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To premiere season 10, we sat down with Jill Basham, an artist from Maryland's eastern shore with a passion for experimentation and an expressive structural way of painting beautiful realistic landscapes and cityscapes. Jill tells us about her transition from urban planning to painting later in life, initially exploring drawing classes after being a stay-at-home mom. Her artistic approach emphasizes experimentation, embracing failure, and avoiding predictable techniques, which she believes is crucial for artistic growth. She recommends emerging artists take drawing classes, work with limited palettes, and focus on embracing the process of creating art rather than fixating on the final product. She also recommends for artists to seek out other artists and build a network in the art world, which can help in terms of career and also technique. Finally, Jill tells us about her upcoming shows, including the American Society of Marine Artists' exhibition in Oregon and the Oil Painters of America National Exhibition in Florida. And she also tells us about her upcoming workshop at the Booth Museum in Georgia!
Jill's FASO site:
https://www.jillbasham.com/
Jill's Social Media:
https://www.instagram.com/jilltascherbasham/
https://www.facebook.com/jill.t.basham
Jill's upcoming workshop:
https://www.jillbasham.com/workshop/35322/getting-unstuck-2-day-workshop
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Transcript:
Jill Basham: 0:00
I think what we were just talking about is learning to fail, that your painting is your process. It's not the finished product. So if you can sort of think about it differently and embrace the process of it, rather than constantly worrying about the finished product, is my other thing. And then I think challenging yourself, welcome
Laura Arango Baier: 0:24
to the BoldBrush show where we believe that fortune gives a bold brush. My name is Laura Arango 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. To premiere season 10, we sat down with Jill Basham, an artist from Maryland's eastern shore with a passion for experimentation and an expressive, structural way of painting beautiful, realistic landscapes and cityscapes. Jill tells us about her transition from urban planning to painting later in life, initially exploring drawing classes after being a stay at home mom, her artistic approach emphasizes experimentation, embracing failure and avoiding predictable techniques, which she believes is crucial for artistic growth. She recommends emerging artists take drawing classes, work with limited palettes and focus on embracing the process of creating art rather than fixating on the final result. She also recommends for artists to seek out other artists and build a network in the art world which can help in terms of career and also technique. Finally, Jill tells us about her upcoming shows, including the American Society of marine artists exhibition in Oregon and the oil painters of American National Exhibition in Florida. And she also tells us about her upcoming workshop at the booth Museum in Georgia. Welcome Jill to the BoldBrush show. How are you today?
Jill Basham: 1:51
Hi, Laura. I'm doing well. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Yeah, thank you
Laura Arango Baier: 1:55
for being here. I absolutely love your work. I love that you have this sort of deconstruction to your work in terms of the paint brush strokes, it's very expressive, and yet it retains this beautiful structure. And it's so like somehow it just retains the drawing so well that it's so pleasing for the eyes to just look around in the in the image and just catch all the beautiful drawing aspects while also loving the abstract qualities of it. So I absolutely, absolutely love it. I'm so happy you're here. My goodness, thank you so much. Happy to be here. Yes, yes. Um, and then also, you know, before we dive into your absolutely gorgeous work, do you mind telling us a bit more about who you are and what you do, sure.
Jill Basham: 2:43
So I am Jill, obviously Jill Basham, and I live on the eastern shore of Maryland, near the Chesapeake Bay. And of course, inspiration is here and as well as elsewhere. So I love to travel. I actually didn't start painting until later in life. I went into urban planning, initially from college, and didn't even really consider myself to be an artist, or even consider that path as a career option, so I was pretty excited about urban planning, and it took a different direction once I started an internship, which was into transportation planning, and that really didn't suit my sensibility. It had a lack of creativity, I think to it anyway. After going to college and following this path and transportation planning, I got married to a great guy, and subsequently we had children. And after the first child, I thought, I just cannot go back to work. I wanted to stay home with her, which I did, so I ended up being a stay at home mom for all four of my wonderful kids, and which was very worthwhile. And then when the youngest one was about second or third grade, I thought, you know, now's my time to reconsider what I would like to do and what my career path is. And I, you know, I thought maybe painting would be, would be a good thing, so I tried to sign up for a painting class, and there wasn't any offered in my local area, so, but what was offered was a drawing class. I signed up for the drawing class and then followed up that with more drawing classes. Then got into charcoal and eventually started painting, and I realized that it was the drawing experience that I had as a basis that really helped with my dart in painting.
Laura Arango Baier: 5:20
Wow, that is quite the trajectory. Because, I mean, you were definitely in a completely different career path, you know, and to discover this talent that you have, and this, this joy that you found in the creative act of painting, instead of just the creative side of, you know, planning, urban planning, is so fascinating because, you know, they, I'm sure that they have some crossover, right? There has to be like, some kind of like perspective that you may have gotten also from urban planning, that really, you know, you could, you were able to pull into your paintings, right? Yeah, I
Jill Basham: 5:55
definitely think so. I think you know what interested interested me, or interests me with urban planning is that you can, you can have control over how people experience their environment. And in a sense, painting is the ultimate control over, you know, what you are presenting to others and how they react to it. So I think that, I think that that sort of is the, you know, that sort of creativity and designing something that's pleasing to to others is is important to me. And I think that that does cross over into painting as well. Yeah, yeah.
