Pinterest for Plein Aire

I'm learning Rhino CAD so I can make my own prototypes. 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the future. I'd like to be on the ground floor for a change.

Meanwhile, I'm going back to my artistic roots. I'm putting free content from my book Pinterest. I'm also posting paintings. maybe that will generate some interest in an email list I'm starting.

Home Page Now Up - ChadWooters.com

After years of neglect, I have updated my personal home page, ChadWooters.com. It includes samples of my work, some basic advice on oil painting, an embedded video. I'm excited to include a sign-up link for my FREE newletter. Now I will be able to share with other intermediate painters all the content of my book "Fast & Flexible: Use the Oil Painting Techniques You Already Know for Speed and Results."

My Micro Studio

When I lived in the suburbs, I had a studio in the back of the garage. It was completely enclosed, insulated walls, had a door directly to the outside and a North light window. As an artist, I never had it so good. And I do miss it. 

Moving to a city apartment has forced me to be more efficient. In a way I'm fortunate because my intimate knowledge of various approaches to oil painting has allowed me to identify how to adapt. I've simplified. I've purged myself of distracting clutter and now focus on the essentials. 

My micro studio takes up about 50 square feet. The actual apartment floors are protected by a wood-grained foam exercise mat. The "workhorse" paints, bottles of mediums and brushes fit in the large tackle box (left). I keep the infrequently used paints in two small bins (right). In the center is a special palette box I created (more on that at another date). The folding paper screen on the right hides the mess from view.

Actually, I have to admit. It's the perfect set-up for me, in this place, at this time.

Just One Thing, Part 2

"The dog that chases two rabbits will catch none." - Chinese proverb

Artistically at least, I have narrowed myself down to oil painting. Anyone who is creative knows how difficult it is to maintain that kind of focus. But I am also pulled toward product development and e-commerce. I think I can do both because they use two different parts of the brain despite both being design related. Then again, I am afraid of stretching myself too thin...again. Seth Godin wrote an important book about quitting. He points out that quitting is not always a bad thing and is in many ways critical to pursuing the most important goals and build on the most productive skills.

I devoted 20 years of my life to oil painting. Despite achieving some modest success, it has really always been mostly a passionate hobby. And for a while it's been getting short shrift. I have focused on making money with product development and e-commerce. Maybe its time to think about bringing those things together in a meaningful way. Maybe its time to stop trying to do it all myself and partner with like minded people.

But then I would have to quit something. That's always a hard thing to do.

Still Painting...and Yeah, I Still Know Quite a Bit about Painting

All the e-commerce gurus recommend building an e-mail list of people that want to hear what you have to say. Well, I've had quite a bit of time to reflect on my areas of expertise. The only interesting thing I know about in any depth is painting. I'm not saying that I'm a particularly good painter, although I've sold quite a few. All I'm saying is that I know a lot about painting. I doubt that knowledge will translate into selling the Thixotropic brand pens or my MiniBlindRx repair tool, but at least it is something. 

My poorly titled "Fast & Flexible, Use the Painting Techniques You Already Know for Speed and Results," has quite a bit of useful and quality content. I think I'll start giving it away. I can imagine some people wanting to receive occasional chapters as PDF's in their mailboxes. Maybe I'll start selling on Etsy again.

While I do not paint as often as I would like, I still paint occasionally. Here is one I recently finished of a dog an a field watching a Piper Cub fly overhead.

Second Proto-type, Fail

The second proto-type is 3.6 oz. That's still too heavy. I'm starting to think that machining the parts may not be the way to go. The engineer at the machine shop is helpful enough and I know he's doing all he can, but...well...maybe I'm relying too heavily on the suppliers for design assistance.