Friday, June 3, 2016

Yesterday at the Barn

Yesterday I was down at the barn painting a goat and a sheep. It wasn't a sketchbook page this time, but rather full size profiles painted in acrylic on plywood. Luckily I had Sofie to advise me.

The farmer, Lenny, asked me to help him with a farm-to-table display that he's setting up for the Country Living Fair starting today at the Rhinebeck Fairgrounds.

8 comments:

gyrusdentus said...

Great to see you paint in acrylic. I wonder if you recognize big differences to gouache or oils or if you apply the same methods.

James Gurney said...

These were house painting acrylic latex, which worked just fine. Good covering power, much faster drying than oils.

Janet Oliver said...

So sweet!

Denny1600 said...

Great!

Bill Marshall said...

Any reason you had to paint them on your knees?…OUCH! (kidding)

James Gurney said...

Bill, you're right -- my knees felt it all day afterward.

slice4e said...

Hi James,

Your post made me think of an issue about pricing one's work - that maybe you could comment on.
Surely, the farmer is not able to afford your prices (that you would charge for illustration work for National Geographic, etc.). However, you obviously want to help out and you painted those animals for him. In many cases, if these are friends and the like, you can just do it pro-bono ( and not compromise on your pricing structure). However, you can't do it all for free. There are cases when you would love to sell work to someone, but you just know that they cannot afford your prices.
How do you strike a balance between staying consistent with your prices, and helping someone own your work - for whom a "gallery-like" price is simply too big of a stretch.
Thank you!
Martin

James Gurney said...

Martin, as I'm sure you understand, there are some things in life that are beyond the reach of financial transactions. What we do for our friends and family we can't put a price on. This whole project is a gift from the farmer to inner-city kids who want to learn what happens on the farm. Of course I, like every other professional artist, do charge for my career work, both services and products, but that's a discussion for another time.