Laura Arango Baier: 6:43
And you just said a word that I'm really interested to dive into more, which is the word design, right? How? How have you found that, maybe that intuition you've gained from urban planning in terms of design, how do you find that that has carried over into your work?
Jill Basham: 6:59
I, you know, I, of course, I think there is a definitely a connection between planning and painting, and my interest in the actual design of a painting. There again, you're looking at what pleases the human eye, naturally and intuitively. And so I think probably in that, in that sense, it's still they correlate, because design, you know, when a design is off, even if you're not an artist, if you're looking at a painting, you just intuitively know that this is not working. Of course, there is reasons why it's not working, but, but I do think that it goes back to having a solid foundation in design. So yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 7:59
that makes perfect sense. Because, I mean, I feel like a lot of a lot of us, you know, like you said, we naturally know what feels right, what feels wrong, visually. And to be able to really catch that, can be, you know, you have to be really aware of why something doesn't right, which, in part, that's, you know, something that I was curious about with the urban planning, because I feel that you might also have seen, like, certain rules of, like, well, these two things would align here, and that would look much better than if this were at this awkward sort of spot, unless it was at like, two thirds or like 1/3 away, right? Because absolutely specific little rules that the human eye really, really finds delicious to look at, right? Absolutely, yeah. And then that actually makes me want to ask you about your your process with your work. How do you go from, you know, initial sketch, all the way to finished piece?
Jill Basham: 9:00
Well, this answer might surprise you a bit, because for me, it's never the same. I don't like predictability. I would rather try different things. It's just my nature. I think maybe I have, you know, maybe possibly a bit of attention deficit disorder. But I don't call it disorder, really, but anyway, I I love to try different things, and I actually think that that helps with growth. So I can come at it from a tone canvas, and then build on that, I can come at it from just, you know, the white canvas itself, and so a limited palette, or more a broader palette. I don't really set rules or boundaries for myself, and I actually encourage others to. I try not to set too many boundaries, because I think you're going to miss out on on where your work can potentially go. So So I anyway, I encourage experimentation and and that's where I'm coming from. I And of course, with that in mind, oftentimes my paintings might fail. I think I probably have a higher failure rate than other artists because of that, but I think that's okay with me, because when I have a success or an aha moment, it's because I have tried something that's out of, out of what is predictable. Yeah, I just can't, I cannot do the predictable.
Laura Arango Baier: 10:51
Yeah, and, you know, that's, I think that's a really awesome point to make, because I understand that there's comfort, right? And predictability. There's because you know what to expect. You know what's going to come up, but then at the same time, you being so, like, open and brave, because some people would probably be terrified, or absolutely terrified, to take a risk like that. I think that's awesome, because you at least this is the opinion that I have. I mean, I could be wrong, you can confirm, but I feel like you would start to build at least some form of tolerance for failure, right? Because you know that you're allowing yourself the space and the grace to try something new, and if it goes bad, that's okay. It's not the end of the world. It's just another painting to set aside, or something that you can learn from as well, which is even more important, right? Because you're striving and striving and striving with the goal of improving and to learn something new, which I think is a much higher goal than just finish a painting and make it really look good, even though that feels really good as well. But it's a it's very interesting that you have a much different sort of, I guess, outward goal, compared to just making a beautiful painting. It's more like, let's see how we can remix this. Let's see how we can reinterpret something so that it's even better, whereas the predictable sense, I guess, would lack a little bit it can, over time, at least, like a little bit of that life of like the human attempt to really dig into it, you know, yeah,
Jill Basham: 12:30
I think you're right about that, I mean. And for me, I, like I said, I can get bored with a systematic approach to painting. I also get bored with repeating the same subject multiple times. I you know, I like to to try different things and different approaches, even even during the process of painting, if it's not going the direction I would like. I often will take the canvas and flip it upside down and then try to see things from a different perspective and grow a painting out of that. I get very excited about that possibility. I think that's what it is. Actually. It's the endless possibilities of where a painting can go that just, it just thrills me, really does. It's like, it's like not knowing the end of the story, or where you know the you don't even know the plot necessarily. With these sort of paintings that take those turns. Now, on the other hand, there are paintings in which, if I'm out plein air, painting can be a bit more predictable in the sense that I know what I'm I want to capture, and I know the feeling that I'm going for, and then and then putting that down in paint. So
Laura Arango Baier: 14:04
I love that, because you have and I think this is so unique, because I haven't heard anyone quite put it like that, which is the excitement of not knowing the end. And I feel like, especially when I was a student, my perspective of, I guess, also, because I didn't really know what I was doing, right? That's the difference. When you do know what you're doing, you can definitely, you know, feel stability in the sense that I know I can figure this out. But when you're a student, it could be so terrifying to not really know where you're taking your painting, because you don't know what you don't know, right, right? And then the other thing you mentioned earlier that I really loved was boundaries, right? Because I feel like there can be such a fine line where a boundary is. It could be an actual boundary that we set that is arbitrary, right? Like it could be like, Oh, well, I this is how I like to do things. So I'm just going to stop here and. Right? But then I like that you see it more as like a glass ceiling, right, as something to break and just to go past that. Because if you don't, yes, again, you get that predictability. You get that well, this is how far I know I can take this, and I know how to make it look good, like this, which is fine, you know, you go from point A to point B, but, but I like that. You're like, no, there's a point c, and I want to get to point C, which is really cool, right?
