eBook
Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
Related collections and offers
Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781490763859 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Trafford Publishing |
| Publication date: | 08/18/2015 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 56 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
"Only in America"
The Stimulating Life of a Street Artist
By Gil McCue
Trafford Publishing
Copyright © 2015 Gil McCueAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4907-6383-5
CHAPTER 1
When I was young and stupid, I made a dumb decision into thinking that one day I would become a rich and famous artist. Little did I realize that in order to become a rich and famous artist, one needs to be uninhibited, self-destructive, and slightly maladjusted.
A famous French artist (who is a legend in the art world) cut off his ear and died before gaining any fame. The only people who became rich were the people that acquired his paintings after his death. Now I ask you, how "self-destructive" is that?
Artists are performers, and like all performers, they need their talent to be recognized. Every musician, actor, photographer, singer or dancer needs recognition. If a performer has exceptional talent it will be recognized and admired. And, if the admirer is willing to pay for that talent, it must be exceptional.
Exceptional talent is a gift and is usually recognized at an early age. I discovered this gift at the early age of eleven when I sold my first drawing to my older brother. The subject was a sketch of his slippers that were casually tossed under his bed in a most interesting composition. I felt compelled to find a pencil and paper in order to make a quick sketch of the scene before the lighting changed in the morning sunlight.
In the late 1930s (the era of the Great Depression), people were wealthy if they owned a dollar bill. After seeing the sketch, my brother reached into his pocket and withdrew twenty cents. That was a lot of money for a kid of my age during that era. I remember both my mother and father's surprised expression to observe the financial transaction take place. As I squeezed the money into my side pocket and gave my brother the drawing, my father remarked, "You're one heck of an artist, but don't try to make a living at it!" Years later in my life I reminded him of that remark.
Like most kids at that age, I loved comic books. Superman, Batman, Captain America, the Torch, Captain Marvel, and several other Super men were born in that era. Although I loved drawing characters from the comic books, my interest drifted toward more humorous comic art.
Walt Disney's "Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck" followed a more story style of cartoon art, whereas "Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck" were hilarious. I could never get enough of Chuck Jones', "Bugs", "Porky Pig" and "Tweety Bird". Many people do not view cartoons as being real art. Most Successful cartoonists, however, are extremely talented artists and line illustrators. Their art can be forceful, dramatic and energizing. Or, their style can be simple and childlike. Whenever an artist's work is published, their talent is recognized. Long after many cartoonists have gone, their cartoons live on. Who can forget Charlie Schulz and "Snoopy" or Walt Disney and "Mickey-Mouse?"
"The Early Years"
The grade school I attended awarded a "certificate of excellence" to graduating students for outstanding achievement in every required course. Much to my surprise, I was called on to the stage and awarded "Best in Art" on graduation day. Although both my parents were proud of my award, I was never encouraged to pursue art as a career. By their standards, getting an education, a real job, raising a family and retiring with a gold watch should be the only goal in life. If you lived through the "Great Depression", life as an artist was a road to poverty and a dead end.
World War II changed everything. Both my older brothers served in the Army and when I turned 17, I joined the Navy. When the war was declared officially over, the Navy began to decommission its war-time ships and put them into the "mothball fleet". I was assigned to special services on a Navy base in Florida which was used to entertain all Naval personal from those ships until they were reassigned to new duty. On that base I met a very talented cartoonist who drew a comic strip for the base newspaper. His quick and clever style in drawing reinvigorated my interest in art. Though the years have passed we remain in touch through our mutual membership in the "National Cartoonist Society". Several top rated publications in this country and abroad continue to buy his cartoons throughout the year. Age is of no consideration in the art world. It's your talent that the world loves and is willing to pay for it.
In the field of art entertainment there are several stages of talent. NO talent is at the bottom of the ladder and master artist at the top. Depending on your artistic skill, an artist can range through various steps of the ladder. An artist can excel at watercolor but perform poorly at illustration. Most successful artists find their place on the scale and rarely explore other techniques. Another key to artistic success is style. As in all forms of entertainment a unique style in art can open the door to success.
In all my years as an artist vender, I never met a Michelangelo. There are many street artists who are very talented throughout all steps of the art ladder. I have, however, met many "NO" talent, bottom rung artists. Artists at the bottom rung usually disappear soon after their first showing.
