Portrait

This is a portrait I have been working on. It still has a way to go, but I thought you would be interested in seeing it as it is just now...

I am working on him in Photoshop.

Life Drawing

I mentioned in my previous post - Update, News and Outlander - that I was making changes, and taking my art in a new direction; well, on Tuesday night I took the plunge, and attended a life drawing class. As I looked around at everyone setting up drawing boards and easels, I realised that it was 15 years since I last attended one.

To warm up we did a series of 10 1 minute poses, then a 5 minute one, a 10 minute one and finally a pose that lasted 40 minutes. I'd forgotten how important the warm up is - it helps to get your mind settled, your hand working and, for me, a little extra time to dispense with the nerves.

Here's one of my sketches - and I can already see loads of mistakes and changes I would like to make...

Life drawing by Tracy Butler

...but it's a start.

I'll be going back in a couple of weeks.

Update, News and Outlander

It has been a while, to put it lightly, since I last posted; but I have been busy. And I realise that the last time I published anything was almost 2 years ago. Since then I...

...have made a lot of cakes...

...have been writing, and had a few things published...

...have been illustrating a book...

...and ultimately, have been working on an American TV series called Outlander based on the books by Diana Gabaldon (a Starz production). I worked within Breakdown and Dye in the costume department, where I took blow torches, cheese graters, mud and paint (among many other things) to costumes, making them look worn, loved, abused or just old. Here is the trailer.

A still from Outlander

In all the months I worked there, having a ball, I realised that I didn't give my cakes a second thought, but I really missed my art.

Soooooo, I'm starting again, with my paintings. However, I have had time (2 years) to think about my work, and things are going to change, my approach, tools, materials, subjects and general outlook.

I have a lot to do in order to get up to a standard I am happy with as I am making a lot of changes.

If you if will keep me company along the way, I will keep you up to date.

Customer Visit

Loch Tay, oil on canvas

Yesterday, I had a lovely day.

A customer  had been exploring my website and phoned to ask if she could come to the studio to see my work in person.

I've never had a request like that before, so, I suppose unlike a number of artists, I said yes. I spend a lot of time on my own.

What a joy, having someone who was here to see my work. We spent time talking about paintings and although she was interested in my prints, it was great to chat to her about the originals. It was very refreshing for me, and gave me a wee bit of an ego boost, I have to admit.

I always felt that my studio was strictly my domain, but sharing my space with someone, although briefly, who likes my work, gave me the opportunity to see what I do through someone else's eyes.

A reinvigorating day.

Gallery Blues, and a Deep Dark Prussian Blue at That

Spring's Bluebells, mixed media on canvas

I'm really not having a good time at the moment. I'm owed a lot of money from different sources, and no one is paying.

I have found, over the years, that a number of galleries (not all) are just not willing to pay artists for the paintings, prints and cards they have sold. Galleries can take from between 40 - 60% of a painting's sales price, and on top of that, a few will even charge artists for the printing of invitations for the private view as well as all that is consumed at the event. If you think about it, the artist has also paid for all the framing, the paints (which can be very expensive), the canvas and the shipping of work to the gallery. It's a huge initial outlay when there is no guarantee that your work will sell. So you would think that a gallery would appreciate that and promptly pay you. Well a number of good ones do - Smithy Gallery for example. A lot don't.

I placed the above painting at a gallery in England. After 3 months I phoned them to find out how things were going, and they told me it had sold a couple of months before. Delighted with the news, and a bit confused as to why I no one had told me, I asked when I would receive my cheque. It took another 6 months of badgering to get it out of them. How can this possibly be right?

Korean Tiger, Extinct, mixed media on canvas board

And now I am fighting with a gallery in Edinburgh trying to get my money for the painting mentioned in my post Korean Tiger, Extinct. It turns out the gallery sent out a group email and I could see every artist involved's address. So I got in touch - they hadn't been paid either. We all got together by email, Facebook and other internet and electronic methods and got in touch with the gallery as a group. Hopefully, by the end of the month, there will be activity in my bank account as a result.

These aren't isolated incidents. Card shops have to be chased repeatedly too as well as organisers of charity auctions who sold my work. I hear you saying that we should have an artist's union. We do. They don't reply to emails and calls either.

Maybe the answer is in the internet as the artists involved with the Edinburgh gallery have shown. Perhaps galleries and exhibition organisers should be legally obliged to give all artists taking part in a show one another's contact details so that we can band together as a group and stand up for ourselves as one.

