Marshall White Fine Art

Moved to Maui

2008-06-26T18:06:00.004-10:00

Aloha,

As of June 15th, 2008, I'm living and working in Maui.

There are many reasons for the move to Maui - personal and professional. But the bottom line is - I'm glad we made the move and am enjoying all that the island of Maui has to offer.

For the rest of the year of 2008, I will be doing alot of "en plein air" on the island of Maui. The decision to do this is for professional reasons - to take my art to the next level, and to do that I need to make creative changes that will bring more life and excitement to my art.

Mahalo to all of you who have purchased my art over the years, and thank you for viewing my web site looking for updates. The galleries that represent me on the Big Island will still continue to sell my art and I will continue to supply them with new original paintings - please stop in from time to time and view my work.

I have approached one of the finest galleries in Lahaina to represent me. Hopefully soon, my work will be available there for those of you who collect my art and frequent Maui often.

For those who are interested - I chose to live in Makawao Town - in the Up-Country area. It's an old paniolo town ( cowboy ), lots of horses, cows and chickens - and lots of fresh air! Coming from Kona, that means alot lately. ( This year, the VOG is worse than you can imagine on the Kona side ). Downtown Makawao is a step into the past, with lots of galleries and gift shops to meander through.

My new address is:
Marshall White
PO Box 612
Makawao, HI 96768

My email is still: successfulartist@aol.com

Warm Aloha from Hawaii,

Marshall White

Publishing your own Art Book.

2007-08-26T14:24:00.000-10:00

Marshall White

Fine Art Collections from Hawaii

Book Preview

New Coffee Table Book Available
of Marshall White's art:

This book is a collection of some of his most dynamic paintings to date. Professionally printed, this 8x10 softcover book has 54 pages showcasing 48 beautiful works of art by Hawaii Artist Marshall White, and would make a wonderful addition to your home.

Take a peek: Book Preview

Order one today at: www.Blurb.com

I recently decided to publish a "Coffee Table Book" of my art. I just had to write everyone and tell them on this blog - it's so cool!

For those of you who like my art and collect it, this is a perfect way to collect more than one of my images at a time - and it's affordable. It also makes a perfect gift for loved ones.

For those of you who are artists looking for advise. If you want a professional looking portfolio of your work that is easy to afford - here it is! I didn't come up with this idea myself, another artist I met while painting in the gallery stopped in to visit from California. "Snake" told me he went to www.Blurb.com and downloaded their software, he then put all the digital images of his art together in the Blurb program and ordered his book. It's perfect for artists who want just a few books for a good presentation.

I made a 11x13 book with hardcover for a portfolio to put in galleries that sell my giclee prints. It shows each image, title, size of original and medium painted in. I then listed below the sizes and editions of giclee prints available of the image shown above. This can be updated every six month to keep the galleries up to date with my latest works of art. The price to produce this larger book (over $60.00) was about the same as the portfolios I've been using (plastic binders with plastic sleeves and glossy printed paper of my images), but a much better presentation.

I also made a smaller 8x10 softcover book to make available to the public without the giclee information in it. Every artist should know that it no longer will cost them thousands to publish a book - now they can publish one at a time.

If you intend to sell lots of them and have a large distribution already - buying thousands of them all at once is the best way to make more profits on your book sales. Blurb gives quanity discounts. To get the cost of your book down below what you can get them made for on Blurb, you may still need to get them published by a regular book publisher and make a large up from investment.

New Honu

2007-03-26T20:31:00.000-10:00

Well it's been a great year so far and things are going well. I'm excited about the paintings I'm doing and feel it shows in my work. My latest painting - I'm really excited about, it was one of those ideas I had in my head and felt that I just had to paint it.

It's a turtle in a tidal pool with flowers floating on the water. The idea was to paint something with warm colors and capture the movement of the water - shimmering light reflecting on the bottom of the tidal pool. The images here are of it in process and there is still more work to be done, but it's enough to show you how it is turning out.

