The Rhythm of the Art Life

When I typed for lawyers, my day was mapped out for me.  Half an hour to and from, an hour for lunch and caged in a cube in between just doing as I was told.  The little time I had at home was pretty much taken up with chores and flopping exhausted on the couch.    While my art is now my fulltime "job", utilizing the time efficiently has been a struggle for me.  As any self promoting artist knows, the marketing end is very time consuming.  And I am learning how to make my art a small business, so I must devote time to that, as well.  Here's some things I've learned: 

• I do my best art with a fresh eye.  Two hours at a stretch is the max for me.  I've been hard on myself for not spending more time at a stretch, til I realized that quantity at one sitting does not make quality.
• I like media that can be stopped and restarted.  Colored pencils are so easy for this.  Also oil based printing inks.  I don't like the media dictating when I can work and when I can't and that's my main complaint about oils. 
• I need to get away.  A lot.  Now that sounds crazy, I love making art!  But shorter intervals broken up by doing something else really makes me more efficient.  In the beginning, I did all my housechores, walked Otto, got cleaned up and did my emailing and blogging BEFORE I did my art.  I cleared the decks.  I have learned that doesn't work for me.  Better for me to draw for an hour, then take a shower and walk Otto, then draw for an hour and go to the bank and library, draw for an hour and go dig up the dahlias.
• Online is good.  I actually like to be online when I work.  So I take little mini breaks while I work to respond to a post, check facebook, tweet, etc.  So much of what I do online is art related and it keeps me pumped and inspired.
• Online is bad.  Talking politics, critiquing, responding to trolls accomplishes nothing for me and hours can go by.  Eliminating.
• Online is fun.  I love my online art and animal friends and enjoy keeping up with what they are doing, guilt-free.  I'm outgoing and friendly by nature, and the social aspect of "work" is the only thing I miss.  I get that coffebreak type camaraderie with colleagues whenever I feel like it.  Fun to talk shop.
• Online combines fun with marketing.  Twitter has been very good to me!
• Housework can be done half asleep.  Yes, it is true.  Don't have to think too hard, so saving those chores for when I'm beat works well!
• Rome wasn't built in a day.  I do a little marketing every day.  I'm seeing good results.  And I'm looking with a hard eye what works and what doesn't.
• Business before pleasure.  I'm taking the time to learn how to run this as a real business.  Sounds so not artsy, right?  But it is and I'm taking advantage of opportunities to learn how to do it.  Recordkeeping is not my strong point but I am learning how to do it properly.
• Today and tomorrow influence each other.  What I do with each day is influenced by what's on my calendar down the road.  Silly to spend time marketing when I have deadlines to hit.  I don't have time now, for instance, to take any life drawing workshops, but I will after the holidays.  The rhythm of the art day is influenced by the calendar.  Go with the flow of what the priorities are.
• Being organized helps me be more creative.  I have a paper notebook where I write everything down.  I also have a calendar where I note opportunities I might want to do in the future.  Don't have to keep things in my head and can relax.
• The art is the thing.  I can truly get lost in the marketing, blogging, etc.  Deadlines loom and as I said I do my best work in 2 hour max shots.  I am strict about them.  But recognizing how I work best helps me do my best work.  Gotta go now!  Robin

I'm Robin Zebley, specializing in portraits of pets, animal art and now portraits of children.  My pet portraits site is full of info and samples.  I love comments on my blog and would love to hear from you!  If you would like to contact me by email, it's HERE.

In Florida - the Space Shuttle launch, alligators and art

I'm a little out of the loop, I've been visiting my dad in Okeechobee Florida.  I came down with my son who's at Cocoa Beach, and he dropped me off at my Dad's after some really fun times with our family in Ft. Laurderdale.  We watched the launch on t.v. then ran out to the backyard to see it in real life.  Unfortunately, those big puffy Florida clouds blocked the view.  Still exciting that my son had a part in preparing things for the International Space Station!  (That's about all THIS artist understands about it!)

My stepsister and her daughter are also visiting so we took a day trip today and drove around.  Okeechobee is so cool, so "old Florida" still, with natural looking vistas against that blue sky.  We did our best to spot some gators but like the space shuttle launch, they kept hidden from our view.