Jill Basham: 15:29
And in reaching for point C, as I said, I think that I'm just I will fail more often because I won't necessarily get to point C. And yes, I think that if you're that a similar type of artist, you sort of have to be okay with the fact that it's about embracing the process and and being okay with the failures. And that's, you know, that's where I am. It's but sometimes I can still be very hard on myself. And I'm sure other artists are too. You know, when something doesn't work, that you thought might work, or or perhaps you had something which I think we've all done, you have a gem, and you totally obliterate it. That can be, have you done that? Yes, that can be frustrating, yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 16:27
yeah, yeah. And even, you know, in trying to quote, unquote, protect that gem, you might be again placing a very arbitrary boundary on your painting that if you, you know, move past that you would improve it so
Jill Basham: 16:41
much. You know, yes, yes. And I think that's our natural tendency to is that when you have a spot in your painting, or you think the painting is going the right way, but yet it's still not working, our tendency is to want to hold on to that, that precious bit of painting, and not obliterate it. But in reality, sometimes the best thing you can do is just to to let it go and move on. Yes,
Laura Arango Baier: 17:17
yeah, I'm done. Sorry. That just reminds me of the phrase, you know, Kill Your Darlings because it's so, yeah, it's so important. And almost, it almost reminds me of like Eastern philosophy, where, if you, if you keep holding on to something, right, you might cause yourself suffering by holding on to it, instead of just allowing, you know, the dialog between you and the painting to happen if you're, if you're holding on too much to that little thing that you know, you're like, Oh, but I did this so well, and I took forever on. It's like, Yeah, but that's totally fine. It could be even better, right? It's like, um, you stop digging before you get to the gold, right? Yes,
Jill Basham: 17:58
yes, yes, yes. Well, and in that sense, it's maybe, for me, when I'm painting, I try not to get too defined with it too quickly. Because, yeah, you know, I think the thing is, and I've done it both ways, where I do get defined in an area too quickly, and then I do get precious about it and like, Oh, I just want to hold on to that little bit. But I think that if you can sort of be a bit more abstract in your start, yeah, and just looking at shape and overall, just the big picture, simplifying, put it in simply. It can end up, as long as you have a strong design and value structure, and end up being a very solid thinking,
Laura Arango Baier: 18:50
yeah, absolutely. I feel like the the real and this, you know, again, it's my opinion. You could confirm or deny. It's totally fine. But I feel like the real compositional like oomph, the real power of a painting is just, like you said, the drawing and the value scale, like just having a really nice design of values, and like you said, the abstract side. The longer you hold on to that abstract side, oh, because the human eye looks like that, right? We don't. We don't perfectly see things like as perfectly defined unless you're looking directly at it, but when you see a full image, right? You need values, because that's what the eye sees, right? Not so much the perfect little details and things you
Jill Basham: 19:37
know. And then when you when you think you have a good, solid foundation for your drawing, and you have a good solid foundation of design structure, and you're getting into your values, and then you're working your way down into further detail. I think it's the edges and the edge control that can really guide. Uh, a viewer's eye through a painting, um, either successfully or not, not. You agree with that?
Laura Arango Baier: 20:09
Totally, totally. I mean, I feel like, you know, there's, in general, you know, as time has gone on and I've spoken to a lot of wonderful artists like you, it seems like there is a bit of a hierarchy in terms of the construction of a really good painting, right? There's always drawing, as you know, the most important foundation, followed by values, and then those edges, and then the last sprinkle might be color, which I find so interesting, because I think a lot of people, we love color, right? I feel like color is like, oh, it's the final sort of poetic touch to a painting. But we forget that it is really like that final touch. You know, you can make a beautiful painting in unlimited palette without using much strong color, as long as you have strong value and design of drawing, right,
Jill Basham: 21:01
exactly. And, you know, one of, one of my little challenges that I like to to place on myself is to paint with just just black and white, or just, you know, just a sepia tone canvas and and see where I can go with that. And I think that's just a reminder about the importance of values. What you can create with just such a such a limited palette,
Laura Arango Baier: 21:33
yeah. And actually, I wanted to ask you now that you bring that up, do you when you're approaching a new subject, do you like to do, like small studies, like small value studies at all, or do you just like jump right into it?
