One of the regulars on this blog asked me to talk about Quickdraws. She’s a sculptor, and says she’s avoided doing these in the past but has been talked into taking the leap; she’s worried because normally she’s a self-professed “slow” sculptor, and that she might get stage fright.
I do one Quickdraw a year (the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival) though I suppose the demos I do in my workshops sorta count … however, in my workshops I’m talking and waving my brushes around a lot and making relatively little progress in the meantime. My main observations are:
- Choose a fairly simple subject, one you know well and feel very comfortable depicting. This is probably not the time to paint an entire pack of wolves taking down a bison while the rest of the herd mills about.
- Have a plan: know your composition and painting size, have your frame ready (for flatwork artists). I’ve noticed that sculptors tend to at least have their armature ’sketched’ into place before packing on the clay (probably a good idea).
- If you’ve not done a Quickdraw before, practice - see what feels comfortable to accomplish in the hour slot.
- Have everything set up and ready - including colors mixed - before the start of the hour.
- Realize that adrenaline will take over at the actual event. For me, this means I actually whack the paint around more with bigger brushes - I tend to forget I have anything smaller than a #10 or #12 flat with me. Adrenaline makes me looser.
- Size matters: I see the highest prices at the JH Quickdraw each year on the biggest pieces. People are impressed by size.
- If you’re able to chat with spectators, great. If not, don’t worry about it. I tend to tell spectators before I start that I get very focused and sometimes don’t hear their comments or questions, and so my apologies in advance.
- If you can work near a buddy, so much the better. I have a couple artists I like to be near, and we trade insults, jabs, and repartee the whole time - entertaining the crowd is always A Good Thing.
- If you can, have a support crew to help entertain the crowd and to help you get your one-hour masterpiece framed up. I have a number of Jackson friends who show up to cheer me on and tell others about my work.
- Have some business literature nearby - business cards, flyers, whatever - unless this is under your gallery’s aegis. Since I’m painting about 50 feet from Legacy’s doorstep, I just refer people to Legacy Gallery to see more of my work, and I tell them I’ll be there after the auction to chat.
- Take advantage of any opportunity to say a couple words about yourself and your painting during the auction, if you’re permitted.
There you have it - Quickdraws in a nutshell!
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August 5th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Thank You!! This is very helpful. I see areas where I’m heading in the right and wrong directions. As far as size I can see your point but casting cost has me concerned. I did pick a subject that I have done before and is fairly popular in the booth (a red fox) and if it turns out well can be added to my little red fox series. I will have some family and friends there. I like the business card idea. I think the adrenaline is the biggest unknown factor for me. I have no idea how that will affect me. It will be interesting. My son will be there to take photos so it will be recorded no matter what even if I panic and hide under the table ;o) I think as long as I can focus on the work in front of me I’ll be okay.
August 5th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
I watched John Seerey-Lester at a Quickdraw sit in front of a blank canvas and ask the people around him for ideas on what to paint. Then he did a killer little panda painting from memory in a couple of hours. It was at a Susan K. Black Foundation conference, so the time constraint was pretty loose. John Banovich was apparently pretty nervous about painting in front of people so had a lay-in done ahead of time of a lioness. Of course it turned out great. Greg Beecham hauled in a head mount of a pronghorn, propped it on a chair and painted that. Heiner Hertling painted Greg painting the pronghorn. The repartee with that crowd, as you can imagine, was non-stop.
August 5th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
I have never done a quick draw (never been asked to do one - would absolutely FREAK if I were!). Got a couple of questions for 2D artists: (1) do you worry about background when doing one of these or just focus on the subject? (2) is your canvas prepainted with a color on which you do the subject? (3) if you paint in oil, is the canvas then framed WET? (4) can you use reference material - such as a photo or must it be done from “memory”? (5) can you have a “sketch” already on the canvas or is that a “no-no”?
August 6th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Marti, good questions - I see I left some stuff out of the guide!
1) I do my more abstract backgrounds. Other artists actually do settings (to some extent).
2) My canvas is prepared with base color(s) that will work well under the final topcoat.
3) Yes, the canvas is framed wet. Probably sealed to the frame for all eternity. This year I may do a cradled panel that doesn’t need framing.
4) Yes, you can use reference material. I plan this because I gotta (and when I’m doing something like last year’s Quickdraw - a bronc rider and bronc - I need the reference to get things right)
5) Generally, the sketch is a ‘no no’ at Fall Arts Festival, but every Quickdraw venue has its own rules. I’ll get a light sketch on there to guide base coat paint and texture, and that’s usually good enough to start me on the final coat (and doesn’t show through). I have seen artists at Fall Arts who had an entire painting done except for the main subject, not exactly in the spirit of things; at the other extreme is Larry Pirnie, who shows up with a large blank canvas and says “hmm, what should I paint?” - but he can get away with this because his work is more expressionistic and involves flinging acrylic paint around.
August 9th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Off-topic heads-up: Current blog post over at Wildlife Art Journal is about You-Know-Who. Apparently, there’s been a national news story in Canada about a wildlife art show that was canceled, A couple of artists who haven’t gotten refunds were interviewed for it.
Feel free to leave comments. I did.
http://www.wildlifeartjournal.com./blog/70/caveat-emptor-don-t-be-fooled-by-bogus-art-events.html
August 9th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I posted my comments. Good article by Todd - hope it steers others clear of this dirt bag. I find it amazing that the Canadian news actually did a news piece on this guy. All we get here is “sorry for your bad luck.” GRRRR.
August 11th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Forgive me if I am dense, but I don’t understand the “point’ of the “quick draw.” (Perhaps there really isn’t one?)
I fully realize our society is obsessed with speed and immediate gratification, but “speed art” seems to have taken that obsession to a completely different (and even more absurd) level.
And why anyone would pay thousands of dollars for something that was done in 1 hour simply escapes me — especially given that it undoubtedly could have been done better if more time had been devoted to it.
August 11th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Larry, the appeal of Quickdraws is that, for most people, art is magic. They never get to see it happen - except at Quickdraws…and it fascinates them to watch it happen. Collectors LOVE watching a blank canvas transformed into a painting! It appeals to the little kid in all of us, I think - like watching card tricks, perhaps. It’s great fun for both spectator and artist (well, more *nerves* involved for the artist - but there is still fun involved!).
That probably sounds simplistic, but - there it is. I’ve heard collectors tell the stories about watching a piece get painted before their eyes - again, it’s a magical process.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Well, I’m back and I survived. I actually ended up doing two Quick Draws one Friday and one Saturday. The only real problem was that it is hard to sculpt with shaking hands but that calmed down after about half of my time was up. Once started, it really was an incredible amount of fun talking to people and the other artists while it was going on. They auctioned well bringing enough to pay for casting cost and to make some money for the medical association that put the whole thing on. The first night I did a little red fox all curled up with his nose in his tail and the second night I did a fat little pony that a couple people actually got in a minny bidding war over. I already have them molded (I threw in the molding cost) and almost ready to go to the foundry. All in all it really is a social event that brings the artists and the spectators a lot closer together and much more comfortable with each other. It was well worth it not as much from an art or money standpoint but from a “That is something that I want to do at least once in my life.” standpoint although I’m pretty sure I will do it again.
August 12th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Christy, good for you! thank you for sharing your experience with others. It really does help artists and collectors connect more…sort of a glimpse inside our studios (or at least our processes) that otherwise folks never get.
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