I did get some awesome shots of big ole birds at the "intersection" of Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River.

But being here reawakens a wish I've had for a while to be able to spend even more time here in Florida, which is where I grew up.  Maybe I can do some art shows?  That would sure be fun!  But for now, I am working on Christmas, with lots of commissions and room for a few more orders, if I am diligent about working once I get home.  If I'm a good girl, I might even be able to get more than a few in.  It's exciting to me how responsive people have been to my work!

Little bit of this, little bit of that - Portraits and Animal art

Last night I finished up a kitty memorial commission...almost.  I have just a LITTLE tiny more to do but had to let the piece rest to be able to add that tiny extra touch.  I am finding the combination of brands of colored pencils really works nicely with my style, which I think of as realistic with a splash of impressionism!  Or is it "robin-ism"?  I just do what I feel like!

Next on tap is a double dog portrait.  I'll be doing a thumbnail sketch first since I'm making modifications to the almost perfect photo that will be the base of this portrait.  Really helps to see if there's a composition problem before I commit to the large size.

Another cool thing coming up for me is that my art will be featured on a Philadelphia dog site!  I am doing a small piece of a puppy in the park for a raffle for this relatively new site.  Helps us both out.  I'll let you know the site once I'm on there and if you want, you can try for the free piece!

Yesterday Otto and I spent a ton of time outdoors and will be today too.  Just can't let these gorgeous sunny days go by without being there.  We've had so much rain that it makes you really appreciate when it's dry.  I've been shredding leaves and putting them in the old veggie garden which is penned to keep the rabbits out to become leaf mold.  Next year it won't be the garden anymore...it's gotten too dark, the trees we've planted are getting nice and shady and so I'll have to dig a new one out in a more sunshiney spot!

I've been REALLY fortunate that I've made some new internet friends who are trying to help me out by posting my links on their sites, passing out my cards, tweeting about my work, etc.  I'll be doing a whole post about them soon.  Oh..and I'm secretly doing another child's portrait!  So that's the little bit of this and little bit of that I'm up to!  Thanks so much for visiting with me (too bad we can't just sit down together for a cup of tea!) 

Thanks again for visiting my blog.  I'm animal and childrens portrait artist, Robin Zebley.  I'd love to work with you to create the portrait of your dreams!  My email is HERE.

Commissioning a Pet Portrait - How you can help create a portrait you'll love!

With me, my clients are as important in the process as the subjects!  I really want your portrait to be exactly what you envisioned, and something that you will love forever.  So I work hard to try and get at what it is you envision.  And sometimes, that's not that easy for a non-artist to verbalize.  I understand that.

Of course, the first thing is I need some photos.  I find that some people who would love a portrait hesitate because they don't have a perfect photo.  That is okay.  In fact, that's one of my strengths, imo.  Animals are HARD to photograph in a way that shows their "true colors".  Some of them are hilarious when you get the camera out.  I can never "catch" Otto indoors, he's too aware of my every move (always hoping yet another car ride or walk is on tap!) and my precious Gussie (who crossed that bridge 2 years ago), thought she was a runway model.  Any time that camera came out, she posed...and it was like the kid with a phony camera smile, it just didn't look like her.  And outdoors, forget it.  There's just so much going on!

So I know first hand how hard it is to get one great photo.

What I like is if you can send me several photos and we can decide together what will make the best portrait.   Of course, sometimes we get lucky and one is all we need!  But if not, we can work together.

There's 5 technical elements that I can put together for you:  Pose, Face, Coloring, Background and Foreground.  But the most important element to me is your telling me about their Personality.

Personality????  Absolutely.  Say you're purchasing a gift of your mother's precious pooch for Christmas.  She's a maltese.  I want this to look like Mom's maltese, not just any maltese.  Is she shy? Bossy? Outgoing? Curious? Loyal? Bratty? Naughty? Goofy? Queenlike? Serene?  Silly? When I know something about the personality of the animal, I can bring it out.  How?  I have no idea!!!  I just know that it comes through the details. 

My past customers have told me that I "caught her personality".  I have one golden retriever that looks...annoyed.  Her human told me that she is one of many in the family and she kind of sits to the side watching the other goofy animals with a superior, annoyed expression on her face.  Now if I made her look silly, that wouldn't be her, would it?  Her human loved her portrait...it was "her"!

