Preston Painters

For two weeks, my faithful oil painting students are following my example by drawing and painting on site in Preston. Many have never worked on site before and were somewhat sheepish, but they return stimulated by the experience.

Here is Adam, bravely painting on the flag market in Preston. 

NormanLongArtist.com

Three Things you need to be an Artist

As a former student at Blackpool and the Fylde College, I was invited to be guest speaker at the Young Artist of the Year Award 2013.

This is what I said.......

Since leaving Blackpool and the Fylde college 17 years ago, I consider myself very lucky in having been able to continue exploring my art.

Tonight I would like to tell you of the three things that have made that possible, the same three things I believe you will need if you want to be an artist.

Firstly, you need passion. By passion, I mean a love to make art. Regardless of if anyone likes it or whether it sells. Just a love to spend time doing art. Passion.

Secondly, you need support. The idea of the artist as some sort of hermit genius is rubbish. You won’t last long as an artist without the support of your family and fellow artists.

Finally, I will talk about a dirty word in art school. The “M” word. Money. You need it to do art.

Passion comes from you. You need passion.

Support comes from those around you. You need support.

Money. Well, of course, money grows on trees.

1. PASSION (A LOVE TO DO ART)

How did I become an artist?

It wasn’t like I met a great artist and thought “How cool – I’ll be an artist!”

I just loved to draw and paint.

And, just like you, because you spend time doing something you like to do, you get a little bit better at it than those who don’t. And then it gets recognised. “Oh, Norman can draw.”

“Wow, that’s a great drawing.” That makes you feel good, so you do more.

And then people might even PAY you to do art! By high school I was doing the drawings for my brother’s geography coursework. I was painting schoolfriends’ neighbour’s dogs and cats and hamsters for a few pounds.

Passion. A love to do art. Not “I’m going to be a great artist” but “I love to do art.”

TALENT

But don’t artists need talent? Aren’t artists BORN talented? Isn’t it in their genes?

My Dad was a farmer and then worked at Leyland Motors. My Mum worked at Damps, an old hardware store in Leyland. Then she raised three boys and then she milked cows for 15 years. I have two older brothers, both engineers. As far as I know, none of my family are remotely artistic. If I was a born artist, there was some sort of flukey genetics going on.

Everyone is born talented. Some people can do mental arithmetic, others can remember names. Some people can see when someone is upset and say just the right words to comfort them. Everyone has talents. The trick is matching your talents to what you want to do.

You want to know my talent?

I’ll tell you what was written on my junior school report. I quote “Norman is painfully slow and deliberate in all he does.”

“That’s a talent?” You say

Yes, that’s my talent. I wasn’t a born artist, but I was born with the love of spending time on things, of being completely absorbed in a task and doing it to the best of my ability. As a child, I would spend hours drawing pictures of footballers, completely engrossed.

Every young person with work in this exhibition has enough talent to be an artist. But not all of you will, or would even want to, become artists. Let me tell you why.

Talent is only the beginning. What you need more than talent is passion – A love to do art.

Passion develops as you grow as an artist. It wasn’t until I was at University in Newcastle that I really realised how much of an artistic temperament I have.

Artists tend to be deep thinkers. They are sensitive to life, they feel things deeply. They can be melancholic and moody (even beyond teenage years.) They don’t want to just go the way everyone else is going. You know why? Because they have a passion. They are not satisfied with life the way it is and they won’t just sit there and take it, they feel it deeply and they must express it somehow.

It’s like a volcano. More than a few days without creating and the pressure builds. I get quiet and grumpy. I know that these ideas, this feeling, will never come back if I don’t express it now.

So you hold it in until you get to the studio. You have no idea what you’re going to make, but you need to make something. The volcano erupts, as it were, and artwork is created, forever the moment of creation preserved in paint or clay like the magma which sets as it cools.

That’s passion. It becomes part of your identity.

You already have the talent. What you need is passion. And that starts with a love to do art.

STYLE

Don’t you need to find a style before you can be an artist?

No, you already have a style, it’s already in you. It’s in making art that we bring it out.

Style is not something you choose or do consciously. It is the result of the unique combination of your background, your talents, your interests and your influences. Style comes from inside you and can’t really be controlled.

A class of students can be painting the same model, with the same instructions and the same materials. Yet every painting turns out utterly different. You are unique. You have your style already within you.

The worst thing you can do is say “Right, this is my style and I’m sticking to it.” Style is a lifelong discovery.

Degas said “I’m glad to say I haven’t found my style yet. I’d be bored to death.”