Jill Basham: 21:47
Well, I probably should be doing value studies, and I have done them in the past, but my nature just does not accommodate very well. So So, no, I'm, I'm all in, you know, I'm, I'm ready to jump into my drawing and design, right? Initially, yeah, and that, like I said, my approach to that can, can vary wildly, you know, so I do, you know, I in the studio. I like to consider my studio almost like a laboratory. So when you walk in, you know, I just don't think that placing too many boundaries or rules, as long as you don't have commissions that you must you know that you have, and that sort of thing, but having the time to explore and see where things can take you is, to me, has been so, so important, yeah, crucial, really, I think, and growth,
Laura Arango Baier: 22:49
yes, yeah. And that's the key, right? It's, it's growth. And, like you said, I mean, if you're doing something that's more like work that is for a commission, or something that needs to have a very specific outcome. Then, of course, that's probably not the best time to be experimenting too much. No, right, yeah, unless, I mean, unless the commissionee is totally into experimentation and they want to, you know, let you explore and push your brain. Yes, exactly. But then that's, I think, very rare. Yes, yes. Yes. So it is good to have that, yeah, yes, yes.
Jill Basham: 23:24
And the other thing going back to color is that, you know, color works best when you have more muted tones or grays neck. I mean, if you want a pop of color, I think the tendency is to for beginners, well, I would like a colorful painting, and so they lay in all the colors. And the problem is, you're not having anything sing. And the way to make color sing is to have a restraint in your palette. And it's, in my opinion, and and, and grays come in very, you know, are very important in that.
Laura Arango Baier: 24:10
I think over time, I have learned the gray is my favorite color. It's, gosh, if, if you ever take like, a really beautiful painting, right? And you put it on Photoshop, and you start like, you know, just eye dropper tool all over, including the spots that you think are the most colorful, you'll find that all of them are very great.
Jill Basham: 24:32
Yes, yes, yes. They are very
Laura Arango Baier: 24:35
true. It's amazing, yes, but yeah. And then, actually, I wanted to ask you, because obviously your work has such a beautiful way of you know, this beautiful organization of values and design and structure, which I really love. I love the structure in your work, especially when you're looking for a subject paint, what? What are you seeking? And then all. So do you tend to move stuff around like do you also edit reality so that it looks even better?
Jill Basham: 25:08
That's Those are good questions. So what I'm looking for is, I love a great I love value contrast. So I also like a gray nudie day. But for me, I'm looking for value, contract and design, obviously. And then as far as moving stuff around, absolutely, I that's one of the things, the magical powers I think we have as artists, is to be able to move things around to make something work for us. So yes, I'm all for moving things around. I think when you're first starting out, though, that's very difficult to do. So if you're a beginner, it's almost better to not go there yet. I think that comes a little bit further along in your in your process and your painting career, where, where you're making those editing decisions,
Laura Arango Baier: 26:11
yeah, oh, yeah. I mean, for sure, if you don't know what you're doing, it's better to figure out what you are doing first, right? Yeah. And then, actually, you know, speaking of, you know, people who are learning or students, is there one big piece of advice that you'd like to give your your students, whether they're your one on one students, or your workshop students? Yeah,
Jill Basham: 26:35
well, there again, I think that there's probably more than one, but I would say my top would be to do what I inadvertently did when I first started, which was to take a drawing class even before painting. So I do recommend that. And then I think what we were just talking about is learning to fail. That it's that not every painting, that your painting is your process. It's not the finished product. So if you can sort of think about it differently and embrace the process of it, rather than constantly worrying about the finished product, is my other thing. And then I think challenging yourself, and what we were already talking about is all you know, try to think of challenges, things that you don't normally do. And I do also recommend that when you're first starting, you do have a limited palette that you just have, even just one of each of the primaries and white, and maybe, oh, I think each one, yeah, I think and white, and go from there and see, because you can, it's amazing how many colors you can mix from the bat as well as you can get your darks and your lights from from that as well. I think that the tendency for beginners might be to try and put out all the whole, you know, colors of the rainbow, but it will be much more your painting will end up being much more cohesive if you can have and work with a limited palette for as long as possible, really? Oh yeah, yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 28:27
I totally agree. I mean, I, I'm a big proponent of the Zorn palette, because even within it, you can play around. You can switch out your yellow for a different type of yellow. You can, you know, switch out your red for different red and see what mixtures you get, because it'll feel before you know it, especially if you paint with a limited palette, it'll feel like you painted with a full color palette, like with all the rainbow colors, because that's what you can do with it. And it's so versatile. So I totally, totally agree
Jill Basham: 29:00
it really, it really is, and, and I just think, just the learning curve of mixing colors too. I mean, it's, it's really a great way to to learn to mix colors.
Laura Arango Baier: 29:15
Yeah, definitely, yeah, yeah. And then I also wanted to ask, because, of course, you went from, you know, your urban planning job to a job you didn't quite like anymore, to stay at home mom, and then back to artists. What was it like for you to make that jump into becoming an artist? And then what, you know, what challenges did you face? What was that experience like for you?