Then, the technical aspects:

First, is the pose:  Is it the one of her lying on the rug?  Or is it that one, of her sitting ...but that kitchen trash is in the background?  Say you just love this one of her sitting but her front paws are cut off in the photo. Very common. I can work with that.  Numerous photos will show us her paws, and if it's a memorial portrait, I'll take a look at the paws of that breed and match it up.

Second is the face.  Very often the cute portrait pose is not the best expression that reveals their personality!  I can almost always combine the expressive face photo with the pose we decide works best.  Another aspect is getting the all important facial details.  I find a great place to get close details that I can use is outdoors in the car!  They are distracted enough to get in close and get that shot.  It doesn't have to be the right expression, but if I can see just how that nose is shaped, and just how far apart those eyes are, I can incorporate it!  Whatever I can do to make it look just like YOUR pet, is my goal.

Third is coloring.  Indoors shots are notoriously misleading colorwise.  Flashes bleach out coloring and give those eyes that bizarre green glow.  No matter!  A shot outdoors at any time except midday shows the coloring unique to your pet.  I don't care what they're doing outdoors, as long as I can see colors.  I might ask you for exact eye color, as well.  For most dogs, it's black coffee? black tea? a chocolate bar?  For cats, there's that whole range of light yellow to golden to greens to blues.  We'll get it right.  The eyes are all important...

Fourth is the background.  Ultra closeups call for something simple, but I do enjoy portraits that have the pet in a meaningful setting.  I really don't understand why so many portrait artists are afraid of backgrounds. Putting the pet into a real setting turns it from a "Sears" type portrait to a portrait that is meaningful to you and makes the art worth viewing in its own right!  On the couch?  On the oriental rug? Outdoors in the grass?  On top of a motorcycle?  Let's discuss!

Fifth is the foreground.  Often, the foreground...the bottom edge of the portrait...declares itself from the background choice.  But sometimes, it's flipped!  It is the most important "non-subject" part of the painting and the background sinks in importance.  For instance the pose of a dog lying on the edge of a rug with a wood floor showing that fades to a very dark background. 

And Sixth, which I forgot to mention earlier in my list, is working with multiple photos of a family of pets to make sure they are in the correct proportion to each other and are included in a creative composition that brings out the personality of each of them!

Some commissions are relatively straightforward.  From the array of photos, we quickly come to a consensus and the photos tell me all I need.  Sometimes, we need to work more.  I might ask you to photograph his tail or you might want to take a photo of the drapes you want in the background.  Or the favorite toy or blanket.

Email makes it really easy to communicate and I have enjoyed getting to know the fabulous pet owners who have commissioned portraits over the past 8 years.  I think the reason I have so many repeat gift orders is that my clients know I will go the extra mile to make that pet portrait that's a gift as detailed and personality filled as I can possibly make it! 

But I need YOUR input; otherwise, it's just like a little art factory producing breed art.  I want your portrait to be so unique and full of personality that nobody will say, "that's a pug".  But instead say, "that's MY pug!" 

Thanks for visiting my blog!  I'm Portrait Artist Robin Zebley, with over 8 years experience creating portraits of pets, now also offering portraits of children!  Many of my commissions are shown here, for more, and for ordering information and pricing, please visit my website: http://robinzebley.com/.  Questions? Ready to order?  Just click HERE.  I work commissions in the order I receive them and your deposit saves your space on my list.  I am looking forward to working with you!  Robin

A Grandmother Portrait - how precious is that?

For most of us, our grandmother means fun and attention, spoiling and smiles.  She loved all the same people we did as children, only from the opposite direction! 

Last Christmas, before I really thought about doing portraits of people, I got a call from a fellow who wanted to give a gift of a portrait of his friend's grandma who had recently passed.  His friend had one photo of his grandma that he thought caught her sweet smile and expression...but she wasn't alone in that photo and cropping it would be butchery...so Steve stole the photo and commissioned a portrait! 

Steve had faith that I could pull it off...he liked the way I did pet portraits.  In fact, he's the person who first said, "they are just full of personality!"  I knew the detail I like to do conveys personality but that was a "day maker" when he said that...

