I wanted to send out a little personal thank you about V. Notes, this unusual and personal blog series of thoughts and ideas related to art.
Initially started as a way to give my painting students more information outside of class, V. Notes now has over 1,000 readers. Many subscribers are part of the Seattle Artist League, but we also have a growing number of satellite subscribers around the world, mostly fed by people like you forwarding the V. Notes newsletter emails to friends.
Every time I make a V. Note I get to learn about a topic, explore it, and share it with you. I love making V. Notes, and I’ve heard from a lot of you that you love reading them. I am told that V. Notes makes positive connections between artworks and ideas, and positive connections between people. I definitely feel more connected to more creative people through this series.
I have no shortage of inspirations for posts – I keep a list, and presently I think there are 3,659 potential topics on that list. I’m not short of ideas, the only thing that limits me is hours in the day. But isn’t that true for most everything we love to do?
Painting demo
Each V. Note takes an average of 4.5 hours to make. I realize that seems like a lot for some pictures and a few comments. Truly each time I sit down to type one up I swear it’s only going to take me an hour, but it never does. Though I’ve been getting faster and more efficient, I’ve also been improving the posts by having more original content and more complete information. For instance, I’ll look for multiple sources of information, and I’ll often research each artwork to find the artist’s name and year, because many artworks on the internet are posted without the basic information. All images are formatted, and pics from class are cropped and cleaned up for light and color balance. Even the shortest V. Notes take considerable research, thought, and formatting before I post them.
I have no intention of stopping V. Notes, and no intention of making it a fee based read. I make these posts because I enjoy every minute of making them, and I send them out because it feels great to share it with you.
Here at year’s end, I wanted to thank you for being a V. Notes reader. You are the motivating reason for me to do this. You make V. Notes fun and rewarding for me, and since each post gives me so much learning and joy, I can never thank you enough for your part in this.
If you enjoy V. Notes and would like to contribute, invite a friend to subscribe. I would love to see this grow. Thank you, and I hope you have a creativity rich 2020.
As preparation for this Saturday’s workshop Paint like Degas, I’m digging in some art history to get perspective on the range of Degas’ art. Although he was eternally unsatisfied with his work, and he could a miserable jerk to people, early in his career it seems he was especially extra miserable with his artwork. He …
[image_with_animation image_url=”9773″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Draw a tool. Focus on negative space: the space around the object, not just the object itself. Artists’ choice to collage, trace, draw, cut, or integrate multimedia. Inspirations by Richard Diebenkorn and Jim Dine. Thank you for sharing your work! I love seeing these artworks online. People who post …
Congratulations! This is the 30th day of our 30 day challenge. Well done all of you. I posted my favorites from week 1 and week 2. I’ll post week 3 soon. Artists who completed all 30 challenges will be eligible to win special prizes, but you don’t have to have completed all 30 to participate, or to win a prize. Did you post …
[image_with_animation image_url=”9160″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Siobhán Wilder, Indian Alley, oil on panel, 10×8″ League painter Siobhán Wilder was chosen for an online critique through Clara Lieu’s Art Prof site, which now offers critiques for artists. Clara Lieu is an adjunct professor at RISD and the critique was given by Lieu’s associate Lauryn Welch, painter and performance …
A note about V. Notes
Hey there.
I wanted to send out a little personal thank you about V. Notes, this unusual and personal blog series of thoughts and ideas related to art.
Initially started as a way to give my painting students more information outside of class, V. Notes now has over 1,000 readers. Many subscribers are part of the Seattle Artist League, but we also have a growing number of satellite subscribers around the world, mostly fed by people like you forwarding the V. Notes newsletter emails to friends.
Every time I make a V. Note I get to learn about a topic, explore it, and share it with you. I love making V. Notes, and I’ve heard from a lot of you that you love reading them. I am told that V. Notes makes positive connections between artworks and ideas, and positive connections between people. I definitely feel more connected to more creative people through this series.
I have no shortage of inspirations for posts – I keep a list, and presently I think there are 3,659 potential topics on that list. I’m not short of ideas, the only thing that limits me is hours in the day. But isn’t that true for most everything we love to do?
Each V. Note takes an average of 4.5 hours to make. I realize that seems like a lot for some pictures and a few comments. Truly each time I sit down to type one up I swear it’s only going to take me an hour, but it never does. Though I’ve been getting faster and more efficient, I’ve also been improving the posts by having more original content and more complete information. For instance, I’ll look for multiple sources of information, and I’ll often research each artwork to find the artist’s name and year, because many artworks on the internet are posted without the basic information. All images are formatted, and pics from class are cropped and cleaned up for light and color balance. Even the shortest V. Notes take considerable research, thought, and formatting before I post them.
I have no intention of stopping V. Notes, and no intention of making it a fee based read. I make these posts because I enjoy every minute of making them, and I send them out because it feels great to share it with you.
Here at year’s end, I wanted to thank you for being a V. Notes reader. You are the motivating reason for me to do this. You make V. Notes fun and rewarding for me, and since each post gives me so much learning and joy, I can never thank you enough for your part in this.
If you enjoy V. Notes and would like to contribute, invite a friend to subscribe. I would love to see this grow. Thank you, and I hope you have a creativity rich 2020.
-Ruthie V.
Related Posts
Degas’ Failed Historical Paintings
As preparation for this Saturday’s workshop Paint like Degas, I’m digging in some art history to get perspective on the range of Degas’ art. Although he was eternally unsatisfied with his work, and he could a miserable jerk to people, early in his career it seems he was especially extra miserable with his artwork. He …
SAL Challenge: Tool
[image_with_animation image_url=”9773″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Draw a tool. Focus on negative space: the space around the object, not just the object itself. Artists’ choice to collage, trace, draw, cut, or integrate multimedia. Inspirations by Richard Diebenkorn and Jim Dine. Thank you for sharing your work! I love seeing these artworks online. People who post …
30SAL Challenge: Novel View
Congratulations! This is the 30th day of our 30 day challenge. Well done all of you. I posted my favorites from week 1 and week 2. I’ll post week 3 soon. Artists who completed all 30 challenges will be eligible to win special prizes, but you don’t have to have completed all 30 to participate, or to win a prize. Did you post …
Siobhán Wilder’s Critique
[image_with_animation image_url=”9160″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Siobhán Wilder, Indian Alley, oil on panel, 10×8″ League painter Siobhán Wilder was chosen for an online critique through Clara Lieu’s Art Prof site, which now offers critiques for artists. Clara Lieu is an adjunct professor at RISD and the critique was given by Lieu’s associate Lauryn Welch, painter and performance …