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For today’s episode, we sat down with Ellen Howard, a Boise-based landscape painter, instructor, art advocate, and writer who works primarily in oils and gouache, known for her tranquil depictions of nature, water, and luminous skies. In this conversation, Ellen shares how she transitioned from a demanding venture capital career into full-time art, guided by lifelong creative influences—especially her grandfather’s travel illustrations and drawings. She explains how an invitation to an oil painting class reignited her passion, leading to years of focused study, plein air practice, and a deep commitment to painting nature’s peaceful moments, from marshlands and seascapes to sunsets and Idaho’s mountains. Ellen also describes how surgery led her to experiment with gouache, a medium whose quick-drying vibrancy and spontaneity now balances and informs her slower, layered oil work. Drawing on her business background, she emphasizes time management, relationship-building, consistent marketing, particularly newsletter marketing, and “showing up and saying yes” as crucial to building opportunities and gallery representation. She encourages artists to develop a body of work they truly love, understand where it fits in the market, be patient with career growth, and actively create their own opportunities rather than waiting to be discovered. Finally, Ellen tells us about her upcoming gouache workshop in Sun Valley, her France Alps workshop, and her participation in major exhibitions like the California Gold Medal Show and the Brinton Museum invitational.
Ellen’s FASO site:
ellenhowardart.com/
Ellen’s Social Media:
facebook.com/ellen.howard.5
Sign up for Ellen’s Newsletter!
ellenhowardart.com/email-newsletter
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Transcript:
Ellen Howard: 0:00
Just show up and say, Yes, you need to be willing to give up yourself to to help. It’s not always about showing up and seeing like, Oh, can I be in this gallery, or, you know, can I be in this show? But, you know, I’m happy to help with XYZ. So I think getting involved that way you learn more about the business, you learn things about yourself, like, what where am I? Where are my skills on the business side, what am I good at? What am I not so good at? What? Where do I need help on that side, but I think the willingness to help others is a big business plus.
Laura Arango Baier: 0:40
Welcome to the FASO podcast, where we believe that fortune favors a bold brush. My name is Laura Baier, and I’m your host. For those of you who are new to the podcast, we are a podcast that covers art marketing techniques and all sorts of business tips specifically to help artists learn to better sell their work. We interview artists at all stages of their careers, as well as others who are in careers tied to the art world. In order to hear their advice and insights. For today’s episode, we sat down with Ellen Howard, a Boise based landscape painter, instructor, art advocate and writer who works primarily in oils and gouache, known for her tranquil depictions of nature, water and luminous skies. In this conversation, Ellen shares how she transitioned from a demanding venture capital career into full time art guided by lifelong creative influences, especially her grandfather’s travel illustrations and drawings. She explains how an invitation to an oil painting class reignited her passion, leading to years of focused study plein air practice and a deep commitment to painting nature’s peaceful moments, from marshlands and seascapes to sunsets and Idaho’s mountains. Ellen also describes how surgery led her to experiment with gouache, a medium whose quick drawing, vibrancy and spontaneity now balances and informs her slower, layered oil work, drawing on her business background, she emphasizes time management, relationship building, consistent marketing, particularly newsletter marketing and showing up and saying yes as crucial to building opportunities and gallery representation, she encourages artists to develop a body of work they truly love, understand where it fits in the market, be patient with career growth and actively create their own opportunities, rather than waiting to be discovered. Finally, Ellen tells us about her upcoming gouache workshop in Sun Valley, her France Alps workshop, and her participation in major exhibitions like the California gold medal show and the Brinton museum Invitational. Welcome Ellen to the FASO podcast. How are you today? I’m doing well.
Ellen Howard: 2:35
Thank you so much for having me, Laura. I really appreciate it.
Laura Arango Baier: 2:38
Of course, I’m really happy to have you, because I think your work has such a unique voice to it. I really, really love your use of color and how you really try to capture specifically those sunsets which are so so so unique. And I feel like you, you really do a great job at basically grabbing the portrait of every sunset, which I think is so wonderful to look at, yeah,
Ellen Howard: 3:04
it’s one of my favorite themes to create,
Laura Arango Baier: 3:09
yeah, yeah. But before we dive more into your work, do you mind telling us a little bit about who you are and what you do?
Ellen Howard: 3:17
Sure, well, I grew up, actually in New England, and and then moved to the Bay Area to raise my family. And now I am located in Boise, Idaho, where the mountains are, and I’m a landscape painter, working primarily in oils and gouache, and I love both of those mediums. Gives me a lot of versatility. And I am also a big art advocate and an instructor for classes and workshops, and I also do a lot of art writing, so a lot of different hats.