I still have to add the color to the flowers and the detail reflections of sky on the waters surface.

I feel so blessed to be doing what I love for a living and to top it off - this painting is already sold and I'm not even done with it. Last Friday a couple saw me working on it and loved it enough already to purchase it. For me that is the icing on the cake.

I love it when creative ideas hit me hard and drive me to get them on canvas. Even though I'm able to continue to create good ideas and concepts for paintings on a regular basis, there is also times when the creative energy is gushing, and the ideas come one after the other. Not just the usual, but epic ideas - next level stuff.

In addition to the creative side, the business side is booming and after six years of pushing hard, the momentum is building and things are coming together at a surprising rate. On top of the success with the galleries I'm in, The Hula Bean Coffee store in Indiana that carries my art prints is doing really well since their opening a few weeks ago and they are selling lots of my art prints there too.

I've been working for years to get myself and my art ready for the big time, and I've had several people involved with directing galleries tell me my work is already there. One of the last steps before approaching galleries on the other islands was to get my giclee printer up, running, and ready for large production. That is done and I'm finally ready to move forward. This year already is, and will continue to be a very exciting year for my art and life.

1st Quarter 2007 paintings

2007-03-07T19:51:00.000-10:00

Aloha!

Here are a few paintings I've finished of late.

"Waipio Valley" 30x40 oil on canvas. This painting of Hi'ilawe falls here on the big island of Hawaii was started last fall right after the earthquake. I just finished it a few weeks ago. This one is so dynamic, especially when well lit.

This one will be finished tomorrow 3/8/07. It's titled; "Wall of Passion" and is a 20x58 oil on canvas. A passion fruit vine locally known as "Lilikoi" . It also has one gecko in it.

I've been painting like crazy lately, lots of commissions done and more to do.

I've also been added to another gallery, this one is in Okotoks, Alberta Canada. Prestige Fine Art and Framing. If you live in Alberta and can make the trip to Okotos, be sure to visit them and see the collection of my work they carry.

Well, back to painting. Have a great day and be sure to visit me in Hawaii if you come to Kona.

Aloha.

New Studio

2007-02-01T19:43:00.000-10:00

Aloha,

Many things have happened since my last blog, but they have all been good. One of the biggest changes is my new studio at home. I decided it was time to purchase my own Giclee printer and produce my own Giclee prints, and this pushed me into remodeling one of our rooms and making it a art studio/ print studio. One side is set up to produce and assemble small prints with matt boards. The other side has a PC station dedicated for my Giclee printer, and of course my Giclee printer. I built a table on wheels to work on in the middle of the room. The small area towards the back door is set up with a easel I built so I can highlight Giclee prints and paint originals.

Remodling the room itself was a massive project, but it turned out well and is the most efficient work studio I've ever had.

There are many more little things that need to be done, but it's up and running.

I should mention, many have already asked me if I will prints giclees for them, the answer is no. I don't have the scanning equipment and really don't have time to start a print business or the desire to.

One of the paintings I've finished since my last blog is:

"Rainbow Plumeria" 24x36 oil on canvas.

I'm working on a waterfall scene, a red hibiscus, and several commissions at the moment.

One of the other things that has changed is that I closed my kiosk in the Kona Inn Shopping Village. It has been one of goals for several years to work more with galleries and stop doing retail myself. This has freed me up to paint more at the galleries I work with and hopfully my 2007 collection of paintings will be larger than my 2006 collection.

I've also closed down my webcam pages, one was damaged in the earthquake, the other one on Ali'i drive allowed me to post their webcam on my site, but has since changed the code on me. Hopefully I can get another up and running in the future.

Well, I have many paintings to do, so I better get back to it. :)

Aloha,

Marshall White

Paradise Garden

2006-11-21T20:32:00.000-10:00

Here is my newest painting to be released as a limited edition giclee print "Paradise Garden". This painting was a commission piece and is my first full garden scene. All of the flowers are common to Hawaii and the waterfall was inspired by the waterfall at the botanical garden just north of Hilo.