What was really funny when I worked on this was I just felt this peaceful love bouncing right out of the photograph...I hope you can feel that, too, from my portrait of her.  His friend did love it..what a meaningful gift for HER..and I'm glad I remembered this little portrait from a year ago to show to you! 

I'm portrait artist, Robin Zebley.  I specialize in pets and am now offering portraits of people, too!  Some of my portraits are shown to your right, more on my people and pet portrait website, robinzebley.com, which is HERE.  "Follow" my blog to your right and get updated when I blog.  I am still accepting commissions for Christmas, 2009 gift giving, so send me an email HERE or give me a call!  Thanks so much for visiting and I would appreciate it so much if you would email your friends and family with a link to my site or blog because I depend on word of mouth!  Robin

My Most Popular Pet Portrait! Scooter-Mania!

Accoring to Google Analytics, Scooter is the most popular pet portrait I have ever done! Scooter-Mania was huge...but not long lived!  Here's what happened...

I am not especially computer literate.  I do my own pet  portrait and childrens portrait website but it's a template from godaddy and I don't have to know any kind of web hosting program.  I like it because I can move things around and add things easily.

So it took me years to install Google Analytics on it which gives me a report of what is being looked at on my site.  Now, it doesn't tell me WHO is visiting, it just tells me what is being looked at. 

And SCOOTER was WHAT everyone was looking at the first few days!!   I was a little surprised to learn that this older portrait was wildly popular the first few days I got the reports!  Of all of the images on my front page and in the other pages, EVERYONE was clicking on Scooter to see him even larger.  Scooter had more clicks than all of my other animal and childrens' art put together.

So what do I do with this info?  Rush out and get Scooter reprints and sell them on the corner?  Scooter t-shirts?  Scooter book and movie deals?  Well, sadly, Scooter-mania has died down.  Scooter is back to getting just about the same attention as all of the other dogs on my site.

So what does THAT mean?  I think someone with a dog that resembles Scooter surfed onto my site and emailed all their friends and family and said "look at this dog I found on an artist's website! Doesn't he look just like my "Mr. X?"  And they all came and looked and said "yup, that's Mr. X alright."  :D 

So I think it's easy to over analyze analytics!  But it sure is exciting to think that people are getting to my site via emails from friends!  Please, feel free to help me out that way!  (And please, quick, just click on Scooter, he must be missing the Scooter groupies!)  Scooter and I both thank you.

I'm artist, Robin Zebley.  I specialize in portraits and art of animals and children.  To commission a detailed and personality-filled portrait, just email me HERE!  To follow my blog, just click to your right.  To visit my childrens and pet portrait site, click: http://robinzebley.com/. Thanks for visiting!  I hope you enjoyed!

Dogs - Finding their way back home

In the past week, when walking Otto, he started turning NOT toward home at a crossroads intersection, but merrily turning the corner in the other direction to extend his adventure.  Then, a sly backward glance to see if I was going to stop him.

It made me wonder if our daily walks would make it easier for him to find his way home if he got lost?  He's escaped before and on both occasions, the humans who found him used his tags to call us to come get him.  One time he ended up at our neighborhood pizza parlor 3 blocks away.  He's been there before, picking up pizza.  Sometimes by car, sometimes on foot (but accompanied by a human!)

Another time, he ended up just two blocks away from the tattoo shop his human brother works at.  He's been guest shop dog there, and has been there by car. 

When Otto and I walk, we usually stick to the neighborhood that is bound by larger streets and 2 train tracks, probably 3/4 of a mile square. Except for a school yard, the area is neat little blocks. So yesterday I tried this:  I walked him across across one of the big streets where he's never been and went about 7 blocks north.  Then, I kept him on his leash, but did my best to let him lead the way home.  Would he find it? 

What do you think?  Easy as pie!  I don't know how they do it or what he smells.  But maybe it's me!  I bike a much farther distance than I walk him.  I do a lot of my errands on my bike.  What do you think?

I am artist, Robin Zebley, the human at the other end of Otto's leash (and the one with the little bag full of Otto's deposits!)  If you'd like to visit my website to see my pet and human portrait samples, my site is HERE.  If you'd like to read my whole blog, click on the top banner.  If you'd like to follow my blog, sign up to your right.  Thanks for visiting me.  Your comments are always welcome!