Laura Arango Baier: 3:48
Yes, yeah, you are definitely a business lady as much as you’re an artist, which I really love, because it is so hard, it is so hard to have both parts, or both hats, so to speak. Since normally a lot of people go about pursuing this career, they start from the art side and then develop the business side. But you had the unique background of starting in the business side and then going into the art side, which is really awesome.
Ellen Howard: 4:17
Yeah, that’s cool. Yeah, on both sides, which has been nice,
Laura Arango Baier: 4:25
yes, and we’ll definitely dive more into that. But first I wanted to ask you, when did you begin to follow the path of the artist?
Ellen Howard: 4:34
Well, I think I’ve always had an artist’s heart. I grew up in a creative family. My mother kind of dabbled in watercolor. My father was a musician, but it was really my grandfather who inspired me. He was in the airlines in the 1930s and 40s, but he was an illustrator. He would do cartoons. He was offered a job at Walt Disney, actually, which he turned down to be in the airlines, but he would come home. Home with all these exotic tales of his travels in Europe and Asia and the Middle East, and he would show me all of his drawings of the people in their traditional garb. So it just spurred a lot of imagination for me. So it wasn’t really until later in life that I got to pursue art. My parents got divorced at a really early age, and I was very practical, and I wanted to make sure that I could support myself, so I ended up going into business first, but I did minor in art history in college, and then, as my kids were growing up, I was involved in their elementary school, and I ran their art in Action Program for seven years, and then I also worked part time in a nearby college in their exhibitions area. So I helped with putting on their shows and talking to donors and sponsors and things like that. So I was always kind of involved in it, but not able to do it until later in life.
Laura Arango Baier: 6:07
Yeah, and when was that moment where you finally picked the brush back up?
Ellen Howard: 6:12
Well, it was funny. I actually was invited to go to an art class with a friend, an oil painting class, and she’s like, do you want to try this with me? And I’m like, Okay, sure. And it was really as soon as I picked the brush up and started painting, I was off, like, I just knew it was what I wanted to do. And I just started taking more lessons. I started at a community college and went to workshops and found teachers in my area that were experts in their field and took instruction from them. I spent a couple years doing drawing classes with charcoal, worked in pastel, and then got introduced to plein air painting out in the field, which I totally loved. So it just, it just kept expanding, like the more people I would meet, they would say, oh, try this, or go to this class and and now it’s just turned into an incredible journey and wonderful career for me. So I feel very grateful I didn’t expect this when I when I started. So I’m very grateful for the opportunities,
Laura Arango Baier: 7:18
yeah, and I find that that’s one of the beautiful things about life as we continue living it, is that it continues to surprise us. Yeah, like the more we follow those little things that interest us, the more it opens these doors we could have never even imagined. And I think that’s it’s, it’s an interesting like perspective to have too, especially when, when you’re young, like to realize this. Because I think we all, and I’m sure you may have experienced this too, have kind of decided I want to go from point A to point B, not realizing that life might throw you at point C, and it’s actually much better than point B,
Ellen Howard: 8:01
yeah, yeah. I’d always thought like, oh, I wished I had started art sooner, but I feel like my background has been helpful too in my career as an artist.
Laura Arango Baier: 8:14
Yes, yes, for sure, and we will dive into that. But first I wanted to ask you, because you do have both oil paintings and gouache paintings. And I wanted to ask when you first started, did you first start with oils and then fell into gouache? Or when did that romance with those two materials happen for you?
Ellen Howard: 8:35
Well, I did start with oils because I was planning on painting with oils and in the studio, and actually, what got me into gouache about five years ago is I had some surgery and I wasn’t able to lift my arm high, you know, and I usually stand when I when I paint. And so I was like, What can I do? And wash is just starting to have a resurgence. I’m like, Oh, I’ll try this medium, and I just fell in love with it. It’s, to me, it’s, it’s almost like oils. Obviously it’s water soluble, but the the vibrancy of the medium is really fun, and it kind of informs one informs the other, like I take more time with my oils and their primary for my galleries or competitions and oils can take, you know, on plein air, you can finish a piece in a day, but usually for a studio piece, it can take a couple days to a week or two weeks to finish. And sometimes I just need to switch and do something that’s quick and spontaneous. So the energy behind my gouache works and trying to figure out compositions, and then usually I can do something within two or three hours. So it’s kind of a nice feeling to finish a project. So that balance is really nice. So I really have enjoyed using both mediums, and people have been really responding to my gouache work too, which has been great.