It's been a long time since I blogged. I have three more paintings going at the same time - a volcanoscape, another plumeria and a painting of the waterfall in the back of Waipio Valley.

The first half of this year got off to a slow start, but the last half has been busy and I'm working as much as I can without burning myself out. I've been very blessed and the galleries are selling my paintings as fast as I can paint them. I want to say "thank you" to all of you who have collected my paintings and prints this year - Mahalo!

My book sales are going well. I've recieved so many emails from artists who are grateful that I wrote it. I'm glad so many have found it to be helpful and encouraging.

I will write more soon. Mahalo and Aloha. :)

Opportunity Knocks

2006-09-21T21:54:00.000-10:00

Last week my artist friend Michael told me he was leaving the Pacific Fine Art Gallery to do a animation project. To my surprise, I was asked if I would take his place at the gallery as the "in house" artist. Of course, I accepted.

Pacific Fine Art is the best commercial art gallery in the Kona area. I waited for several years for the chance to have them carry and sell my art, and for the last year and a half they have been selling my florals as fast as I could paint them. This is such a great opportunity, I never thought I would get the chance to do this. I have seen several of my artist friends work with this gallery in the past as their "in house" artist, and they seemed to do really well.

For the first time in 5.5 years, I'm painting in a air conditioned space - what a difference! And working with a team of professional sales people is wonderful, they are so good at what they do and all I have to do is paint and answer questions once in awhile. I'm really enjoying working with them.

I still have my Kiosk open and work it early in the morning until noon, then I paint at the gallery until 5pm, then I return to the Kiosk and paint there until 8pm or 9pm. So if you are looking for me between noon and 5pm, look for me at the Pacific Fine Art Gallery at the Kona Inn Shopping Village. I'll be there 5 days a week.

Aloha!

Latest Paintings

2006-09-07T23:04:00.000-10:00

Here are my latest paintings. (First Photo courtesy of GemFire Jewelry.)

I just today finished "Geckos in Paradise", a 24x36 inch oil on canvas. It was sold yesterday before I had finished it, to some really nice people who were visiting Kona for the day. It has 5 geckos hidden in the painting on the leaves.

The painting I did before that was a 24x36 oil on canvas also and is titled: "Bird of Paradise 3" and is just the Bird of Paradise flower on a black background.

The painting I finished before that was a 22x30 oil on canvas and is titled:"Lavender Cattleya Trio".

The painting of the beach is a 24x48 and is a oil on canvas and is titled:"Beach at Waikaloa". I finished that one up the first week I moved to my new location.

Enjoy!

Successful Location

2006-08-21T13:39:00.000-10:00

My new location at the Kona Inn Shopping Village is working out well. I've been down there day and night since the first of the month and finally have a good idea what days, nights and hours are best. I can tell you from experience - being there all day into the night is a good way to burn yourself out, so I have to choose carefully my working hours so I can avoid burn-out.

The up side is that I've completed several paintings really fast compared to what I had been doing in the past. I finished the 24x48 seascape, a 22x30 Lavender Cattleya Trio and a 24x36 Bird of Paradise flower. Today I start a new painting.

It may take a long time for everyone to discover that I've moved and where I've moved too, but I think it will be worth it in the long run. So far, it has helped my gallery sales at the Pacific Fine Art Gallery by being close by. I send people down to view my work there all of the time.

Tonight I will be in Kawaihae again painting in front of the Harbor Gallery. Last week they told me that they sold my painting titled "Puako Breeze", which is great news. :)

Thank you for visiting me here online and viewing my works of art.

Aloha!

New Location

2006-08-04T23:25:00.000-10:00

Life has been a whirlwind since my last post, too many things hitting me at once from too many directions. But, as always, I keep pushing forward and do the best I can. In the middle of chaos, in a effort to make changes for the better, I rented a Kiosk at the Kona Inn Shopping Village in Kailua Kona. It's a gamble, but it is a better location and hopefully it will pay off in the end.