Jill Basham: 29:45
It was a, you know, it was a bit of a hurdle. And I think I went into it a little with a little bit of trepidation. I wasn't familiar with the art world, per se. But what I. Did know is that it was what I wanted to do. For sure, it was I knew that this was my direction and and and that I had and have a passion for it. And if you feel like you have that passion for anything, but if you have the passion for painting, my advice is to try to not that you're not going to be afraid, but try to push fear away, and which, you know, and that's, that was the beginning part of it. I was a little I was scared. I was scared to maybe participate in certain things i i was scared to paint with other people. What would they think? Or even, I think there can be fear about your own unique style that might develop, which, by the way, I think that it's great to learn by copying. Or if you there's work that you admire, to be inspired by that work. But I would say that as you, as I and as as my fellow artists, progress, I think the thing is, is you're going to develop your own style, whether you choose to or not. And I think it's much better to get off of that training of trying to emulate somebody and just embrace, embrace your you, what you you know, what you become. Your brush strokes are unique to you and and there's no changing it. I mean, it's just gonna, it's just gonna, it's just gonna pop up, no matter what. So I think I got a little, I went off, off track, a bit there, but, but anyway, it was, it was a, it was a, a, it was a. I was nervous at the beginning, and then I just told myself that, although I had fear, just to push ahead. So I ended up entering competitions and networking, which i i do recommend, getting to know fellow artists, getting to know artists that you admire, finding opportunities and and, and I think the biggest thing is being brave for your for yourself, advocating for yourself.
Laura Arango Baier: 32:34
Yeah, totally. 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@boldbrushshow.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 ink 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, totally. I mean, making that jump, um, can be, like you said, it can be really scary, and it's good also that you seem to have had some family support, right? Because you had, you know, your husband and and that's also really important, because it's so it can be so daunting to just jump right into it, especially if you don't really have a plan, or if, if it's all new Right? Like you said, like for you is totally new territory, yes, because you came from a completely different field, and that's, yeah, that's crazy. But now you're on the board of OPA, so you've come a long way.
Jill Basham: 34:53
Yeah, yes, I'm a new board member and just getting my footing, but I'm, I'm very honest. Art to be a part of it, and look forward to my term. So yes, thank you.
Laura Arango Baier: 35:06
Of course, I think that's awesome, because you went from, you know, someone who, you know, got into becoming an artist after having a career in something else, and then now you know, you're definitely in, you know, in one of the biggest organizations out there, right, which is Opa, and that's, that's really cool. Yeah, you've worked so hard, and it shows,
Jill Basham: 35:28
oh, well, thank you. I mean, it is cool, but, but I really hope that I can make a difference for for others as my goal. So anyway, it's a great organization, and and I'm honored and humbled to be there.
Laura Arango Baier: 35:46
Yes, it's amazing again, it's awesome. And I'm sure you'll make an awesome addition to their team as well. Yeah. And then I wanted to ask you too, because I know that you you also work with galleries, and you know, I think for artists, that's such a wonderful thing to do. But at the same time, if you're working with multiple galleries, you know, you have this challenge of, Okay, I gotta have work for this exhibition and this exhibition, this exhibition, how do you personally handle the time management aspect of working with multiple galleries? It's a
Jill Basham: 36:20
good question. Sometimes I just pull my hair out, just kidding. It can be, it can be a lot. Sometimes for me, I tend to be quite prolific. So because of that, it's easier than, say, an artist. It takes months to complete a painting. But I think that helps for me. I also think time management in the sense of setting aside perhaps a day to work on the the, what I call the awful stuff that comes along comes along with being an artist, so not being at the easel and spending the day with all the financial and marketing, I say awful, it's, it's definitely necessary, part of, part of things, and then make sure that maybe even put on your calendar that today is a painting day, and devote that time to painting. And I think that helps get get, you know, things accomplished in a timely manner. So when the gallery says, I would like a painting for this particular show, that you have set aside the time to work in order to complete it and and be content with that, with it, without feeling frazzled. Although for me, I you know, it's gone the other way to where at the closer to the end, I actually think, well, maybe I should just do one more painting for this exhibition. And so I'm just, yes, I'm burning the candle and trying to get one more in, which, by the way, is sometimes my most favorite. You know that last one that you push for?
Laura Arango Baier: 38:19
Yeah, yeah, there's something about sometimes, and this doesn't happen to everyone. I mean, we all, you know, work so differently, but sometimes that that extra bit of pressure can really make some magic happen, especially if you already have what you need, right? If you already have the pieces that you need for the show. And you decide, hmm, I'm going to try one more, and you don't feel that fear of, oh no, if I don't finish this, I'm screwed, right? You have that freedom to experiment just what you were saying earlier, and to really pull something magical out, because you're going to be much more unafraid, right? I
Jill Basham: 38:59
think that that is a really good point. Yes, I think that's, that's a you throw caution to the wind with that last painting, and, and, yes, and then you can, you can hit gold with that. Yes, I agree. Yeah.
