege to create art as a profession, and that it is all I ever really wanted to do. At a young age, I drew and ate, slept and breathed comic books, many of which adorn my studio walls today. Who among us can say that they still have such a direct connection to something that excited them as a kid? If you do, then you are equally blessed.

For those who read this, I am interested in your comments and feedback, whether you are a professional artist or not. If you wish to do this, email me through this website or use [email protected]


Rich Sigberman