Being an Artist Who Paints Figures and Rubber Ducks

Y'know being an artist often means doing a crappy job that you hate. I used to clean toilets and serve tourists food to make the money I needed to paint, so I know exactly how that feels. I hated both jobs, but they led to where I am now. 

I paint ducks. 

Yup! You read that right! I paint rubber ducks and sell them. 

That isn't the only crafty/arty/weird thing I create to make a small living, but it is a start and it's something I really enjoy. I think that many people forget that as an artist we can have "day jobs" that we enjoy to fund our art, and that these two concepts do not have to be separate. My second etsy store may well support the fact that I am a freelance artist, however that does not make the fact that I AM a freelance artist any less important, or the fact that I am both a business woman and an artist any less valid. 

The business of being an artist is a difficult one, so we supplement it with other things while we make our way to independence. In my case I run a small family and friend craft business that I can also sell my art prints and accessories through. 

I think finding a wee day job that you love, and allows you to be creative away from your painting/sculpting/photography can only be a good thing! It allows you a break from the hard labour of love that is being an artist while still keeping the creative juices flowing. 

I'd love to see more young artists like me doing this! It's a different way of being a working artist, but I find it very satisfying :D 

X

So it's July: Update!

So I'm putting together my video compilation for my first exhibition and looking through the footage is great fun as well as rather embarrassing and silly.

I often find when asked to talk about my paintings it is very difficult to explain my thoughts on it or what the paintings themselves were "about". It seems to weird to be watching myself back, talking about the "meaning" and techniques involved in my work. Especially since I will give you a different answer everytime you ask me what a painting is about. It depends entirely on my mood at the time, and I see no point in pretending otherwise.

However for the sake of the compilation I did go through the paintings from the exhibition and gave a wee bit of chat about each one. I sound like such a crazy wee woman with no clue what she is doing! But I'm sure that most artists feel that way... I hope :P

In the mean time I'm working on two projects just now (when I get the time between this moving house milarky and my crafty business). One you all have seen before by now is the painting "Stretching Female Form":

I've never felt she is entirely finished, so tonight I took her out of her frame and put her up on my wall to work on. I'll post a WIP as I get on with it. She is quite a different piece, and one of my earliest oil paintings so I do care about the piece, however (much like Maiden of Time) I exhibited her unfinished. I'm sure I will know when she is truly done!

I'm also working on this little painting, which is currently drying on my mini easel:

It's just a play painting more than anything else. I decided when I was finished with the "Maiden, Mother and Crone" lino cuttings I didn't want to just put them in a drawer and forget all about them. Instead I have stuck them onto a piece of mock-wood and started to work on them as a piece in their own right. I've just finished re-applying some of the brighter oil colours.

So that's me just now. Working away, and packing like a crazy woman! Moving takes so much effort it makes me ache! But hopefully once we are moved into the new flat and I have my own little studio room all shall run smoothly once again!

PS. New Exhibition in the pipe line... Wait out on that :) x

My etsy store is open ladies and gentleman!

Kimberly Hagen ART STORE!

Currently there isn't a lot on it, but over the course of this week I will be adding different items for your viewing (and hopefully purchasing) pleasure! 

Right now the store has the 20 limited edition prints of "Maiden, Mother and Crone", all numbered and signed at £12 each! I'd go take a look!

Lino Prints (The Maiden, Mother and Crone)

Hi guys!
So in the last week or so I have been playing with lino prints, which I haven't done since a little experiment in high school. It's been a very interesting experiment and I've discovered that I really like this type of print making.

Having not played with lino prints in a long time I was very careful cutting out the lino that would become "The Maiden" and "The Mother". And then I got cocky just at the end and cut my finger. Remember boys and girls lino cutters are sharp!

This was very much an experiment stage. I love working in a sketchbook, so it feels very good to have one pad for my lino print work. I also did a few relief prints, just to make sure I didn't waste any of the printing ink. 

This being the final composition of the prints. I also did the final pieces on this beautiful handmade paper. I got it in Samye Ling, the Buddhist monastery in the borders. It's stunning stuff, and feels fantastic to work with. 

And there we have it. The final 20 prints of "Maiden, Mother and Crone", lino prints with pen-work. 

I'm pretty pleased with these pieces and I've discovered that I really like making prints in this way. The beauty of it is that there is no way to guarantee that every print will be the same. There will also be a slight different each time you print, which is what makes it so much fun!

x

"Maiden, Mother and Crone"- Limited edition signed lino prints with pen-work. 

Price: £12 (plus postage)

Kimberly Hagen 2012. 

"The Line is Drawn"- Solo Exhibition Opening Night

Opps, it's been ages since I've posted and now all the settings and buttons have changed.
I don't know whither I like it or not...

ANYWAY. Hi everyone!

My exhibition "The Line is Drawn" is up and the opening night was a big success (despite the horrible weather that made public transport unreliable for some). I couldn't have asked for a better opening for my debut solo exhibtion and I am also very proud of Alastair Low who played for me on the opening night, and then again last night (28/05/12). He was brilliant!

So here are some photos from the set-up and the opening night. I will post again when the exhibition is over showing the separate pieces of work that were exhibited.

Also I would like to add a huge THANK YOU to my friend Ela Hamer who did the photography of the opening night for me. Click her name and check out her photography page. She is so good it makes me sick!

Exhibition is running until the 17th of June 2012! So go down, have a glass of wine and see my art. It's  worth your time!

Kim. x

I need an Etsy Account!

Having found this little place online to show my work it has occurred to me that not many people will buy because it is in dollars. Which is a pain in the ass.
It being an American site with no real base over here there is no real reason for them to convert there prices to pounds so the prices look much higher then they are once converted to Pounds Sterling.

I like the idea of my work selling in laptop and ipod skin form but I need to find a better base to show my work from. If I can find a way of getting my work printed onto laptop/ipod skins and cases, a place to get my art prints done cheaply and a decent framer I can then start selling via Etsy.

This would run smoothly with my plans for next year to build a small novelty and crafts business to make the money I need to support my art. I'm already half way there... just need the summer to finalise everything.

Kim. X

PS! Remember to check out my society6 account! X

Finding a Place to Sell Online

So finally after searching for a while I have somewhere online to sell my work (temporarily at any rate) in print form. I looked at Society6 ages and ages ago while exploring the work of another young artist and thought it might be interesting. 

So this morning I set up my account and put up 6 or so paintings as available as prints. Nothing much has happened yet but that is to be expected. Hopefully I will get more traffic once I get it more established. 

After this exhibition I'm hoping to open two Etsy accounts, selling my novelty goodies which fund my art (including my novelty rubber duckies) and one selling my actual art. This is definitely a project I would prefer to leave until I have more time to devote to it.

http://society6.com/KimberlyHagenART

So there you have it. Blog post two. I'm getting good at this! 

Kim.X