The only way to bring out your style is to do lots of artwork and find out what you like to do and what you do best. You might look at your artwork and think that every piece is different. But other people will recognise your style in them all.

Your style is what you do most naturally when you’re not thinking about style. Make every effort to get away from your natural strengths, to learn new things. Your style will still be there.

So don’t worry about finding a style. You already have the one you need, so get to work.

You have the talent, you have your style already in you. You just need the passion.

If you have passion, you won’t wait until you have the perfect place to work, the right weather, the right materials.

I used to paint in my bedroom but I must have started to make a mess because soon enough I was banished to the garden shed. That was my first studio. My first easel was a stepladder.

You have to be stubborn, fiercely protective of your creative time.

Passion is the only thing that will keep you creating when you feel pressures of money, guilt and indifference. The only guaranteed job perk of being an artist is that you get to spend time making art, so you’d better LOVE making art.

2. SUPPORT

No matter how passionate you are, you won’t be an artist for long without support.

PARENTS

When it came to doing a Foundation course, I got places at a couple of colleges closer to home, but knew that Blackpool was where I wanted to come. So Mum and Dad paid the extra travel costs out of their own pocket and I took the one and a half hour bus ride morning and night.

I could never have been an artist without my parents’ support. I don’t mean they paid for everything- they didn’t. I think they still find it a bit strange what I do for a living. But I never heard those words “Why don’t you get a proper job?”

SCHOOL

Encouragement is essential. Art is very personal and we take criticism of our art personally. These days I teach people in their 60s who remember word for word the thing their art teacher said that stopped them from pursuing their passion. Art teachers – remember – art is personal. We take criticism personally.

ART SCHOOL

If all you need is passion, support and money to be an artist, why do people bother going to art school? Or even PAYING to go to art school.

Because art school is the most supportive environment there is in which to find yourself as an artist. And artists need support.

In the real world, if you say “I was thinking of wrapping a bridge in plastic.” You will hear “Are you mad?” “Where will you get the money?” In art school, you may hear “That’s an interesting idea. What colour plastic might you use?”

My advice to you is this; If you go to art school, go to one that will support what you want to do with your art, not one that will try to make you into someone else. Look at the art that the teachers do. Every piece of advice they give you will be to make your art more like theirs.

The tutors you work with are far more important than the name of the institution or the qualification you receive. Good teachers are those that inspire you with a passion for art by their own enthusiasm and belief. 

Remember- the art school is there to help you do what you want to do.

In art school your teachers will contradict each other. That is healthy. It means that you need to find the right answer for yourself and develop a strong personal viewpoint.

However, I hear too many times “I did my degree and got a First (class Honours). But I was persuaded to do this kind of art and I didn’t do what I really wanted to.” That is tragic.

A good art school is worth it. Nine years after graduating, I had artist’s block. I was isolated. There were no artists around me who could challenge me. So I took my life savings and ploughed them into a year at an American art school. Thankfully, I got two scholarships for the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. I remember, having been given a tour of the Academy, America’s oldest art school with its huge cast hall and mind blowing facilities, standing on the sidewalk with the absolute conviction “I HAVE to come here.” It was worth every penny of the $22000.

I came home broke and utterly inspired. A good art school will leave you with challenges and inspiration which will feed you for years. It’s no wonder that even the most successful artists teach part time. There is no more stimulating environment than a good art school.

ARTISTS

When you graduate, you leave that supportive environment. You walk off the end of a plank. All that wonderful support disappears beneath your feet and you have to swim. You need new support, or your artist self will drown in the sea of responsibilities and apathy.

The year I graduated, Norman Travis, my teacher at Blackpool, made the trip up to see my degree show. He told me of an Artist in Residence job at King Edward VII and Queen Mary School, Lytham. It was a fabulous year.

Buoyed by the experience, I became self employed as an artist in 2001 and rented my studio, Unit 113 Oyston Mill. I was proud to be, as I believed, the only artist in Preston.

I soon realised that the romantic ideal of the isolated genius is not much fun. In fact, no artist can get by without the support of fellow artists. It is no coincidence that throughout art history, artists have hung out together. There are photos of Lucien Freud, Frank Auerbach, Michael Andrews and Francis Bacon having a meal together. Degas, Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Van Gogh etc – they were all friends. This was their support network. Luckily, it didn’t take long to discover my network in Preston, literally hundreds of artists, as there must be in every city.

This might sound strange, but you also need the help of artists who are no longer with us. You will only be as good as the artists you surround yourself with, but we can go to museums and spend time with the greatest artists that ever lived.

