Tuesday, November 24, 2009

"Rocky Hideout" 30x20 acrylic on masonite

I've been working steadily on this piece for a little more than a month and it's finally finished. The patterns in the the lichens and granite are very intricate and took a considerable amount of time to render on such a large piece. This is much more of a "landscape" than my typical work, but the shadows in the rocks are such strong visual elements, I just had to paint them. I knew as I was shooting the reference photos... this would be a perfect setting for some mule deer. Did you spot the second buck before you read this far?

3 comments:

Peter Brown said...

Jim, I like this vertical format and the way the fissures in the rock guide you to the deer. It's a beauty!

I've attempted some fairly detailed paintings myself, but from a business perspective I wonder whether the additional investment of time can ever be justified. I price my work based on area and I'm increasingly conscious of the fact that whether I spend one week or three weeks on a painting, my asking price will be the same.

Do you price your work higher when you've spent weeks on it, or do you feel it all averages out over time so you just paint what you want to?

Jim Bortz said...

Peter,
My pricing structure (like yours) is based on area. I use this "price/square inch" only as a guideline and adjust on these factors, in no particular order:
1) Research and reference time, difficulty, and expense
2) Quality of the overall work
I don't very often factor in my "easel time." I'm usually working on 3 to 5 paintings at a time, so I can't keep track of my painting time. If I did... I'm sure it would make me crazy!

Anonymous said...

I first time visit in this blog. I find this blog have relevant information.

Regards.
http://www.collect-art.com/