Laura Arango Baier: 9:59
Yeah. Yeah, that must be really exciting too, because I bet there’s some sort of also, like, you know, when you go back and forth between the mediums, there must also be a little bit of like, oh, this, this is kind of the cool technique. I can pull this into oil painting, and then, oh, this is, this is something I like to do with oil paints, and I should try this on the gouache to see how it reacts, you know,
Ellen Howard: 10:20
yeah, there’s you can definitely layer with both mediums. The oil, you definitely have more texture and the juiciness of the oils. The gouache is more matte, but you can layer and get some really good marbling effects. It’s just a great medium to experiment in a smaller format, usually gouache is done a little bit smaller than your oils too.
Laura Arango Baier: 10:45
Yeah, that makes sense, since it dries so fast and you can’t really Chase everything all at once, yeah,
Ellen Howard: 10:53
but it’s fun doing it pioneer,
Laura Arango Baier: 10:55
yeah, oh yeah, I bet I just, I’m sorry, I just wanted to ask if you start your gouache on a white background instead.
Ellen Howard: 11:03
Yeah, I’ve experimented a couple different ways. I have toned it like with the yellow ochre, and I am experiment like with my oils. A lot of times I’ll do transparencies before I start the finished product, but I’ve found that I kind of like working on just the white background with the gouache, but I am still experimenting with a lot of different ways to use it.
Laura Arango Baier: 11:27
Yeah, yeah. I was just curious, because I feel like, since gouache is so matte, and it does lose a little bit of that vibrancy once it dries, I would be worried that maybe, like, starting on a darker tone background, kind of like, you know, with oil paints, it would lose also even more of that brightness.
Ellen Howard: 11:47
Yeah, I do it like a very light yellow ochre, yeah. But I agree, it depends on how you layer it and how thick you use the paint. I think one of the way I like to use gouache is in a thicker format. A lot of people use it thinner and so more leaning on watercolor sometimes than on the thickness of gouache. But I think that’s the beauty of the of the medium is when it’s when it’s layered on a thick, thicker basis.
Laura Arango Baier: 12:20
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that also makes me curious, can you tell us a little bit more about also your subject matter? So what is it about nature that really draws you in? And then can you tell us a little bit about your process when it comes to painting your work?
Ellen Howard: 12:39
Oh sure. So yeah, I love being out in nature. I’m a big Walker. I hike all the time, and so it just to me, nature is very peaceful, and it gets me to slow down. And so I think, you know, everything’s a lot about deadlines and the rush around, and especially plein air painting. Like I know the light changes a lot, but soon as I set up, there’s just a calm that comes over me, and then I’m like, Okay, I’m set to paint. This is my time. And, yeah, I just think it brings me a lot of peace. And I think my collectors, that’s one thing that has been continually I’ve got a compliment on, is that my paintings look like they’re very tranquil and peaceful. And then when they look at them, they feel, you know, a sense of calm. So that’s that’s been great. And so as far as plein air painting, you know, I do walk around quite a bit to try to find a scene that really excites me or I have an emotional connection with and then I set up. I usually do a small sketch, and then sometimes I do a color wash on my plein air, or sometimes I go right into to mixing the paint. And then, as far as my studio work, it does take me a little bit longer. I’ll do three or four drawings on a subject matter, and then sometimes I’ll do a value study, and then go into the final project. But I’m usually drawn to subject matters that are around water. It’s been I’ve lived on the coast for a long time, so the ocean has been a big, big thing for me. Marshlands in the Bay Area. I love that feeling of the birds coming in, the peaceful, peacefulness of that area. And then sunsets too. I actually started painting sunsets during covid. So I had been painting a lot of seascapes, and covid was such a dark and scary time, and I wanted to switch into a warmer palette. You know? What was it that was more joyful, I guess, a warmer, yeah, warmer palette. And so I started studying sunsets and going out and photographing them and and doing them on location. And it’s just become something that I’ve been really drawn to and that. And then, actually, now in in Boise, in Idaho, I’m. Very drawn to the mountains, so that has been a big surprise for me, how much I enjoy painting the mountains. So it’s a different feeling. You know, I’ve been drawn to the transitory elements in nature, kind of the fleeting moments of light, either early morning or that late afternoon sunset, but the grandeur of the mountains and the permanence of that, and then also just the cloud formations. Like I didn’t understand what Big Sky really meant until I got out here, and there’s just more sky. There’s more changes in the sky out here, and so that’s been a real excitement for me. So I’ve been gearing my work a little bit more towards that lately.
Laura Arango Baier: 15:48
Yeah, yeah. And I love that, because that also highlights, you know, how where we are can really affect what we notice and what we choose to paint. You know, like it is wonderful, of course, to paint lakes and water and, you know, these sunsets. But also it is nice to be able to explore, like, oh, this new thing that I observe and I love, which is mountains and how it’s also really cool, the balance between like, the fleeting impermanence of like clouds and sunset, and then also the permanence of mountains. They’ve been there longer than we have been alive, and will continue to exist beyond us, which also brings a sense of peace, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it’s very poetic, yeah, yeah. And then I guess also, I wanted to know you also wrote a very interesting quote in your biography, in your website, which is painting as a way of being. Do you mind elaborating on that a little bit?