Never be afraid to steal ideas from other artists, living or dead. Nobody is original. American painter Wayne Thiebaud said to his students “Everything I do I stole from someone else, and if you’re not careful I’ll steal from you.”

Another thing – share your ideas. “Artists aren’t magicians; there’s no penalty for revealing your secrets.” (Austin Kleon)

I must mention in concluding this section the incredible support I’ve received from people who collect my art. Without them, and the people who pay for my art courses, I wouldn’t be able to continue. They have invested in me and in return for their support I try to be the best artist and teacher I can be. But that leads us into the final thing that an artist needs, and that is money.

3. MONEY

If it’s money you’re after, there are lots of easier ways of getting it than by making art.

Let’s deal with the old cliche. Artists starve in a garret.

At some point, every artist has to answer this question; how do I arrange my life so that I can do my art and make enough money? There are as many answers as there are artists.

It is one of the reasons many artists, even successful artist, still teach. A small regular income takes the pressure off working in the studio.

I know an artist who makes £100,000 a year doing artwork he knows is not the truest thing he can do. I know artists who barely scrape by but get to do the artwork they really believe in. Those are just two answers to the question of money.  

There is a nice idea that if you hide away in your studio and make incredibly sincere artwork, galleries will come knocking on your door. The fact is, to be a successful gallery artist, you might need to spend as much as half of your time marketing and running your business.

The key is; do great work and put it where people can see it. (Austin Kleon)

When I do the artwork I believe in and somebody responds to it in a way which shows it has spoken to them, that is success. When they also buy it, that’s even better. 

SUMMARY

You only need three things to be an artist; passion, support and money.

I will finish by sharing what I have found to be the most useful piece of art advice I have ever received. Given by Scott Noel, my teacher in America.

Your artwork is never as good or as bad as you think it is.

Let me say that again.Your work is never as good or as bad as you think it is.

You do a new piece and you think “This is amazing – I’m going to be recognised as the great artist I am…I can just picture my work in the Tate Gallery, a huge banner….”STOP! Your work is not as good as you think it is. Keep working, carry on, it will get better.

On another day, you think your work is terrible- you might as well give up –NO! It’s not as bad as you think it is – carry on. It’s worth finishing. You will look at it in a month or a year and realise “Actually, it’s pretty good.”

Either way, the outcome of the advice is this; “Carry On”. And that’s all you need to do.

www.NormanLongArtist.com

Best Art Advice Ever - part 2

Following on from the popular Best Art Advice Ever, these are a few offerings from my Developing in Oils class which has just finished. 

The final critique brought out some fabulous work and I'm excited to get cracking with my new classes starting next Monday and Friday. 

Sue Johnson: "Painting is 75% looking and 25% painting." (Val Taylor Ward)

Yvonne Yeats: "Paint what you see, not what you think you see." (Anon)

Marjorie Owen: "Paint not the thing itself but the effect it produces." (Stephane Mallarme)

Richard Treuherz: "Drawing makes you see things clearer and clearer and clearer still."    (David Hockney)

John McCloskey: "You may have decided you want to make great art. You are afraid that your art won't turn out that great so you find yourself not making any art at all and you hate it.
Stop thinking. Stop worrying. Stop doubting. 
Just do something. Do anything. 
Don't worry about trying to do good work. Do bad work.
Just relax and enjoy.
Don't think your work has to conform to anyone else's ideas or standards. 
Just do something.
Do anything."  (Sol Le Witt)

Jill Hands: "It's only a piece of paper"  (Alan Owen)

Don Bates: "Squint."

Brian Thomas: "Don't let figure or still life drawings frighten you. Think of them as blocks or shapes, not arms, legs, teapots or cups." (Cerys Jones)

Nancy Blackburn: You don't always need outlines - you can create a painting just using blocks of tone. Ask yourself "How much can I leave out?"

Margaret Baugh: "A painting isn't finished until the viewer finishes it." 

Judith Swarbrick: "Colour and I are one; I am a painter." (Paul Klee)

Peter Maylor: "Try Acrylics." (David Jaundrell)

Best Art Advice Ever

I got the "Best Art Advice Ever" idea from a really great talk radio show Artists Helping Artists , where I listen to podcast interviews with artists. I asked my Oil Painting class to share their favourite piece of art advice and was so impressed with what they came up with that I wanted to share it further.
Here they are:

Jeff Worsnop :      “Keep your brushes clean. Keep your palette clean.” (Harry Caunce)

Ian Tidswell:      “Painting is a process, not a destination. “

“Don’t use cheap brushes.”

David Burrows :      “If you do something for a thousand hours, you will get good at it.” 

Louise Devonport :     “Just do it for yourself.”

