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When I was teaching, one of the biggest hurdles I had was getting my students to try something new. I know artists that have a fear of trying something new. Trying something new is an opportunity to learn, and I love learning. The painting that is accompanying this blog is very different than the ones that I usually post. I decided that I would post a picture of the painting that I used for the cover of my first book about a monotreme, the platypus. In case you don’t know, the platypus is a mammal that lays eggs. They lay eggs like a chicken, yet feed milk to their babies. How cool is that? Artists should push their limits, and that is just what I am doing with my children’s science books.

As an artist, I am not a cartoonist. I would be the first to admit that. Realism is what I see when I paint.  Color and shape are what guide my hand, whether I paint impressionism, realism or trompe l’oeil. Kid’s science books, with the goal of getting children interested in science and learning more about it, need to have kid appeal. That is the goal with my book illustrations and writing.

When I was growing up, the astronauts were landing on the moon. Space flight got everyone interested in science. Biological sciences not physical sciences became my passion. Wondering how the astronaut would survive in space was more interesting to me that how the space ship would get out there. Art was a passion, too, especially design, but science came first with me.  When I was teaching high school science the past few years, I was shocked to find out that most kids didn’t like or care about science.

Writing in poetic form is easier for me than writing in prose, so that is the style that I chose to write my children’s books. Making appealing pictures is the purpose that I strive for to attract the attention of young children. Creating the interest to learn more about the world we live in is my objective for my stories.

Self-publishing is the way that I can copyright my stories. Some of my fine art paintings have been licensed for various purposes.  Once I have several books finished, I want to approach publishers to show them my work. Kind of like how an artist approaches a gallery for representation. Perhaps I will publish them as eBooks myself, I just don’t know yet. I try lots of things because I am interested in a lot of things. That’s what happens when you are eclectic. Trying new things in art is a challenge that I run to, not run away from. I know that I may never be the children’s book author that my husband is sure that I can be, but I am going to try. Like I said in blogs before, before, if I don’t shoot for the stars, I will never reach the moon. I guess that’s just the scientist in me.

In an earlier blog, I mentioned that I am donating two paintings to a fundraiser. The fundraiser is for a non-profit gallery called New Visions, in Marshfield, WI. It is affiliated with a very large clinic that is in our area. Donating artwork is an important thing for an artist to do, in my opinion. How can we expect others to give us their hard earned money for our artwork if we aren’t able to see the value in giving our time and skills to good causes? In the previous blog, I mentioned that the theme for this fundraiser is the art of graffiti. My abstract piece with that blog is my impression of graffiti. However, I realize that there will be patrons there who prefer more traditional paintings to bid on, so I included a traditional piece for donation.

Admittedly, this painting is not as detailed as some of my other work in this genre.  When there is no guarantee of significant income from a 50/50 donation, I want to have the painting represent what I do, but I cannot devote the time and energy to an elaborate painting. That is simply not cost effective. Quality is important to me, but it is not necessary to select an image to paint that is very detailed to get quality.

When donating to an organization, artists must feel comfortable with giving of their time and energy. If there will be patrons there who would buy your full-priced pieces, that is great, but that cannot always be the driving force for the choice of donation.

There are many blogs that have outlined what to consider when deciding to donate to a fundraiser. However, if you choose to donate, you should not expect to make the same income from fundraisers as you do from your from traditional sales. Artists need to remember that patrons will be thrilled to receive the winning bid for the donated artwork. These customers may not have the resources to be able purchase your contributed creations at the normal price.  Or, on the other hand, perhaps they do, and will buy other artwork from you at a later date. Above all, please keep in mind that your design delights them, and isn’t that why you create? Having supporters connect to your artwork is how we artists communicate. Of course, it is wonderful for the sponsoring group to get high bids for donated artwork, but sometimes these pieces may go for a fraction of what they normally sell for. The popularity of artwork is hard to predict. At one fundraiser that I attended, a large photo auctioned off for about ten times the amount for which a similarly sized, very detailed watercolor sold. It was not my painting, but I have painting countless watercolor paintings so I know how much work was put into that original piece. The price of framing the piece could not have been covered by the low bid. There is no predicting how art will sell at fundraising auctions.

Do you donate your artwork? What is your process when you donate? Do you split proceeds with the sponsor? Do your provide full donation or maybe receive reimbursement for framing costs? Do you advertise in local papers about your donations? Do you attend the fundraisers and watch your piece be auctioned off? How do you decide which fundraisers to contribute to? Do you paint something new or go through your existing inventory? I send artist-created cards for my thank you cards. Do you send a special card to thank your patrons for their purchase? Do you add their names to your mailing list? I would love to hear what you do when you donate your artwork for good causes.