Karen Blackwood — Observe, Absorb, Capture the Feeling

Show Notes:

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On today's episode we sat down with Karen Blackwood, an artist who specializes in seascapes and whose work evokes joy and happiness thanks to her love of the crashing of the waves on the New England coast. Karen tells us about her trajectory from studying the arts, then going into advertising, and going back into pursuing a career in fine art. She also tells us about her transition from portraiture and figurative work to landscapes and seascapes where she found a deep connection to the power and energy of the ocean. Karen emphasizes the importance of observation, sketching, and recreating the feeling of a scene in her paintings to achieve a sense of completion. She also recounts how she found social media to be a powerful tool in launching her career, connecting with galleries and collectors, while also reminding us not to expect overnight success. She also tells us about how she maintains her relationships with her collectors through consistent communication, inviting them to her studio, and also keeping in touch via her newsletter. Finally, Karen tells us about her upcoming plein air workshop in Cape Cod in 2025 and invites us to her salon!

Karen's FASO site:
https://www.karenblackwoodfineart.com/

Karen's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/karenblackwoodart/

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Transcript:

Karen Blackwood: 0:00

And that's actually by absorbing and observing when you're on a site or a location that you might do plein air painting, to take that time, helps me when I'm in the studio to know when I'm finished because that feeling hits me again. And I say, oh my god, I'm feeling you know, I feel it. Now I feel what I felt. That's what I want to express. And so, you know, to soak that up and observe and to have a feeling about what I'm observing. helps me know when I've achieved it in the studio. How I'll know it's like, I get that feeling like, Oh my God, that's That's it. Yeah.

Laura Arango Baier: 0:49

Welcome to the BoldBrush show, where we believe that fortune favors the bold brush. My name is Laura Arango Baier. And I'm your host. Those of you who are new to the podcast, we're 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 insects. On today's episode, we sat down with Karen Blackwood, an artist who specializes in seascapes and whose work evokes joy and happiness thanks to her love of the crashing of the waves on the New England coast. Karen tells us about her trajectory from studying the arts and going into advertising and going back into pursuing a career in fine art. She also tells us about her transition from portraiture and figurative work to landscapes and seascapes, where she found a deep connection to the power and energy of the ocean. Jaren emphasizes the importance of observation, sketching and recreating the feeling of a scene and her paintings to achieve a sense of completion. She also recounts how she found social media to be a powerful tool in launching her career connecting with galleries and collectors, while also reminding us not to expect overnight success. She also tells us about how she maintains her relationships with her collectors through consistent communication, inviting them to her studio, and also keeping in touch via her newsletter. Finally, Karen tells us about her upcoming plein air workshop in Cape Cod in 2025. And invites us to her salon. Welcome, Karen to the BoldBrush show. How are you today?

Karen Blackwood: 2:16

Good, Laura, thanks so much for having me on. I'm honored.

Laura Arango Baier: 2:21

Well, I'm happy to have you because your work is absolutely gorgeous. As I was telling you, before we started, I was very drawn to your work. Because it is just it just seems so full of joy and happiness. That I was like I have to have her on. She has such a sweet vibe. I really want to talk to her. Thank

Karen Blackwood: 2:41

you. Thank you. And you know, that actually is so nice that my work emits that because I do feel like when we moved to the east coast and I saw waves crashing, I swear I was like a kid jumping off rocks jumping from another one. And I actually waiting, you know, look at me because I was so excited by the waves. When she said Is this your first time seeing the ocean? Oh I just yeah, I get like, like somebody gets excited by the Fourth of July. I get excited by waves crashing just awesome. You know, it make you feel like you've just seen, you know, a fourth of July firework show. It's just amazing.

Laura Arango Baier: 3:31

Yes, it is. And it definitely shows in the work. And I love that. Um, and before we talk more about your work, do you mind telling us a bit about who you are and what you do.

Karen Blackwood: 3:42

I am an artist on the north shore of Boston. I started out in a fine arts program at a local university, the University of New Hampshire had incredible teachers, I really felt lucky, I had a solid academic training and went into advertising somehow because I didn't know how to be an artist and didn't know artist growing up. And it's just I think the universe kind of pulls you back. And when we moved from New York, where I was an art director and advertising to LA or Burbank, California. I slowly found my way back into my fine arts. You know, just I think people get pulled at different times. And I took a detour that honestly I see in my work. So whatever I've, you know, learned along the way that wasn't fine art somehow is in my work, I think. Yeah.