Ellen Howard: 17:04
It’s just a part of me now, like I look back at before my life, when I wasn’t painting, and now, how a huge change that, you know, I was raising my children and I was in venture capital early on, and so I had a great career in business, but the whole art scene has really taken over my whole life. I would say that every day I’m doing something with art. It’s either I’m painting or I’m writing something, or meeting with an artist or going to an art exhibit. It’s the way I show up in the world, creatively, who I am. So I don’t think I could ever not have art in my life at this point. So yeah, it’s, it means a lot to me.
Laura Arango Baier: 17:57
Yeah, yeah. I love that, because it, it must be a huge contrast as well. It sounds like, you know, that your capital and business sounds like a very chaotic, driven, very, you know, not peaceful type of environment, compared to, you know, painting in a studio where you are your own company for many, many hours.
Ellen Howard: 18:20
Yeah. But also too, like, it was very busy, it was a demanding job, but part of my job was also building relationships between the clients and the portfolio managers, and I think that has helped me in the art world too, because I’ve been a big art advocate trying to build programs for artists. And currently I’m the vice president of the California art club, and I was co chair of the San Francisco chapter for many years. So I really enjoyed, you know, putting together paint outs or critiques or demos, and just trying to bring people together in the art world. It’s been a passion of mine also,
Laura Arango Baier: 19:07
yeah, no, and I think that’s great, because there’s, I think a lot of people have the misconception that artists are introverted, and therefore we’re we don’t go out, we don’t talk to people without realizing that actually this career, as I’ve seen it, is heavily dependent on networking and making connections and going out there and meeting people. So I think that’s an awesome thing to you know, go from business into painting and then deciding, oh, this is something that I think is important to share with others and to help others realize that this is something that can build community. This is something that will bring opportunities to others, instead of, you know, we’re all just hiding in our studio,
Ellen Howard: 19:55
and I think that’s hard as it was hard for me as an artist, I should say that, you know, I went. From going to the office every day to being alone in the studio doing your work, and obviously you have to do that work, but it’s great to be with other artists, because there’s some kind of energy when you get around other artists, like, oh, did you hear about this? Or, you know, or you learn a new technique, or find out something different, and, yeah, just talk about historical works, you know, as on a trip, and we were talking about an artist and all his compositional designs. And, you know, just diving into that kind of stuff really is helpful, you know. And you don’t get that by sitting in an office or, I mean, in your studio, you know, you get that, you know, being around people at a paint out and just casually talking to somebody, you know,
Laura Arango Baier: 20:49
definitely yes, yeah. And that actually brings me to a question, which is, when did you become a full time artist? What was that transition like for you.
Ellen Howard: 21:00
I think it was probably around 2012 2014 I started devoting more and more time to being an artist. You’ll laugh. I think in the beginning, I used to set up my easel in my little galley kitchen and then try to cook at the same time I was painting, you know, that kind of stuff. So I got my own studios. That was a big step to have an outside studio, and then to be able to devote more of my time to pursuing my my art, my art background, so in creating the work so and I just, I kept taking more and more classes and meeting more people and and then other doors started opening too. I got into some shows, and I started locally, and then started to get into some of the national shows too.
Laura Arango Baier: 21:54
Yeah, yeah. So you must have spent, like, a good amount of time, you know, building your portfolio and then also networking. And did you, you know, build, maybe, like a series of paintings and then, you know, apply with those two shows? Or did you talk to galleries? How did that work for you?
Ellen Howard: 22:12
I think I started really with local shows, getting into local shows, and seeing what was accepted, and then getting into some of the national shows, and then also going to galleries that I was interested in, going to their open studios or their and just seeing how that worked and who was represented. You know, what their work looked like. You know, would my work fit into that? But it took a it was a long process. It wasn’t something that you just walk in the door and you’re accepted into a gallery so but yeah, after many years, I did actually approach a gallery in Carmel, and I brought him 10 of my pieces and and he said, Okay, I’ll try you out on these five if you sell, you know, we’ll, we’ll give you a chance in the gallery. So, and I sold in the first week three of my paintings. So that was, I was super grateful. It was a great relationship. And, yeah, so that was kind of the start of of getting myself into some galleries,
Laura Arango Baier: 23:24
that’s awesome. So since you do have your background in business and having a more business minded sort of approach to your art, how has your background been the most helpful for your career as an artist? What has been like something that has been really, really helpful for you.