This of course is why I haven't been working in my studio at home for the last few weeks, and because I have to keep regular hours there, I most likely won't be in my studio at home for awhile - so much for my studio cam.

The kiosk is next to the glass blower, so if you are familiar with Kona and have seen Justin blow glass, you can now find me right next to him. My hours this week are 9:00am to 9:00pm. I most likely will be only working evenings from 5:00pm to 9:00pm, and when the cruise ships are in town I will be there from 9:00am to 9:00pm. But first I have to study traffic flow and decide what times are best to be there.

Aloha!

New Prints Available

2006-07-15T09:00:00.000-10:00

With the purchase of the house this year, I've gotten a little behind on reproducing my art.
Mau'umae Beach was painted back in April and I just now have prints available of it. Mau'umae Beach is available in a giclee paper print and in two sizes of limited edition giclee canvas print. http://www.brianmarshallwhite.com/maumaibeach.htm

Mana Road was done back in May and is now available in print also:
http://www.brianmarshallwhite.com/manaroad.htm

There are two more paintings I'm waiting on to be reproduced and will have them available in the next few weeks.

The third one is the most recent painting titled "Eternal Summer". It is available in different print sizes also:

http://www.brianmarshallwhite.com/eternalsummer.htm

Well, the cold I had lasted longer than I had hoped, but I'm over it now and finally finished the conversion of my workshop into a bedroom. Now my work shop area has been reduced to a 6 ft. x 10 ft. room with a closet space for tools. :(

Yesterday I drove to Volcano to shoot reference photos of orchids, and will begin painting florals again after several months of painting landscapes. Of course, I have to finish the latest beach scene that I started in the process.

Now maybe, I can get back to working in my studio and those who are interested can actually see me painting again on the web.

Deciding what to paint...

2006-06-27T19:57:00.000-10:00

Painting in my studio today was brief, interupted by an event beyond my control. My daughter has moved back in with us and I have to convert most of my woodshop into a bedroom. Unfortunatley, this will take time away from painting, but it needs to be done. The nice thing is my grandkids will be close by and there is so much joy we receive from interacting with them.

.......My Jeep Wagoneer - it's old, no radio, and the drivers seat sits cockeyed because it is broken and I have several 2x4's under it blocking it up from collapsing all-together. But, it's my first 4x4 and it's cool to me. Besides, it runs good and I only paid $800.00 cash for it, so who could ask for more?

The fact that I have no radio gives me lots of time to think on long trips, and my thoughts lately have been about how I make decisions on what subjects to paint. There is an old saying, "If you can paint portraits of people well, you can paint anything", and I believe that is true. In fact, I'm very confident that I can paint anything and do a fairly good job at it. But, just because I can paint something - any subject, doesn't mean it will make a great painting. And as I've grown as an artist, I find myself more and more particular about what I dedicate my time to paint.

I have concluded for the most part that there are several questions I ask myself when choosing a subject or scene to paint, and they aren't nessesarily always prioritized in this order. In fact, the reason why I do a painting may be 90% yes to one of the questions and 10% yes to the rest.

The answer I'm looking for to all of the questions is "YES".

1. Is the subject in line with my goal to paint local scenes and/or florals?
2. Is it a good composition?
3. Is the subject interesting?
4. Is it a subject that appeals to the many?
5. Does it inspire me and challenge me?
6. Will it be a painting that I would want to hang on my wall?

Let me expound a little on each one;

1. Is the subject in line with my goal to paint local scenes and/or florals?
This question is obviously a business minded question. I've worked really hard to get my art selling well so I can make a living with it, and it's important to be consistant and fill the demand
for the subjects that are selling well for me. I could just start painting motorcycles on wet city streets because I find it interesting to me, but it would be a stupid business decision when galleries are asking for more of local scenes and florals. To answer "Yes" to this question is just good business.

2. Is it a good composition?
This is probably the most important question. I believe, if you have a good composition and you do a lousy job painting it, you will still have a good painting. But with a poor composition, the best painter in the world won't be able to make it look good.

