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Studio Life Part 1

As luck would have it, in my thirty-plus years of being an artist, acting as an artist liaison for the fine art publisher, The Greenwich Workshop, as a gallery owner, and doing the many stories I’ve done on artists for Live An Artful Life and my...

When Creative Decisions Are Also Financial Ones - Part Three

Loving work or not, it is a bit of a race with an endless finish line. As with any product, (which if you sell it-art is a product), making art that is sellable is important. In many cases, it drives your creativity. Yes, this is where some feel that...

The Pros and Cons of "Likes"

As independent professional artists, we often have to wear many hats that might or might not suit our personalities or backgrounds. Marketing, sales, public speaking, website maintenance, etc. In this article, Artist Elaine Weiner-Reed discusses some...

The Artist's Perspective - Challenge

A couple of months ago, I offered what I hoped to be a few simple things to inspire and stimulate you in the way of a fun little creative challenge. My plan was to back it up the next month with part 2, but unfortunately, I’m writing so much these days...

When in Doubt, Start

I recently had a conversation with a young fellow who became particularly intrigued when I told him I’m a Singer/Songwriter. He is relatively recently removed from college, and in a job he tolerates that pays the bills, but ultimately, his joy would be...

The Artist's Perspective - Negative Space

The space of any blank canvas is an interesting one to fill. Be it large or small, to see your subject matter in life and then visualize it on your canvas as a completed work of art, can be challenging. But it is where all painters begin, with nothing,...

The Artist's Perspective - Motivation

For those of you who read this column and who are not artists, this one is especially for you! Certainly, those who are artists will find logic and inspiration, but I know a group of you follow along out of creative enthusiasm, for which I am very...

Experience Art Differently

Artist Elaine Weiner-Reed wants her art to be a starting point for dialogue, community-building, and creative collaboration. Elaine believes that through dialogue and interdisciplinary collaboration, the arts come alive and people connect - often in...

The Artist's Perspective - Memory

There I was, watching an old Youtube video of Barbra Streisand so passionately singing Andrew Loyd Webber’s show tune “Memory," from the musical Cats. In this HD version from 1981, Streisand is singing the character Grizabella’s story as if it was her...

Is It Time to Shake Things Up?

Every now and again it’s good to shake things up; in life and in your art practice. Recently I did just that when I traveled to Solomons, Maryland to participate in an Artists in Action program with the Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center.

The Campaign to Change the Sloth’s Name

Take a look at the picture. Study it very carefully. There is a lot of beauty, perspective, and wisdom to glean from this photo. A peaceful creature living the life he was meant to live. Doing exactly what he is supposed to do. This, my friends, is an...

Noteworthy Art

As artists, we have to have an arsenal of art to reach our intended target, the customer. Art collectors come in many different varieties; those with money to spend on art (we love that kind) and those who love art but don’t have much money to spend on...

The Artist's Perspective - Happiness

I have a simple message for this new year. I want each and every one of you to be healthy and happy. News that puts us all in a tailspin is ever changing. But government shutdowns, looming economic woes, and Trump did this-or-that, all aside, I want...

Take a Look at This Book!

The end of the old year and beginning of the new is a natural time to pause and reflect on your practice as an artist and ask yourself a few questions. Are you excited about what you’re doing? Are you motivated to get in your studio and create?

Change is in The Air!

In this article, Artist Elaine Weiner-Reed reflects on life, change, opportunity, and the courage to take your next “leap of faith.” When opportunity knocks, what is your response? How do you respond to change? Change brings endings and new beginnings....

Merry Christmas

I’ve been thinking about those two words. Merry Christmas. Cheerful festivity. Jesus Christ’s Birthday. Meeting of family and friends. A celebration. There’s also the gift-giving part, which these days seems way more important to us than the birth of...

The Artist's Perspective - Reality Check

Though nursing a cold, on Sunday, October 7th, I went to see “Abira and The Mountain” at the Hill School Theater. Billed as A Place To Be’s newest family production focusing on acceptance, empathy and love, the story was Inspired by the hearts and...

Business Before Pleasure

As artists, we love to create and we derive a lot of pleasure from doing so. For many, this is all we care about, which is fine. But if your desire or intent is to make money from your art, even as a part-time thing, but certainly as a living, then it...

Risking Everything for a Great Painting

In this article, Artist Elaine Weiner-Reed shares paintings that she considers makeovers. These makeover paintings fall into two categories: unfinished and finished canvases. In the two examples provided, something continued to bother Elaine about each...

The Wizard of Waynesfield

Oh, there are those moments. You know the ones I’m talking about. Those moments where in the midst of them, your world has fallen apart, and you see virtually no glimmer of light. You’re stunned, speechless, and seemingly trapped.