Jamie Hansen: Everything sounds better with music.

Bay3 Gallery is located in the Anderson Arts Center next to the downstairs Atrium Gallery.  It’s open Tuesday - Saturday and also by appointment.  It’s a wonderful Saturday morning destination: shop the farmer’s market next door and then see local art.

November 29-30, 2018: I had such a great time meeting everyone who came out to the Anderson Art Center's first annual Artisan Market.  I was excited to be among the first group of talented artists and makers to set up in the upstairs gallery for the event.

God has brought me to this amazing place and he will be in my fingers as I complete the work. I am meant to be here and I am meant to do this work.

My mom has inspired me and influenced my artistic direction with a variety of gifts throughout my life.  She often tells me that when she saw how much I loved to draw as a child, she started putting all sorts of materials in my hands, from pencils to markers and paints.  

My mom has given me two Wacom tablets over the course of my art career and they have been indispensable tools in my studio. In 2004, she gave me my first graphics tablet as a birthday gift after I graduated from college.  It was an Intuos II in purple.  I carried it to my first job as a graphic artist when the small company that I worked for could not afford to buy one for me.  She also gave me my second tablet a few years ago as a Christmas gift, just a year before I started my own business to sell my art and graphics.

 

My Wacom Intuos Pro is a graphics tablet that lets me draw on the computer in the same way that I would draw on a paper. As a leftie, I can use my dominant hand to interact with my graphics software - which I think makes me faster and more creative. I draw and paint on the computer.  I use it to create layouts in design software and to browse the internet as if I am drawing a sketch. I am fast, intuitive, and efficient on my graphics tablet.

My computer is one of my favorite tools to use when I want to send my art out into the world. But I also think that my computer helps me channel my creativity and sends my art in a more purposeful direction.  It helps me sort out my thoughts, mock up compositions for clients, and it runs the graphics software that I use to create the images in my fingers.

 

As an artist, I feel that it is important to use archival and time-tested materials in my work. I have a responsibility to sell a work that is not only beautiful but also designed to last. I was delighted to find a line of products by Kolner made specifically for gilding on paper.

Eleven years ago, I remember the resignation that I felt when I found that I was pregnant and the doctor told me that I needed to reconsider my oil paints.  I remember converting my art studio to a nursery, and the final oil painting that I created there.  I remember struggling with difficult and confusing watercolors that could not be corrected.  I made the switch to exclusively watercolor about eleven years ago. I finally gave away the last of my oil paints and I don’t regret it. Here are some of the reasons I love watercolor:

1. Health concerns: I was pregnant with my son and was advised to be careful about getting paint on my skin. Some of the chemicals in oil paint are harmful and difficult to wash off.
2. Speed of drying: watercolors, even wet washes are dry in about 30 minutes. Oils can take weeks to dry.
3. Speed of working: water dries fast and I can cover a large amount of paper in a short amount of time. Sometimes I can knock out a small watercolor in under an hour.
4. Studio space: I can stack 5 or 6 large watercolors in a corner of my studio or bedroom. They are portable and easy to store - even for someone who might not have an art studio.
5. Finished works store easier too: Paper is easy to lie flat in a drawer or portfolio. Canvasses are a lot bulkier.
6. Market saturation: There are more oil and acrylic artists in my area than watercolorists. I have less competition for art buyers who like watercolor.
7. The paints are portable: A small palette, brushes, and a watercolor block can fit in a small bag for on-location sketching.
8. Art prints are easy. I have a great scanner and professional printer. Sometimes it's hard to see the difference in my original art and a high-quality print on hot pressed paper. No canvas texture stands in the way of beautiful and true-to-life prints.

Sometimes we do the work but we don’t know the entire story, or exactly why we hope to do what we do.  Sometimes there are plans and meanings and stories much larger than ourselves, and we see only a tiny piece of the larger plan.

Some of the old masters painted on wood panels, and their work has survived for hundreds of years.  Here's how I learned to make wood panels work for my watercolors. These are the specific materials that I use to display my watercolor art without a frame.

I painted a 24" x 36" double bass while listening to the bluegrass band on stage in front of me.  The afternoon sun was warm and my paints dried quickly.  I started and finished the painting during the event, and talked to lots of people as I worked.

Download here!

Central Presbyterian Church has been an anchor for me and my family since we arrived in Anderson last year. I'm celebrating this beautiful building and the inspiring mission inside its walls with this watercolor and ink on yupo paper.

Download this painting for free when you subscribe to my email updates. I usually send 1-2 emails each month about my upcoming events and projects.

Use this art for anything you like: cards, prints, totes, mugs, or gifts. Look for more freebees in future email updates!