3. Is the subject interesting?
I've seen paintings and done paintings in the past that had really good compositions and were exicuted really well, but when it's done, you ask yourself "Why?" Why spend the time painting that? - It's a boring scene or subject.

4. Is it a subject that appeals to the many?
This again is a business question. Obviously, the larger the interest group, the larger chance there will be someone interested in buying the original and the prints of the image you've painted. If you paint unicorns in all of your paintings, your paintings will only appeal to a small group of people.

5. Does it inspire me and challenge me?
This question makes all the difference in world to me. I can do paintings that don't inspire me, but then it's just another painting I have to get done so I can get back to doing one I really have an itch to do. Don't get me wrong, it will still look great, but there's nothing like being inspired and challenged to make you feel you've accomplished something at the end of the project. Creativity is a gift, and I like working with that gift and pushing the envelope. Doing things I've never done before and never thought I could do.

6. Will it be a painting that I would want to hang on my wall?
This question falls inline with "is it an interesting subject", but is more personal. It also helps me think about, what would I do to make it something I'd want to hang on my wall. Sometimes, canvas size or shape can make the difference.

I usually stick to these questions pretty close, but once in awhile I'll toss #4 out the window and paint it anyway. I often find there are more people who like "off the wall" art around than I thought. My paintings of "Galactic Migration" and "Ka Maka Honu (eye of the turtle)" are good examples of that.
http://www.brianmarshallwhite.com/galactic_migration.htm

http://www.brianmarshallwhite.com/kamakahonu.htm

Have a great day!

Aloha!

"Eternal Summer"

2006-06-26T21:38:00.000-10:00

After two days of laying around doing nothing but watching movies, I woke up Monday morning and felt much better. I still have a nasty cough, but my energy is coming back and I can finally focus my eyes again.

So, back to work. I delivered a giclee print to the Pacific Fine Art Gallery, signed a stack of prints my wife put together for me, picked up some giclee prints I ordered, clearcoated one giclee and one original painting. By the time I finished all of that, it was time for a nap. ...Yes, you heard right. Especially when I've been sick, a nap is a much needed interlude between the morning shift and the evening shift. In fact, anytime I'm not working on the street during cruise ship visits, I take a short nap around 1:30 or 2:00pm. Otherwise I don't have the energy to work until 9:00 at night.

By 4:00pm, I was on the road to Kawaihae to deliver originals to the Harbor Gallery. We put the painting I just finished into an existing Mango frame they had to see how it looked. ....Perfect match!

I decided to title this piece "Eternal Summer". After we photographed it framed, I took the original home with me so I can send it off and have it reproduced. Gunner, the owner of the Harbor Gallery told me he thought this one was my best yet.

If your not familiar with Hawaiian culture, the hand sign I'm showing with my right hand is called a "shaka", it means "Hang Loose" and is more common than waving to someone to say hi.

Aloha!

Summer Cold

2006-06-22T21:44:00.000-10:00

Seems I can't get away from it anywhere. I came down with a cold that I got from my granddaughter and it's zapping all my energy. But I keep pushing forward as much as I can. I'm still going out to sell on the street when the cruise ships come in, but then I have to crash the rest of the night to get energy for the next day.

I'll be back in my studio when I get over this - until then... vitamin C, lots of liquids and sleep.

Kohala Beach Scene almost done..

2006-06-20T22:27:00.000-10:00

Besides setting up the webcam in my studio, I've been painting as much as possible on the Kohala Beach painting - and it's almost done. Just a few more long days to finish it.

It is a 30x40 inch oil on canvas and is my best work yet. Not only does the composition work well and it looks good from a distance, but there is so much going on in the detail that is interesting, you find yourself exploring the painting at close range.
:)

Here is one sample shot of some of the detail.

If you are interested in this painting, please contact "Gunner" at the Harbor Gallery:
Harbor Gallery
P.O. Box 44554
Kawaihae, Hawaii 96743
(808) 882-1510
(800) 865-0824
Email: gunner@harborgallery.biz

Aloha!