Laura Arango Baier: 39:13
There's just something about having that, that lack of real fear of failure, right? Of, just like you said earlier, you know, like learning to fail, just allowing that can make so much of a big change in terms of the type of work you can really make, right? I feel like that really takes, takes your work to the next level. Because I feel like that, that fear, can really hold you back, like, you know, and anyone, and it's like you said, it's natural to be afraid. It's natural to to be like, Oh, but what if, oh, but what if it's like, okay, but what if you do make something awesome, right? Like you have both sides of the same coin, right?
Jill Basham: 39:56
Right? Yes, yeah. And, you know, the other thing i. I often think of is, what is the worst case scenario? I mean, really, I think you're going to be okay that. And that's anything, anything in this artistic journey where I I feel nervous about something, I just say, Well, I'm going to be fine. It's all going to it's all going to work out and and it will be fine, exactly.
Laura Arango Baier: 40:26
Yeah, yeah. I mean, the worst that can happen is, oh no, I have an ugly painting that I might recycle or reuse or might do something to later. But, I mean, it's the only permanent thing out there is stuff, of course. So that's, I don't think that's, it's going to be that to that point, right, right, right, right. Yeah. And then I also wanted to ask you in, you know, because you you work with galleries, and you also teach workshops, or at least, you know, from what you mentioned, maybe one workshop a year, what ways have you personally diversified your income as an artist?
Jill Basham: 41:04
Well, I think as far as workshops, I do think that that can help finances, and I think also reaching out to collectors, and staying in contact with with your collectors is important. I find that oftentimes my collectors, they you know, they'll have one of my paintings, but might be interested in another, and that reaching out can be the difference and making a connection, I mean a true, genuine connection with, with, with people, I think, is important. And marketing, having a solid website, which, by the way, love Faso, it's simplified things. And I know people have gone to my website and made purchases directly from the website, which is great. And think just keeping your eyes open for opportunity, where opportunity arises, and going for it, though, those are some of the things, yeah, yes,
Laura Arango Baier: 42:24
yeah. And, you know, and like you mentioned earlier, too, the networking as well can really help with that. And I actually, since you brought up collectors too, how have you managed to be able to talk to collectors? Because I know some galleries aren't quite open with telling their artists who has purchased their work. Have you been able to meet them, maybe at shows, or has it been mostly collectors that have purchased from you online? Or how have you?
Jill Basham: 42:48
Yeah, good question. Yeah. I think my galleries are friendly in regards to, not necessarily give me a list of all the addresses, but if, if if I am at an opening of a show to they encourage the connection and and I, you know, it's, it's sort of a mutually beneficial thing, because obviously, if I network with them, and know the collectors through a particular gallery, then I always uphold, you know, our our financial situation as far as commission for work. So that's, that's it.
Laura Arango Baier: 43:38
I mean, I asked because, you know, some galleries can be a little bit cagey about it. From what I've heard, they don't like to share that information very much. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jill Basham: 43:50
I respect that, and I understand where they're coming from in that regard, and but, but I think the only thing, as far as I'm concerned the best thing that I can do is, you know, have have, obviously, full transparency and integrity in that regard. And you know, I recommend that for any other artists to be very upfront with your galleries. And I think that they feel more comfortable with the artists that way too. So, you know, it's mutual respect. I think, yeah, yeah, yeah, totally.
Laura Arango Baier: 44:27
And then that actually brings to mind another question. Because, you know, maybe some artists out there who are listening, they might want to start working, working with a gallery. How do you recommend that an artist approaches a gallery? Because I know that some people, you know, they might you know, apply for a show, and then maybe a gallery approaches them thanks to that, especially if it's like a competition. But how have you been able to get galleries and then how would you recommend someone approaches a gallery?
Jill Basham: 44:58
Right? I think there's probably just. Different ways. And I also think that it's important for you as an artist to be sure that you fit in the gallery. So I wouldn't just approach galleries without doing your homework and knowing what type of gallery they are, even talking to other artists that are in the gallery to see if it might be a scenario that would work for you. And as far as my personal experience, in one instance, it was that I had entered a show, not entered a show. I was asked to be in a show, I believe, at one of the galleries. And it was so they were inviting outside artists and and then they offered me to be a regular artist there, after seeing my work that then I would suggest, you know, not not barreling in with your work without an appointment, and just and showing up. I would suggest, probably trying to make contact with with them via email and sharing images initially that way, and seeing about a response and then taking it from there also. I think again, networking is valuable. So if you have a friend who who is an artist in a particular gallery, and you think that that gallery really is a good fit for you as well, then then maybe, you know, talking to the friend, and maybe they can put in a good word too. So I think that might be helpful. Yeah, yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 46:46
definitely. And that, again, that really brings to mind how important it is to network and to, you know, make genuine connections within the art world. And, like, you know, make friends with other artists. And yeah, it really reminds us of how important human connection is. Yes, yeah. Well,
Jill Basham: 47:05
I think for us artists too, we sort of are unique, a unique tribe and and so I think that we, you know, I think sticking together and sort of helping each other out, how, however we can, is it's a good thing, and, and I definitely value my friendships, my artists friendship. So yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's a good thing,
Laura Arango Baier: 47:37
yeah, yeah. And it also exposes you to other ways of seeing and other ways of thinking. And, you know, someone might, I don't know, you might have a friend who's an artist, who you see how they painted this one thing, and you're like, oh my gosh, how did you do that? Or they'll come up to you and ask the same thing, like, oh, what color did you use there? Right,
Jill Basham: 47:56
right? Yes, yes. Whereas my husband, who's not an artist, you know, he can help as much, you know, as much as he can. And he is helpful sometimes, but it's, it's those, those things that we talk about that is like talking a foreign language to someone outside the art world.