Ellen Howard: 23:42
I think I have strong time management skills. I remember in the beginning, I would take my daytime or out and I would just go, like a nine to one is painting time like, you know, no phone calls, no you know, appointments or whatever. So I was able to manage my time. I think my organized organizational skills have been good. I can put things together. So I’ve put together independent exhibitions, which have been super fun in the Bay Area, got a bunch of artists and got the venue and put together shows, so that it’s helped. I think my ability just to talk to people. You know, in my business background, I had to make a lot of phone calls or go to meetings, and just my ability to present, you know, I think that’s helped quite a bit. And then the marketing, I think just being able to market yourself, I think, is really key too,
Laura Arango Baier: 24:39
yeah, yeah. And that’s actually segues really well into my next question, which is, in your experience, what has been the best marketing or business tactic that you’ve used that has either led to more sales or more opportunities
Ellen Howard: 24:54
for you? Well, I think the funniest thing is, I didn’t expect it, but I started. Newsletter eight years ago, and I started it actually, really for myself. I was, it was an accountability newsletter. So every month I was like, What did I accomplish? What did I get into? Any shows, you know, what paintings that I accomplish? What am I learning? What can I pass on? So, like, the fifth of, the 15th of every month. If I didn’t have, you know, an idea of what I’ve done, I would panic. I’m like, Okay, I’ve got to produce this newsletter at the end of the month. What am I going to say? And so that is just and I’ve done it every month. The last eight, eight years, I have not missed a month, and I think it’s just grown. And I’ve got a nice following on my newsletter. I really enjoy writing it, and it’s, it’s more I do, obviously show my work and what’s coming up for me professionally, but I always come up with a theme, like, what is going on in the world that could help other people, you know, or what, what’s going on. It’s important. Like in February, I took a spin on the Olympics with the figure skaters. And one woman won, Elise, Lou, and another person, Amber, she, you know, she was designated to win, but she had a mistake. And then the male, the quad King, missed some of his jumps. So my the title of the of the newsletter is, what does success look like? So, and I referred it back to a painter, you know, does success look like something that you know you’re getting into every single show, or are you continually putting in work, and all of a sudden you miss one thing, or, you know, so it’s, what does that look for you? You know, all the years of work behind something that people don’t see. So that was an interesting topic. And then this, this month, I just sent out, what, are you tending what matters to what you’re tending to. You know, where are you giving your attention? And with spring coming up in the gardens and things blooming like, how are you tending so, how you tending to your creative life? You know what’s important. You know, as an you know, is there a rush to see your finish painting, or is it you’re tending your garden by tilling your soil, you know the bud is just coming up, and then at time it’ll bloom. So in your creative life, having the patience to see something to fruition, not to always be in a rush to have it finished, which is something I struggle with too. You know, I can get impatient.
Laura Arango Baier: 27:45
So at BoldBrush, we inspire artists to inspire the world, because creating art creates magic, and the world is currently in desperate need of magic. BoldBrush provides artists with free art, marketing, creativity and business ideas and information. This show is an example. We also offer written resources, articles and a free monthly art contest open to all visual artists. We believe that fortune favors the bold brush, and if you believe that too, sign up completely free at BoldBrush show.com that’s BOLDBRUSH, show.com the BoldBrush show is sponsored by FASO. Now more than ever, it’s crucial to have a website when you’re an artist, especially if you want to be a professional in your career. Thankfully, with our special link FASO.com/podcast, you can make that come true and also get over 50% off your first year on your artist website. Yes, that’s basically the price of 12 lattes in one year, which I think is a really great deal, considering that you get sleek and beautiful website templates that are also mobile, friendly, e commerce, print on demand in certain countries, as well as access to our marketing center that has our brand new art marketing calendar. And the art marketing calendar is something that you won’t get with our competitor. The art marketing calendar gives you day by day, step by step, guides on what you should be doing today right now in order to get your artwork out there and seen by the right eyes so that you can make more sales this year. So if you want to change your life and actually meet your sales goal this year, then start now by going to our special link, FASO.com/podcast, that’s FASO.com/podcast, yeah, yeah. And I love that because that the impatience can also really apply to the career itself, right? Like, Oh, I really want to get into all of these shows, or I really just want to start selling a ton of my work. And it’s it would be nice, but at the same time, like it really does build up slowly, and it takes a lot of patience to allow these opportunities to also happen. Yeah, yeah. And I wanted to ask you to first, what does success look like for you? I.
Ellen Howard: 30:00
Yeah, that’s a hard question. I guess when I finished a painting that has been different for me, that I’ve tried a new technique and I felt that it came out successful. Sometimes it is hard when you feel very strongly about a work and you submit it to a show and it doesn’t get accepted. So that’s difficult. But I think as long as you keep learning and your work keeps improving, so I can look back to last year and say, oh, okay, I’ve improved in that area, there’s still more to go. So that’s what success. As long as I’m enjoying the process and I’m excited about what I’m doing, and I’m continuing and not giving up that successful.