Hawaii Sunset Studio Webcam

2006-06-16T20:46:00.000-10:00

Well, I finally did it.....

I set up a streaming video webcam in my studio!

After many late nights and some help from the owner of Cambrosia webcam software, it is finally up and running. During the day while I'm away, I point it at the Kailua Kona Bay, and in the evenings, you can watch the sunset. When I'm working in my studio, I point it at my art easel.

I hope you enjoy this webcam and visit often to see me working on my latest creation.... or at least visit to watch the sunset. :)

Here is the link:
http://www.BrianMarshallWhite.com/studiocam.htm

Aloha!

Artist in Residence

2006-06-12T22:19:00.000-10:00

Every Monday night I paint at the Harbor Gallery.

I don't actually sell anything myself, but it's a great way to promote my art just by being there painting and meeting people who like to watch me paint.

The Harbor Gallery has been promoting me and selling my art for several years, and recently they dedicated a whole wall to my work in the front of the gallery.

The challenge now, is to keep the wall full. More and more collectors are discovering my art and buying it as fast as I can re-stock the gallery. I suppose if I painted faster, I could keep up, but it takes time to paint the way I like to paint. I pour my heart and soul into each one, pushing myself to be better and do a better job with each new work of art.

The last several months, I've noticed my work has hit the "Next Level". This is the third time in the last five years that I've noticed it, and the owner of the Harbor Gallery has noticed it too. He even suggested that the value of my work should go up 10% higher than it is now. He said for the quality of work, my paintings are still really affordable.

The paintings that are already at the gallery will still be at the old price level, but any new paintings submitted after today will be priced at the new value for my work.

Busy Week

2006-06-11T21:06:00.000-10:00

Trying to remember what I did this week, it all seems like a blur at best. But, I know I was busy from early in the morning to late at night each day. I did start two new paintings of the Kohala coast beach I visited last weekend, and made lots of progress on one of them. In fact, I spent several long days late into the night painting on this one.

I also supplied another new consignment store with my art prints and worked on the street painting and selling two of the three days the ships were in. I also highlighted two giclee prints and have them ready to deliver to the gallery tomorrow. Yep, other than that, it's been a blur. I guess that's what happens when you burn the candle at both ends. :)

I love Hawaii

2006-06-04T22:11:00.000-10:00

Especially this island. There are so many things to see, and the the lanscapes are so different from one part of the island to the next. I've lived here for five years and am still discovering places I've never seen before.

This painting is almost done. It's a 16x20 oil on canvas and is of Mauna Kea, and it's one of those places I recently discovered.

Last Saturday, my son and I hiked along the beach south of "A" Bay shooting photos for reference material. I found a stretch of beach that is absolutly beautiful! Sandy beaches broken briefly by interesting formations of lava rock. Clean, clear water that tints blue-green to a almost translucent process blue, and the deeper it gets, the deeper blue it gets. Definatly the subject of my next painting!

I also met another local artist named Susan, she was sitting in the shade with her easel working on a painting. She was really nice, and she had the right idea. I'm thinking to myself, "Here I am, in a hurry to get back to my studio to paint, and she's painting and relaxing in the shade at the beach without a care in the world" (or so it seemed).

Now that is the life - I need to stop rushing around from one project to the other and soak up the beach once in awhile.

"Waiter - Bring me a hammock and a Mai Tai !"

Three more paintings for collectors

2006-05-30T11:45:00.000-10:00

For those of you who collect my art, here are three recently finished paintings that are headed for reproduction and will soon be available in the galleries that display my art.

The first one is of Mana Road up in Waimea on the Big Island of Hawaii. This painting is an oil on canvas and is 22x30 inch in size. It will be on display at the Harbor Gallery in Kawaihae by July 1st.

The second painting is of a Kohala beach looking north towards the town of Kawaihae, and is oil on canvas and is 18x36 inch in size. It will be on display at the Harbor Gallery in Kawaihae by July 1st.