Soon after we put all those ships to sleep, the Navy base was closed and I was honorably discharged. I chose to go back to school under the GI Bill program and study art. I applied to a school that offered both education as a major degree and art as a minor degree. Now, if I was unsuccessful as an artist, I could always earn a living teaching art. That combination would surely please my parents.
I believe it was sometime during my first year teaching art that I heard of an art gallery in a local mall that was looking to dress their store window for Lincoln's birthday. Since I had recently finished an oil painting of both Lincoln and JFK (who had passed away only months earlier), I applied for the position with both paintings in hand. The owner was impressed enough to display both paintings in his gallery window for showing the following day. The background was draped with a blue velvet cloth while the lighting was soft on the eye.
Early the following morning I received a phone call from the gallery. "Can you come down here as soon as possible? I have a customer who just bought your JFK painting and wishes to meet with you." When I arrived, both paintings remained on display and there were at least a dozen people starring at them. That moment opened the door for a long awaited desire to fulfill my artistic dreams.
"Getting Started"
After the sale of the JFK painting, I decided to leave the Lincoln painting at the gallery on consignment. The financial split was a 33/66% agreement. Most well established galleries usually expect a higher percentage than 33%. Whatever the agreement is between the artist and the gallery always have it in writing and signed by both parties.
One week later a local art league had arranged to hold a weekend art showing at that very same mall. I contacted the chairperson, showed my art work, paid a small fee, and was assigned an indoor display space for that weekend. I was elated that I could teach school on weekdays and do art shows on weekends.
Indoor art shows provide shade from the sun, protection from bad weather and real rest rooms when nature calls. The most important feature of all art shows is talking directly with an interested viewer. Also, you're exposed to a larger group of people who enjoy art.
After making several sales that weekend, I was hooked! I met other artists who informed me of shows coming up both near and far. I learned of the contact person, fees or commission charged, rules, parking restrictions, and advised of which shows that were good and of those that were not.
Art shows were new to most towns around the county and the Chamber of Commerce often promoted them. There was music and entertainment as well as an art show in many towns.
The best of all the outdoor shows that I recall was in Washington Square, Greenwich Village, NYC. It was a juried show which attracted first class artists from most every state in the nation. I remember being assigned a space next to an artist from Detroit named "Joel". Joel painted in a very unique style. I liked his style because it was unconventional, and so was his display. His paintings were never secured and always falling on the sidewalk. They were never framed. If they were scratched or damaged, he would simply take a house paint brush with white paint and touch them up.
Well known celebrities were often seen when that show opened in New York. One such celebrity purchased a painting from Joel. Her name was Liza Minnelli, daughter of Judy Garland of the "Wizard of Oz" film. She suggested that he hold it until later in the day when she would pick it up. As she departed, Joel asked if I had a camera to take his picture with her when she returned. No other exhibiting artist had one to use for the photo. Reluctantly he purchased one at a nearby camera store. Cell phones had yet to be invented.
Liza arrived hours later in a taxi, never got out and had a friend pick up the painting for her. She waved goodbye from the cab window and drove away. The camera store refused to accept the camera back when he attempted to return it. Their policy was, "all sales are final".
Another celebrity named Peter Falk, (TV star "Lt. Columbo"), stopped to view my display. During our conversation I learned that he loved art and was studying at the "Art Students League" in New York.
When I informed him that I was an art teacher he asked if I would like to critique his work. When he returned with his portfolio, a large and unruly crowd gathered around making it impossible to view his drawings. Although I was able to critique only a few of his sketches, I was extremely impressed with his talent as an illustrator.
When the Greenwich Village art show ended in the fall of the year, I would usually return to those local shows near and around Long Island. Occasionally I would venture to New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Connecticut if I heard of a show that was well attended. One such show was a three day weekend, north of Philadelphia, in a town named, King of Prussia.
The show took place at an indoor mall just two weeks before Christmas. Shows in a mall around the holidays are unheard of. I couldn't resist making all those potential sales at Christmas time.
I set my display up on Friday, checked into a Holiday Inn, and sat in my assigned space for three days. At noon on Sunday I overheard a boy mention that snow was beginning to fall outside the mall. I quickly disassembled my display, packed my car and headed back to New York. I paid three nights for a room, a high entry fee for the show, sat on my butt for three days and sold nothing.