Laura Arango Baier: 30:45
Yeah, that’s awesome, and that’s a great point. I feel like first i’ll probably link that newsletter in our show notes, so that people can go read it and also sign up for your newsletter. And I think also, because it’s such a I think it’s a really important topic, because it’s very natural for that perspective of success to change as time goes on and as your career develops. Like how you said, at first it might be, oh, getting into this show or trying to get into this one Gallery, and then maybe you realize, oh, you know what, this gallery, and I don’t really work. So now I got to change my success vision to something else. And I think that also ties a little bit into what we mentioned at the beginning, which is that life will sometimes, instead of taking you from point A to point B, it’ll take you to point C, and it’s much, much more fun and much more interesting, and just opens way more doors than you would think, yeah.
Ellen Howard: 31:44
And to think broader than just shows like, there’s a lot of path to art. And I think people get stuck into, oh, I have to go down this one street when there’s 10 streets you can go down to and and also, I think, you know, you have to be patient as far as far as what? Going back to the newsletter, you know, it took a while to build my email list, and I find with art, it’s a very emotional purchase. The collectors want to get to know you as an artist. So it’s an easy way, when you start doing a newsletter for them to see who you are, learn about who you are, see if they like your style, without having the pressure of purchasing something. They like your work. They can come to your show. They can come to your open studio. They can reach out to you. But they I have found, you know, even with Open Studios, usually the first year people are not buying that much, they have to get a feel of who you are, and then you build that relationship, and then sales happen after that,
Laura Arango Baier: 32:52
yeah, yeah. And that’s an excellent point, again, with patience. And then I wanted to ask you, how does one go about building that newsletter list.
Ellen Howard: 33:05
So I started out actually, with friends. I was, you know, would you be on my newsletter list? And then every time I went out to a show, I’d hand out my card, and I’d mention, hey, I do a newsletter if you’re interested in signing up. This is, you know, the link, or, you know, when people came to my Open Studios, I always had a notebook out, you know, here’s my newsletter, if you’d like to subscribe, you know, send up your, you know, your email list. So it was over years, just building it through exhibitions, shows, things like that, that I had signups.
Laura Arango Baier: 33:41
Yeah, and again, it’s that patience. And now you have so so many people on your list, I’m assuming, and I think we spoke about this last time as well, that it is artists and enthusiasts and also collectors. So one of the things that I’m curious about as well is, how do you balance out the topics of your your newsletters for collectors versus artists? Because obviously an artist might be reading your newsletter to find out more about process, to hear more about your maybe a little bit about your philosophy on how you how you work through a specific problem versus a collector. Might be a lot more interested in the story, the narrative, the what led to this piece? Part. How do you balance out those topics?
Ellen Howard: 34:35
I usually kind of do a combination of both. They usually say, pick one, like if your collector focus or artist focus, but I don’t do that. So if there’s a new piece, I talk about like, why I painted that piece, you know, what? Why was I drawn to that piece? Where was it? You know, and location wise. So with all my new work, I do say that to give the call. Lecture and understanding of why I’m painting that particular subject matter. And then I do have information about workshops or how I teach, you know, things that I have done that have been helpful for students. You know this last I taught in Carmel a couple weeks ago, and I had the students just do a quick six by eight value study before they did their color. And everybody always struggles with value, but just having that discipline of doing that, a small one, you know, I said, Okay, we’re only going to do, you know, 40 minutes. Give them a time frame, and then it just gives them the structure to create their their color. And they can use that as a reference, too. So I do give tips like that, or I’m working with gouache, you know how that process is going. So I do, I do go both areas,
Laura Arango Baier: 35:53
nice, yeah, because it’s, it is interesting to know, like, considering, like I said, artists just have such a different way of reaching out to specific groups of people, like, for example, in social media, I’ve noticed, at least in my following, most of my followers and fellow artists who are also looking at my work, but definitely on my newsletter. I also do notice that it’s a little bit mixed. It’s some artists, but also some people who are not painters, who are just curious. So that’s why I was also curious. Like, huh, how do how does one balance that out? Because so many opportunities and so many things can come through from those newsletters. Like, maybe an artist, a fellow artist, might be like, Oh, this would be great for a show. But a collector might be like, Oh, this would be great on my wall, you know. So it’s a little bit of, like, a complicated, you know, like, which path do we choose? But having that option of, like, just both and balancing it out, that also sounds like a very good midway point.