The third painting is of a Yellow Plumeria and is a oil on canvas - 20x24 inch in size. It will be on display at the Pacific Fine Art Gallery in Kailua Kona by July 1st.

If you are interested in any of these paintings, please contact the gallery as soon as possible. Lately my original paintings don't last long and are usually sold with-in a few weeks of having them framed.

Here is the contact info for both galleries:

Harbor Gallery: P.O. Box 44554 Kawaihae, Hawaii 96743 (808) 882-1510 (800) 865-0824 Email: gunner@harborgallery.biz

Pacific Fine Art Gallery: Ali'i Drive at the Kona Inn Shoping Village - Kailua Kona, Hawaii 96740(808) 329-0519 Email: Consultants@PFAKona.com

Aloha!

Building Displays for Consignments

2006-05-27T20:34:00.000-10:00

The house is ours now, and since my last posts, it's been one house project after another inbetween art business activities. Setting my wood working area up to work in so I can build more displays for consignments was one of them.
Having a good presentation for your art prints is important, and the only way to be sure they are displayed well is to provide your own display bins, racks and stands. Since I couldn't find any on the island to buy and budget was a big factor - I opted to design and build my own. The fold up stand in the first photo is for 16x20 art prints.

The photos below are of a stand I designed that hold small 8x10 and 11x14 inch prints. It has three levels, the top bin is for 11x14's and the middle bin is 8x10's. The bottom bin is for extras - a storage bin for the store to use so they can quickly restock a print that has sold. The consignment stores love this one because it only takes up a floor space of about 16x16 inches, and is only 4 ft. tall.
I also make my own table top acrylic display bins for prints - it's amazing what you can do with a home-made plywood "break" and a heat gun.

It doesn't take alot of tools to build your own displays, but having the right tool for the job sure makes it easy. Some day I'll post photos of the finished product the way they look in the store with prints in them, but for now these are all the photos I have to show.

A Glance at Putting Prints Together

2006-04-13T18:29:00.000-10:00

With my inventory low from last months consignment re-stock, it's time to put together more prints of my art and sign them, and that is what I did today. I was completely out of some of my best sellers, and those I need when I'm on the street selling.

I attach the prints to the backboards, set the mat board in place, add the bio sheet to the back and hand sign each print. It's actually alot of work, but as you can see by the photo, we have organized the work area and streamlined the process to make it as efficiant as possible.

The shelf is home-made just for this purpose, and it sits on a regular fold-up table I bought at Costco. Mat Boards, backboards and clear bags ( print sleeves ) all have their place just above the work area. I also have two clamp lights, one on each side to provide good lighting so I can see what I"m doing.

If your an artist and you want to know more about where to get the materials, and how to put prints together - be sure to pick up a copy of my book "Breaking into the Art World".

It isn't over until it's over

2006-04-12T08:11:00.000-10:00

Well, it's been a highly stressed last few days since my last post, but after much effort and more delays, we have finally signed the papers on the purchase of our home. ....Now we wait for escrow.

We also celebrated my son's 16th birthday and besides working on my art off and on, I've been building web sites late at night. One is for a buddy who has been my friend since we were kids, the others are sites I've wanted to build for a long time and building them has helped me keep my mind off the "house issues".

As I've looked around the web over the years, I've noticed there aren't many web sites that help artists get their own web sites noticed, in regards to keywords. What I mean by that is; it's hard for an individual artist to build a web site that can be found on a search engine. It's even harder to learn what it takes to optimize that web site so it shows up on the first or second page of a search engine result. For example: When someone types in the keyword "floral artists", they get a list of sites that are optimized to score well on the search engine. The competition to be on the first page is tough, and usually the only ones who make it are web sites who pay a professional to build their site and maintain it (which can costs thousands), or they studied how search engines work and built their own web site.