As I neared Trenton on the New Jersey Turnpike I felt a strange thumping in the rear of the car. It was of course a flat tire! My spare tire and jack were under the stack of heavy framed paintings which had to be removed and leaned on the outside of the car. While jacking the car up during what was now becoming a very heavy snow storm, a red car suddenly pulled off the turnpike and stopped to ask if I were selling my paintings. I couldn't help but chuckle all the way home, having sold two framed paintings, on the side of the New Jersey Turnpike, in a snow storm, while fixing a flat.
"Only In America"
Painting with oil on large canvases requires large heavy frames. The frames can't be cheap frames or the paintings will look cheap. Besides, oil paintings take too long to dry. If you're a street artist, you are required to transport your art to different shows every week. Transporting wet paintings is a disaster. I realized that I had to return to my basic talent of black and white illustration. Pen and ink illustrations have a unique appeal to people who admire detail in the drawings. My pen and ink style of drawing blended well in that medium.
I created a series of illustrations specifically designed with an early American theme. At first I drew old wooden "Yankee Clipper" ships in full sail on a forceful ocean. Since I was now attending more and more art shows in the New England area, I also included old colonial style art which blended well with the buyer's home furnishings. Black and white illustrations stand out with red mats and oak frames.
Mystic, Connecticut, was a favorite art show of mine that was held once a year. It was the first time that I had ever heard of "blue laws". The law means that it is unlawful to sell any items before 12:00 noon on Sundays. All of the exhibitors would have to wait until the local police sounded the alarm before we could make a sale. There was an old whaling ship called the "Morgan" sitting dockside in the harbor. I was commissioned to illustrate the ship for a local seafood restaurant located in town. When I returned to their annual art show the following year, I dined at that restaurant only to discover that my illustration was being used as a paper placemat on every table.
Another art show that I did well at with this theme was in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I packed my car with only small framed pictures and drove from New York to Virginia. I took the family and made it a vacation. My twin boys enjoyed swimming in the surf, while my wife and I sold every picture we had brought with us. The highlight of that trip, however, was watching the astronauts walk on the moon from the comfort of our hotel beds on that very weekend.
It wasn't often that I would take my twin boys along with me to an art show unless I could keep them busy. They were always bored and rarely helpful. When I did an art show like the one on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, New Jersey, it was fun because we made it a great family vacation. The twins could swim all day if the weather was nice and give me and my wife a chance to talk with potential customers. Traveling long distances to do art shows was expensive and weather dependent. When promoters of outdoor art shows require payment in advance with no refunds if it rains all weekend it becomes very expensive.
I did another art show at a mall in Meredith, Connecticut, that I'll never forget. I vowed to never travel long distances to a show unless it was profitable. It was a first time, weekend show, with no fee and in a newly constructed mall. First time shows can be good because it's usually a novelty to the surrounding community. I was completely unaware that the mall was built in a depressed area.
I hadn't made a sale for two days so I packed up and headed back home. It was snowing on the way home when suddenly my car's engine began to rumble. It would go and stop then go again and stop. Fortunately I had the luck to come upon a gas station at an exit just off the turnpike. The service man at the station looked under the hood and explained that the problem was a broken bolt which held the carburetor to the engine. He said that he had no bolt like it at the station but he had a few in his basement at home. He then paused momentarily and said, "If you watch the station, I'll go and get one." As he drove away, he shouted out of the truck window, "Take credit cards only ... no cash." I was dumbfounded!
He returned to the station within fifteen minutes, bolt in hand and a big smile on his face. "I found one," he grinned. I was still in shock. As he wrenched the bolt into place he told me that he learned how to fix engines when he was in prison. I was now in greater shock after hearing that he learned his skill while in prison and I knew that I couldn't pay the bill. I told him that I had no credit card with me and not enough cash but that I would send him a check as soon as I got home. As I gave him one of my paintings in appreciation for his trust and generosity, he said, "Forget about sending a check. This picture is more than enough."
"Role of Respect"
Artists are a strange collection of personalities. I guess I am one of them as well. It makes little difference to the public in how you dress at a show unless the promoter has a dress code. In reality, the public enjoys an artist's image if it's a little kooky. Artists who show up wearing a suit and tie look extremely weird and out of character.
Artists are entertainers and must always respect the public. There are some artists who step out of that role of respect, and we all get a bad image. Some are very loud, crack bad jokes, smoke weed, and use profanity. Others lie and brag about their art and make themselves very important. And, there are others who sometimes exhibit very bad conduct.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from "Only in America" by Gil McCue. Copyright © 2015 Gil McCue. Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.