Laura Arango Baier: 48:15
Yeah, sure, yeah, yeah, because it's such a technical career, right? There's just so much that goes into it, just, you know, even just discussing the Act of, of even laying out paint on a palette, right, and and the actual mediums we use, and what medium to use, when and why, like, I'm sure that would throw someone for a loop. And we haven't even started painting
Jill Basham: 48:41
it absolutely well, actually, that reminds me of a story my first actual painting class. I kind of joined it mid, mid session. I guess you could say it was sort of an open session, and I went in with all the supplies that the instructor had required, and everyone else had laid out their palette and and I hadn't, because I had literally no idea what to do. So she said, Jill, go ahead, you know, lay out your palate. And I said, I don't know how. And so she, you know, she sort of walked me through it, and then she said, and I had this little bottle of medium, and she said, and then you take the bottle of medium and you put it in a cup. And I thought, okay, I can handle that. So I took her quite literally, and started, you know, pounding the the bottom of the bottle to get all and she turns and she sees me doing this, and she goes, Jill, what are you doing? I said. I thought this is what I'm supposed to do anyway. Yes. I mean, we all start somewhere. And you know, you. Laugh at those, those beginning moments, and we all have them so
Laura Arango Baier: 50:06
and that's such an excellent point, because, you know, oftentimes we look at people we admire, or people who are, you know, further ahead in their career, even painters from the past, like Michelangelo, Leonardo Rembrandt, they all went through that they all had their little moments where they were learning and it was the most basic little thing, right? Yeah, and we can't, like DaVinci wasn't born knowing how to paint or how to draw, right? They started at the same exact spot that many of us start with. Sure, maybe he had a bit of a talent, quote, unquote for it, but you still have to climb the ladder like everyone else.
Jill Basham: 50:45
That's right, that's right, yes, that keeps you humble.
Laura Arango Baier: 50:51
And then I think one of the other things that you know I've heard artists mentioned as well on the pod is when I asked them this, which is, do you find that, as you have gotten you know further along, right? Do you find that your doubts about your work and about yourself? Have they? Have they changed? Have they gotten better? Have they gone away?
Jill Basham: 51:13
That's funny, you know, I, I this may not be the answer you're you're hoping for, but, um, but no, they
Laura Arango Baier: 51:24
no answer I was expecting, actually, no,
Jill Basham: 51:28
no, they haven't. I think that unfortunately, no matter where you are, that doubt still creeps in. And actually, I might say unfortunately or fortunately. Because I think that if we didn't have that ounce of doubt and we thought we had arrived, you know, I think that maybe our growth would, we would stop painting. I mean, what's the point we we reached it the pinnacle. But I don't think there's such a thing. Actually. I think that anyone who is an artist, there's your ending point is, is, you know death and and you will never, you will never know it all, and there's always questions to ask, and there's always doubt. So, yeah, that's, I think that's, yeah. Big Thing is, as artists, we are doubters of ourselves, and that, you know, other people can tell us we are fantastic, and that this work is great, etc, etc, but, but I still have in my head, oh, I don't know. I don't think so. I kind of doubt that,
Laura Arango Baier: 52:44
yeah, yeah. And it's so funny because every artist I've asked, you know, who's further done in a career, and, you know, has a good amount of accomplishment on their you know, on their roster, right on their CV, they might have done multiple shows and sold a bunch of work, and yet And yet. Every time I speak to them and I ask them about their doubt, they're speaking about their doubt as if they were still in square one.