My idea has been to build web sites that focus on specific keywords like "portrait painters" for example, and lists artist who want to join for a small fee every year. The advantage to the artist is that if they join, they will be listed on a web site that is on the first page of the search engine results, and thier web site will get found instead of listed on page 30 or even worse, page 100. And instead of costing them thousands to keep their web site on the first page of the search engine results - they are there for a only a few bucks a month, and are getting visitors to their web site.

You can go to www.Yahoo.com and do a search for "portrait painters" and see how this is suppose to work. On the first page you will find a web site I built about 6 years ago titled PortraitPainters.net.

It takes up to 6 months to get a web site optimized so it lands on the first page of the search engine results (sometimes longer) and I'm hoping to have my new web sites listed soon. I recently built www.LandscapeArtistDirectory.com and just finished www.MuralArtistDirectory.com . I have others to build in the future, but it takes time and money to build them, so I'm taking my time.

Why hasn't someone done this sooner? I'm not sure, but I think it's because artists usually don't have much money to spend and don't see the value. I also suspect no one in their right mind would spend their time and energy to promote artists web site unless they were getting paid "big bucks" to do it.

Why am I doing it? Because, I've seen the value in having my own web site listed, and I've seen the traffic it brings to my own art web site. Once again, it's about "exposure", and the more people see my name and art in different places, the more popular I appear in the eyes of the art viewing public ( this is web marketing 101 ).

Why am I doing it for others even when I'm not listed on the site? Because I want to help other artists get exposure also, and I figure if the web site makes enough to cover domain and hosting expenses, everybody wins! If it makes more, then I'm re-embursed for my time and energy into the project.

Making some progress...

2006-04-07T19:56:00.000-10:00

...Well, as much as I could today.

We are purchasing a home and our stress levels are at a all time high. It's been four long months of waiting for this thing to close, all the time, anxious to find out if we will be able to buy it or not. We were suppose to sign papers today, but it's been put off (again) until Monday.

We are looking forward to owning our own home and not having to move every year or so, and the good news is that I'll have my own dedicated art studio to work in. :)

Besides working on the commission piece today, I've been putting together prints for several consignment shops. This week has been a "Hot Week" for my art print sales and some of the stores that carry my work have been calling for an early re-stock - I can't tell you how happy that makes me feel, especially right before tax time. :)

I recently introduced a new print size to my inventory, a 14x23 frame size, the print size in the mat is 9"x18", and they have been selling really well. The prints are of paintings I did that were on a 18"x36" canvas. Paintings that are very dynamic, but previously only available in a Giclee Canvas Print.

You can see the others on my web site www.BrianMarshallWhite.com , and don't miss seeing the petroglyph Kahuna Series.

I also made a contact this week who has connections to a gallery on Maui. So, if all goes well, my work will be available there also.

Have a great day, and follow your dream!

Successful Ship Day!

2006-04-06T21:38:00.000-10:00

It was another beautiful sunny day in Kailua Kona today and a successful sales day to boot. I met alot of friendly people and finished the base layers of my painting of some yellow Plumerias.

I chose to do the base layers in pinks and blues to build a strong contrast first, then once it dries, I'll lay on the yellows. I did this because I wanted pure vibrant yellows. Since I'm working on five paintings at once, I will be setting this one aside to dry.

There aren't any ships scheduled for Friday, so I'll be running errands (shipping prints that have sold) and working in my studio at home on a commission piece.

Aloha for now and have a great day!

Marshall White

Marshall White Fine Art

Moved to Maui

Publishing your own Art Book.

New Coffee Table Book Availableof Marshall White's art:

New Honu

1st Quarter 2007 paintings

New Studio

Paradise Garden

Opportunity Knocks

Latest Paintings

Successful Location

New Location

New Prints Available

Deciding what to paint...

"Eternal Summer"

Summer Cold

Kohala Beach Scene almost done..

Hawaii Sunset Studio Webcam

Artist in Residence

Busy Week

I love Hawaii

Three more paintings for collectors

Building Displays for Consignments

A Glance at Putting Prints Together

It isn't over until it's over

Making some progress...

Successful Ship Day!

New Coffee Table Book Available
of Marshall White's art: