Small Original Art. And Bit Of My Painting Process And Studio Life. Secrets Of A Full Time Artist

Last week I showed you my largest painting. I think it would be nice to show you the small ones I do as well.

All of these are oils on 12inches wood. All of them sold right after making them public.

It takes a lot out of me to paint a big canvas. Here is the story of my largest one if you missed it: https://steemit.com/art/@jankasparec/gaia-reborn-the-largest-and-most-complex-painting-i-ve-done-painting-progress-and-details

Actually that's only half truth. It also gives me a lot. The rush and energy I get as I'm finishing a large piece that took me weeks, sometimes over a month to finish, is a real high. Nevertheless it does cost efforts. To envision a large painting and put it together is like composing classical music- all components have to fit together in harmony. It's like running long distances. The last 5 kilometers pick up a faster tempo, the last 2km the fatigue is overcome by the feeling of exhilaration, and the last 500 meters the power is unleashed. Endorphin level is high after the finish line. I sometimes dance or sing after I sign a large piece. It's a truly fulfilling feeling of joy and the rush of energy comes out as pure Shakti.

These were even smaller, just 10 inches, and all three sold withing minutes :)

Sometimes I need regeneration time, sometimes I jump on another canvas right away. At times I am working on 5 different paintings at the same time, all of them in different stages of advancement, rotating them all day long. Some other paintings require my full focus, and I can't touch another piece not even when I'm waiting for the layers to dry. The bottom line is- I am not the boss, I am just a surfer. The inspiration comes in waves and I can only be lucky enough to catch the wave. I have to respect the process, the natural biorhythm of it, because going against the flow would mean creating something that will reflect resistance. And people DO SENSE the energy from a painting on a very fine subliminal level. As a general rule paintings that came straight from my heart with no intervention of mind sell quite easily. Humans pick up such energies like intention through their aura, whether their aware of it or not. And people want Love, which only comes from creations of heart.

Frame made it neat. Not a bad thing considering I found it in a garbage bin:) Reuse recycle make money! :D

The good news for a workaholic like me is that there's always tons to do around the studio when inspiration happens to be stagnating. I actually became a handy man only after I became an artist. I wasn't that good with tools before, and I did not enjoy it that much either. That changed dramatically with my craft. When I was fresh on the path of full time artist, I wasn't making any money. To minimize expenses I had to learn how to build and stretch my own canvases. Oh God, I was so inefficient in the beginning, I have to smile when I remember it now. It took me more time to stretch a medium size canvas then it would take me now to cut the wood, build the frame, stretch the canvas, prime and sand it- a big one. The skill does not fall from heaven I guess, it has to be acquired over time. Now I build my shelves, my working table, even the loft in my studio (with friend's help).

These days I can afford having my canvases custom built by a man who only does that, using first class materials. The ones in art stores are amateur quality and I do have respect for my clients, who pay substantial amount of money for my art, so I want to deliver the best product possible. I know artists, actually many of them, who do not care that much about the surface they paint on. They paint on cheap canvases bought in bulk quantities in dubious art stores. I don't believe in this approach. That also means that I only use the highest quality oil paints, regardless of the price, never a student quality.

There's also other, less appealing work to do- manage my online presence on various social media and my own websites. With over 130k followers and growing, I feel that it's my responsibility. It's a price I have to pay for my art being seen worldwide. I tried to hire an assistant couple times but it always somehow went to nowhere as I had to constantly explain things, and their presence in my studio cut my focus (I'm also not a big fan of small chat...).
I am currently playing with the idea of hiring an assistant offshore, either in Philippines or India. I heard great references from my friends who own business and did so. Apparently the gratitude, dedication, level of skill and service delivered can be extremely high, for half or less of the cost.

That week they came out like on conveyor belt, one after another!

Last but not least- I have to take care of my plants (and clean up!) I have quite a few in my studio, especially in summer, cause I grow them in the skyline I have on the roof. And well- I'm a health freak, so I don't eat out. Which means I cook in my studio every day (some yummy juicing and blending happens every day too:), never at home, where I only go to sleep. I am 99% vegan (I have fresh river salmon once in a while though), so cooking my meals is simple- rice-cooker and titanium frying pan (no oil necessary thus no fried oil carcinogens) is all I need to prepare a super yummy meal in less than half an hour.

The left one is sold but I still have the one on the right.

Well, I wanted to talk about my small paintings which I do when I don't have energy for the big ones, and I ended up talking about my business. Sorry folks, I got carried away. I hope you enjoyed it all the same.

About the small originals- they are between 8-16inches on the long side, take me between 1-3 hours of work, and I usually sell them around $300. Most of the time they sell very fast, even within the first hour after I post them on Facebook. If you want to secure an original of mine for this price (my large originals are $10k up), follow me here: https://www.facebook.com/jan.kasparec.1 or like my facebook page- it is linked in my steemit profile
My posts on facebook are public, so you can comment even if we're not friends. I have Instagram but I think it's pain in the arse to update, so I rarely do so. And my twitter account is still a great mystery to me. Tweet is an animal sound as far as I am concerned :)

These ones ended up selling all the way to Mexico.

The time when I get to paint the small art is totally random. As I said- I don't drive the bus, I'm just a happy passenger trying to enjoy the ride!

Thank you for reading and for following me!

Much Love on your journeys,

Jan
@jankasparec

I love ocean waves, can you tell?