Ellen Howard: 37:00
Well, even for artists like, hearing about why I painted something like, I think that backstory, you know, even though it’s geared more for a collector, artists are like, Okay, why am I, you know, painting this subject matter. What is it about this subject matter that I enjoy painting? Because I think you know, no matter who you are, if you’re not excited about what you’re painting, the painting is not going to come out great. You know, there’s not going to be that energy or there’s an emotional tie to what you’re creating. So understanding your why, I think, is very important.
Laura Arango Baier: 37:38
Yeah, yeah, that is true. It is very important for artists to self reflect through also observing other artists and their self reflection. That’s a very good point. I also wanted to ask you, what are some business skills that you would recommend for artists to really focus on, I mean, maybe, like, your top one or two skills that you would say, build that
Ellen Howard: 38:06
just show up and say yes. And so what I mean about that is you have to be in person. You have to show up. So if there’s an open house, you know, if there’s an art exhibition, you just never know who you’re going to meet. And one of the things that opened the door for me, a big deal is that I was looking I had a studio, and this woman, Ruth waters, was opening up a museum with studios, and we were friends, and I said to her, is there anything I can do to help you? And she said, Yes. And she goes, will you be one of my curators? And at the time, I was like, Oh, I don’t have time. I just got my studio. I want to do my work, and but I knew she needed help, so I said, Yes. And that opened up a huge amount of doors. So I served on the curatorial committee. I met a lot of artists, and then eventually I proposed my own show, which was very successful. I worked with two other artists, and it was 19 artists for the exhibition. It was plein air to studio. Very well attended. John stern did our forward for us in our brochure, which was incredible and and that led to me being asked to co chair the California art club San Francisco chapter. So you just don’t know where something is going to lead. And it was just me being willing to help her out in the beginning. So I think as an artist, you need to also, you need to be willing to give of yourself to to help. It’s not always about showing up and seeing like, Oh, can I be in this gallery? Or, you know, can I be in this show? But you know, if. You’re a great writer. Oh, can I help you write an email for this show? Or I’m happy to help with XYZ. So I think getting involved that way, you learn more about the business. You learn things about yourself, like, what, where am I? Where are my skills on the business side, what am I good at? What am I not so good at where do I need help on that side? You know, some people are great with social media. Oh, I’ll do your social media blitzes for your show. But I think the willingness to help others is a big business.
Laura Arango Baier: 40:37
Plus, yes, yeah. You know, that’s very underrated, and you’re probably one of the very first people I’ve heard mentioned, you know, helping. Like, yes, it’s, there’s the way of helping, of like, giving information to other people, kind of, like, how we’re doing with the podcast. But I think, actually, you know, physically, for someone to show up somewhere and as an artist, and offer help, offer assistance that’s really great for building relationships, building your skills, building all of these things that, in the end, like will help your career move forward. So that’s a really, really great tip, and very unexpected too, which I love. Yeah. I mean, you never know what, what someone’s experience might be, kind of like yours. That, oh, volunteering led to this opportunity, and that led to this other opportunity, and then this other opportunity. And you also mentioned, oh, if you’re a great writer, you also mentioned last time that some of your writing has also been in magazine, yeah, can’t remember which one now, yeah, plein air.
Ellen Howard: 41:44
Yeah, plein air magazine, yeah, yes. So yeah, I’ve been working about nine months as a guest contributor for that which has been great, because I get to interview artists, learn more about their process, or I deep dive into a topic. Rayleigh scatter is the next article coming out. It’s how we see the colors of a sunset and how they translate in the landscape also. And so that was a really great article to write, and that’s what I actually demoed at the plein air convention last year. Was that topic in gouache, doing the sunset and gouache. So I have
Laura Arango Baier: 42:25
a little bit of a side question there, because I’m very curious. I’ve only tried gouache a couple times. Do you find that painting a sunset with gouache versus painting with oils? Which one do you find a little bit more challenging
Ellen Howard: 42:40
you’re doing, if it’s plein air, you’re doing it both quickly. So with the with the oils, you can kind of pre mix a little bit to, you know, and then it you can adjust the color. So probably, I don’t know that’s a hard question, probably the gouache is, but you’re moving fast with gouache anyway. So, yeah, it’s a quicker medium. I mean, you you can adjust, yeah, probably the gouache, because even though it’s quicker, you have to get those colors right initially, you don’t have a lot of time to lay over additional colors, and with the oils, you can get the initial color in, but you can tweak it a little bit to brighten it or to tone it down a little bit more. So, yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 43:27
yeah, that makes sense. I was just curious because you mentioned it, yeah. And then I wanted to ask you also, in terms of final advice, like career advice. What would you recommend for someone who wants to become a full time artist?