Jill Basham: 53:09
Okay, so, yeah, so
Laura Arango Baier: 53:13
that's why I asked it, because I was being a little cheeky, because I'm like, she's probably gonna answer how I've heard other, you know, mid or late career artists have answered, which is, yeah, that doesn't get
Jill Basham: 53:24
better. No, no, no, it really doesn't. Yeah. Just
Laura Arango Baier: 53:28
gotta learn to live with it. But like you said, you know it is, it is a good thing. It's a double edged sword, right? That doubt is there to also help us improve and to help us, you know, always be seeking improvement and how to always be seeking growth and be seeking like, how to be better, but at the same time, if you let it defeat you, then then that's not so great, because laying in bed depressed for a few days, you don't want to get out your canvas ever again, or you go to your studio, look at the painting that you're Working on, you're like, Oh no, yes,
Jill Basham: 54:02
which I also think that we all have gone through or will go through depending, yeah, I think that's part of the process too. Unfortunately. Yeah, it's more fortunate. You know, it is the way it is. So we're very we're most critical of ourselves, yeah.
Laura Arango Baier: 54:29
Oh, yeah. I mean, I think maybe we could build a bit of a better relationship to that doubt, that's for sure. I think a lot of people get too defeated by it, and then once you allow it to defeat you, it's kind of hard to get out of that hole, right? So I think you know, finding that relationship building with that doubt could be a good solid thing, yeah, which
Jill Basham: 54:54
is why that brings me to the idea of why I you. I recommend when people are at that point or they feel frustrated, is to to jump into the mindset of having an experimental mindset, where you're you just pull out that canvas and you just try something, or you set odd, or, I say odd, you try something different or with odd parameters. So, you know, like you said, you have the Zorn palette, but maybe you try the Zorn with, you know, I don't know, something else, or a metallic paint. Yes, I don't know. Yeah, yeah, just throwing curve balls, I think can help get you out of that, that funk sometimes, yeah, yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 55:59
yeah. For sure, for sure. It's a crazy, crazy daily life as an artist, definitely, there's just so much freedom, and you know, as we say, there's a lot of responsibility in that freedom. And then you also have to deal with the every time you're in front of your canvas, you, you know, you try to do something new, you have to face that doubt and those demons that are going to creep up on you as well. So there's a lot, yeah, yeah. It almost makes the marketing side look easy.
Jill Basham: 56:30
It does. Yeah, no, I agree.
Laura Arango Baier: 56:34
Yeah. And actually, do you have any final advice for someone who wants to become a full time artist,
Jill Basham: 56:45
I would say, hold on to what made you want to do it in the first place, and keep The excitement and passion for what you're doing and don't it can be a very you can get very serious about stepping into a career in the arts, but I think you also need to remind yourself that you're doing this because of the joy that it brings you and to paint what you love.
Laura Arango Baier: 57:26
Definitely, definitely, it can, like we said, you know, it's, uh, it can really beat you down. Um, but in the end, if, and like you said, actually when you mentioned how much you really wanted this, if you really, really want it, nothing, nothing's going to stop you. That's right, yeah, for sure. Awesome. And then do you have any upcoming shows and workshops that you'd like to tell us about?
Jill Basham: 57:50
There's a, there's a few shows coming up. One is with the American Society of marine artists. And there's a show in think it's called, it's called Coos Bay, which I've never been to in Oregon, at the art museum there the Coos Art Museum, and it's a maritime exhibition. And I believe it's the 31st year that this has been in existence, so I'm happy to take part in that for the first year. And then oil painters of America has a National Exhibition and convention coming up in Bradenton, Florida this year. And I think that opens, let's see, May 30, but and just prior to that is the convention, and you can find information about that through the oil painters of America website. And then I have one plein air event that I'm doing, which is planner Easton, and that's in July, really hot weather, but, but always a challenge and and fun and worth a visit if you're if you're in the region of Easton, Maryland. And I think, oh, and then a workshop at the booth Museum in September, where I'm teaching a two day workshop September 18 and 19th. That's in Carter's Cartersville, Georgia.
Laura Arango Baier: 59:22
Beautiful, awesome. And then, of course, I will include all of your links in the show notes, and actually, for the rest of your links, do you mind telling us where people can see more of your work? Yes,
Jill Basham: 59:33
pretty easy. It's for my website is Jill, basham.com, and then for Instagram, it's kind of a mouthful. It's Jill, my and then my maiden name, tasher, T, A, S, C, H, E, R, Basham, B, A, S, H, A, M, it's all together, Jill, tasher, Basham, that's my in. Instagram, and then for Facebook, it's, it's also Jill tasher fashion. So I look forward to to, you know, you taking a look. So,
Laura Arango Baier: 1:00:13
yeah, absolutely I, I strongly encourage our listeners and viewers to go check out your work, because absolutely gorgeous. There's so much to learn from it, just just from observing it and really dissecting it, because truly, it is a feast for the eyes.
Unknown: 1:00:27
Yes, thank you, Laura, yeah. And
Laura Arango Baier: 1:00:30
thank you for being such an awesome guest and for giving us such excellent back to back to back advice. I feel very inspired to try something scary now.
Jill Basham: 1:00:41
Yes, oh well, I'm glad, yeah, go, go do it,
Laura Arango Baier: 1:00:46
and I will inform you about it. Okay, sounds
Jill Basham: 1:00:49
good. Thanks. Great. Talking to you, Laura, thank you. Bye.
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