Might work - I'll let you know at the end of the month.

A Post From Smithy Gallery

This post is on my sister's blog and I thought I would share it with you. Natalie owns Smithy Gallery based in Blanefield, and as you can see, art is in the family...

Mum's the Word

I'm so pleased to announce that I will at last be having a solo exhibition of new paintings by Laura Harrison, opening at the beginning of March.

She is one of Scotland's best kept secrets, and I plan to change that with this exhibition.

She studied at Glasgow School of Art in the 1960s under David Donaldson, Limner to the Queen, and is a true painterly product of the Art School in what I believe to be its heyday.

Some of Scotland's greatest talent emerged at this time.  The 60s were such a powerful time, when the constraints on freedom of expression were being loosened, yet the artists were still under the umbrella of focused tutelage on the foundations of painting and drawing.  There were mighty talents teaching at the school at this time, and they made sure students had the privilege of both structure and the freedom to express.

Laura Harrison has been a collectible painter for years. She has shown with Smithy Gallery several times in group exhibitions and has always been one of our best sellers.

But this will be her first solo exhibition with us, and that's why I'm excited because the work needs to be seen en masse for it's strength and beauty to be fully appreciated. The new paintings are beautiful. Bold and vibrant still lifes and landscapes. It will make for a strong and exciting exhibition. Just what I like!

And yes, she is also my mum, she gave me my love of art, and is my main inspiration.

We all know that family can be our biggest critics, so when I say that these paintings are very, very good, you know that I mean it.

Greetings Cards Sales

What a day! I've just driven 175 miles to meet two gift shop owners hoping they would take my greetings cards. Both of them did, but only on a sale or return basis which is a bit disappointing after such a long drive in the foulest of weather. And here's me loving to paint Scotland's moody, foreboding skies; just not when I'm trying to drive in rubbish visibility.

On a positive note, it gave me a chance to listen to Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; 4 hours of it.

I have no shame.

The Lighthouse Craft Fair

Saturday is my last craft fair, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'll admit that I'm getting to the exhausted stage, what with all the talking and standing, but it's been worth it.

This is the poster for the event on Saturday and it will include not only the fair but artist demonstrations and origami for kids too.

See you there - The Lighthouse, 11 Mitchell Lane, Glasgow, G1 3NU.

Christmas Activities

Loch Dochart Winter, mixed media on canvas

This is the time of year when the artist has to sit back and my inner retailer/sales person has to come to the fore. If you want to make a living as an artist, you can't always be precious about your work, and Christmas is just round the corner.

I have to concentrate on all forms of my work, paintings, prints, greetings cards, fridge magnets, key rings and my new notelets. Today, friends and family went into their places of work, very kindly carting some of these items with them, selling to their colleagues on my behalf.

Meanwhile, I spent the morning on the phone speaking to the outlets which already stock my greetings cards and prints to find out if they need more (happily yes). I also contacted one of my local leading high street retailers to see when I would be able to come in in person to sell to their staff (over 100 of them), work that could act as small gifts or stocking fillers - I had already discussed this with the manager a couple of weeks ago.

My website and online shop are up to date and running smoothly, I can accept credit cards and my Google ads are running.

Now I have to just hope that when I post purchases to my customers, the queues in the Post Office don't grind me to a complete hault. While I am standing waiting in line for around an hour (no exaggeration) I hope I can at least plan the next series of paintings I want to start in January, and I really can't wait to start on them.

More abstract ones, using colours that are out of my comfort zone, I think - it'll make for some surprises along the way.

Extinct, Korean Tiger

Extinct, Korean Tiger

I finished this painting a couple of years ago. It's been hanging in my hall, and I've never exhibited it; I thought it was too different from anything I've done before.

I used all sorts of inks, gold and copper acrylics, glazes and Korean handmade paper (fabulous stuff).
Oh, and the writing is Korean. A lot of the letters are also extinct, like their tigers, and my Korean friends couldn't read it for me. I thought it was fitting. He's on canvas board.

But a couple of weeks ago there was a call for entries to an exhibition for an animal charity. I thought my tiger was appropriate.

And he just sold. I'm delighted, and surprised because he is so unlike my other work.

I now have a gap in my hall that needs to be filled. Yay.

March 2015
Since writing this post, there have been some developments. Yes, this painting was sold, but the gallery never paid me. I have tried to take them to court, but they closed up shop, and then reopened in the same place under a different name. I haven't exhibited since.