Ellen Howard: 43:48
I would just recommend that you take some patience and maybe start slowly. You know, you know, if you’re able financially to quit your job and do it full time, that’s wonderful. But I think sometimes doing a slow approach, where you’re doing something part time, and then transitioning into being an artist, and there’s a Yeah, like, a lot of components to it, so you have to do a lot of research, like, what type of artists are you going to be? Traditional abstract artists, figurative artists, you know, where do you see yourself fitting in the marketplace? Or, do you see yourself fitting in the marketplace? Or how you going to navigate that? Navigate that? Or are you going to open up a different line of you know, there’s a lot of online things too. So try to understand the business components of it. First. You know, where you think your work would be most suitable. Things evolve, and your work probably will change. And you know, over time, but kind of understanding that first, and just having a thick skin, because there’s a lot of subjectivity in art, you know. Somebody loves your work, another person doesn’t like your work. So you have to feel comfortable about what you’re doing and strong in your own person on on how you want your work to look and just having the strength to know you know, you will find your your path. But it might not be the first or second or third path that you look like it might be the fourth or fifth path?
Laura Arango Baier: 45:24
Yeah, yeah. Those are all excellent points. And I think also, there’s this risk that a lot of especially like early career artists, fall into, which is, instead of thinking, Oh, where does my work fit, they think, oh, what’s the most popular thing, and how do I fit myself into it? Which I think is a big mistake, because they end up hating it later on. How does, how does someone, you know, sit back and decide, you know what means more to me? Like, what would you recommend if someone’s stuck on that, on that sort of business, first versus my art first mindset.
Ellen Howard: 46:09
Well, I mean, you have to paint what you really love, so that comes first, you know, and you’ll develop your style. So you do need to have a body of work, you know that you feel like, okay, here’s 10 paintings that represent what I want my work to look like, or what I’m drawn to. And then the second phase of it is finding where the market, where you might fit with that market. You know, there is there clubs that would be aligned with you, or is there local or national shows, there’s our art organizations like almost. I mean, the plein air movement has been incredible. So most states have a plein air organization if that’s what they’re interested in, and even if they’re not plein air, even attending them, because maybe somebody in that group would know another group that would fit or another couple artists so and then, you know, also too, you can always, you know, do your own shows. You know you can, you can contact, you know, an exhibition space and see if you can rent that. If you want to do your own shows, there’s a lot of different ways to do it. You can go with other groups of artists and put together your own group show. You can advertise your own group show. So sometimes I would say, don’t always wait to be asked to do something. Take the initiative. If you feel passionate about your work, take the initiative. Find a venue. Find a spot you know, or if it’s strong, with a group show, find three other artists that align with your work and present something so don’t be afraid to try something new.
Laura Arango Baier: 47:52
Yeah, creating your own opportunities in that sense is also, yeah, very, very smart, because you never know who shows up to that show that may not have happened to you if you had never had, like, I said, the initiative to even attempt it. So I feel like it’s kind of interesting, because there’s a little bit there of, like, having almost, like, the gumption to just go for it, you know, like, yeah, the strength is just, you know what? I’m not going to sit here and wait for this opportunity to fall in my lap, I’m going to make it happen, and this is how it’s going to happen. And I think having that mentality also really, really helps.
Ellen Howard: 48:27
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it’s very helpful, yeah, yeah, but you got to do the work first.
Laura Arango Baier: 48:34
Yes, yeah. I mean, that’s the base of everything, is having paintings for people to look at and for people to admire, and then everything else has to come after that, for sure. And then I wanted to ask you, do you have any upcoming shows, exhibitions, workshops that you would like to promote?
Ellen Howard: 48:55
Yeah, I actually have a gouache workshop coming up in April in Sun Valley, so if you’re interested in that, and then I’ll be at the California gold medal show in June, which I’m excited about. I’m also teaching in France in June, so French Alps, and I’m excited. I’ve got 12 students coming over for that. And and then the fall, I’ll be with the bright Museum, small work, for their Invitational show in Wyoming. So yeah, my daughter’s wedding is coming up in May too, so the spring is a big time for me.
Laura Arango Baier: 49:31
So that’s so exciting. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. You’re welcome. Yeah, sounds like a great year. And I will, of course, include all of links for everything that you have mentioned. And then if someone wants to see more of your work, where can they see it?
Ellen Howard: 49:47
I’m represented at Carmel fine art in Carmel, and also Holton Studio Gallery in Berkeley, California, and on my website also, so you can always contact me through there.
Laura Arango Baier: 49:59
Carl. Perfect, awesome. Well, thank you so much, Alan, for this. Really honestly, I took so many notes. This is this has been a really helpful conversation. I hope our listeners have also been taking fervent notes, because it’s one of those rare opportunities to talk to an artist who is very, you know, business focused as well. So thank you.
Ellen Howard: 50:21
Yeah, thanks for having me. I really enjoyed it. I appreciate it, of course.
Laura Arango Baier: 50:26
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