Gay Crystal :     “If you hear voices within you say “You cannot paint,” then by all means paint and the voices will be silenced.”(Van Gogh)

Jean Alcorn:    “I do not literally paint that table but the emotion it produces in me.” (Matisse)

“Be generous with your paint. Put out twice as much as you think you will need - and use all of it.” (Chuck Rawle)

Patricia Ashcroft :     “An understanding of tone and light is the key to successful painting, because it is through the interplay of tones that we are able to reproduce in paint the extraordinary effects of light. Although we may not realise it, very often when we feel the desire to paint a particular subject, it is not so much the subject but the way the light falls on it that inspires us.”

When light works it’s magic, creating mysterious shadows, sparkling highlights and subtle reflected lights, it can transform even the most mundane object or place into one of infinite beauty.” (Anon)

Alison Angior :     “He who draws lines and then adds colour will never succeed in producing a clear intense colour effect. Colours have dimensions and directionality of their own, and delineate areas in their own way.” (Johannes Itten)

Helen Wilkinson:      “You must always work not just within, but below you means. If you can handle three elements, handle only two…In that way, the ones you do handle, you handle with more ease, more mastery, and you create a feeling of strength in reserve.” (Picasso)

Nasar Khan:       “Don’t waste your time with easy paintings; challenge yourself and you will find your style.”

Lynne Forshaw :     “No one is an artist unless he carries his picture in his head before painting it, and is sure of his method and composition.” (Monet)

Patrick Troughton:      “When I think of Art, I think of beauty. Beauty is the mystery of life. It is not in the eye, it is in the mind. In our minds is an awareness of perfection.” (Agnes Miller)

“There are no rules.” (Goya)

Bette Cooghan: “It’s not just what you paint, it’s what you leave out. Instead of painting every detail, aim to paint the cowness of cows.” (based on Stephen Sartin)

“The camera always lies.” (David Hockney)

Latest Available Artwork

Behind Her
 Oil on board, 10 x 14ins, SOLD   

Communication Study
 Oil on board, 12 x 12 ins, £595 

Five Fifteen
 Oil on board 20 x 20 ins, £1125 

Night in the City
Oil on board, 14 x 14 ins, £725

Noon in the City
Oil on board, 14 x 14 ins, £725

White Van
Oil on board, 10 x 12ins, £495

Divided Interest, 12 x 24 in £995

Transition 18x19in,  £895,  oil on linen on board

Holding On 20" x 24" Oil on Linen £1295

Finding Their Way 30x48in £2450 oil on board 

Visitor 12 x 18 SOLD

Attic Adventurer 12 x 12in  £595

Two Mothers 12" x 10" Oil on board £495 

Corner Store 12" x 10" Oil on board £495

First Appraisal, 16 x 14 in , Oil on board,  £595 

Date After Work, 12 x 12in, Oil on board,  £450

Family Compassion 16 x 14in Oil on Board  £695

Lunchtime Catchup  14 x 16in Oil on Board  £595   

Afternoon Catchup
 14 x 16in Oil on Board  £595  

Cafe Interior
 14 x 16in Oil on Board  £595

Norman joins Walker Galleries Contemporary Art, Harrogate

The seven paintings below will be on show at the Walker Galleries, Harrogate from the 24th July. Thanks to Heather and Mark at the Picture House for outstanding framing and to Bal at the Walker Galleries for such an encouraging response to my work.

The three interiors all feature Lindsey my patient wife and model. In two of the paintings she is in two places at once and in "Night and Day" she is joined by her cousin Spencer, busy raiding the fridge.

The coffee maker featured in the two still lifes was a must after seeing how the Italians make it.

"Bowl with Broken Eggs" started with the blue ellipse of the bowl's rim and no idea what else would be involved. The eggs are courtesy of our chickens, Lady Blue and Duchess. Still life is a great opportunity to explore composition and colour nuance- such as the changes in the colour of the wall- without too much narrative or invention. Having said that, I like the suggestion that there may be a couple of broken eggs in the bowl, but no-one will ever know!

Walker Galleries Contemporary Art 

Winter Afternoon Reader 16" x 16" Oil on Linen on Board £850 

Waiting by the Door, 14" x 16", Oil on board,   £795 

Night and Day, 20" x 20", Oil on board,  £950

Holding On - Study 10" x 12" Oil on Board £495 

Bowl with Broken Eggs, oil on board 14 x 14 ins  SOLD 

Coffee and Biscuits with Stripes, oil on board 14 x 14 in £695

Coffee and Biscuits, oil on board 14 x 14 in £695