Laura Arango Baier: 4:49

I mean, is there anything specific that you would say from advertising that, like actually really shows in

Karen Blackwood: 4:56

the work or I think, from my advertising Think days, there's awareness of design. I was an art director, and we did print ads and commercials, but you were always thinking of the design aspect and grabbing somebody's attention. So I think from that, I learned that as well as business and how to treat the art as my job, you know, it's like a business and how to approach it, because I think, coming from a university fine art program, it's a little more esoteric, and you, you aren't really, you know, you're, you're in the academics of it. And the only thing I knew was to be a fine artist and to teach, you know, that you basically went off to your masters, and then you would, you know, enter a college program, be a teacher do your art. And I didn't see that. And I ended up veering off and went into advertising for eight years. But it was somebody leaving our agency to go back to her fine art that, you know, kind of clicked an idea bubble in my head, like, Oh, my God, she's leaving, she's getting out. And I realized I didn't have to do this. And I could go back to my fine art and had to figure that out. I had to figure out how do I make a living as an artist, and the advertising I think helped it was treating it like a business.

Laura Arango Baier: 6:35

Yeah, and I think the other good thing about the advertising experience that you got was it's very more much more concrete in the way that things are handled, compared to, you know, the, like, the whole reason we even have the show is precisely because, you know, being in the fine arts and trying to sell your work is, you know, it can be a bit of a mystery for a lot of people, like how did they do it? How did they do it? And which is why, you know, we interview people like you who have had that experience, and everyone's experience is totally different. So it's good that you had that background to help you. Yes, move along. How was that like for you? When when you started again, after your advertising? What was it like for you to Okay, I like to say like, Okay, I gotta like start doing this and start doing that. What was it like for you? Because I did see that you started out in portraiture and figurative work, and then you meandered over to landscape and seascapes. It's almost

Karen Blackwood: 7:30

like the universe again. I actually started in portraiture and figurative because I had been academically trained. And that's what I knew. And I did watercolors in the beginning because I did not have a studio space. We were in an apartment. You know, I didn't have a place to set up oils. So I got into watercolor and and was doing portraits. My husband was on a soap. So I was doing like the drill holes, families portraits, and I, you know, just did a lot of that. And then a friend asked me if I would paint a landscape in their home like sunrise to sunset, they had a California bungalow, and and I was free to paint whatever I wanted. So it was literally a painting on walls. So I had nice thin canvas. And I, I got hooked and I realized how much I love landscaping in college, we really didn't do a lot of landscape painting. So I did not even know that's what I was drawn to. And that got me into acrylic painting because I did the murals in acrylic, and I got asked to do another biggest state, you know, home mural, it was palm trees. And that was the only guidance so it was basically a landscape again. And after doing the murals, I joined the California art club, started to plein air painting. And just got hooked and found that that was something I was drawn to that was my muse where the figurative work, I was doing it because that's what I knew. And I loved painting and I could breathe again. I felt like I was back where I could actually, you know, gas bear again. And and it wasn't until the landscapes where I was obsessed, like, you know, where you have to balance your life and say, Okay, I gotta make time for my husband and my, you know, my child. So I think with the landscapes, you know, that was an obsession that was more like, you know, there aren't enough hours in the data to paint what you want to paint. So that was that was the trajectory of that.

Laura Arango Baier: 9:58

Yeah, and then, of course, you And from landscapes and seascapes. Yeah, when that happened?

Karen Blackwood: 10:05

Well, you know, part of that was when I was in California. I had a studio at that point. So I could do. I was still doing acrylic painting back in California, though. And I would travel to the east coast and go to Cape Cod. And so I would work on those paintings back at my California studio. And they would all sell it was so funny. I didn't get to the ocean, much from Burbank, California, because what should have been a half an hour drive from Burbank to the nearest beach, you know, typically would be a three hour drive because of traffic. So I didn't get there as much as one would think, living in California. And it wasn't until we moved to our current home, on the north shore of Boston. I was thinking when I returned to New England, I thought, oh, you know, the mountains, the you call it? Farms. That's really what I pictured, I was going to paint. And then we moved to Newburyport mass, which is a 30 minute drive from the beach. And we went over and it was instant, where I just said, Oh, wow, this is, this is what I'm going to paint. And I didn't know what I wanted to say, though. And in my training. Intent is very important. And you're not just painting a pretty picture. You What do you want to say? Why are you going to say it? So for me, I walked the beach like months before it started to really kind of come to, you know, a clear vision of what it is that I'm drawn to Why am I so excited by it? And what, what do I want to say about it? And, and for me, it was really the power of it the energy. You know, I don't see a wave as a light spray. You know, I see it as heavy weight and this big crescendo of crashing water and that explosion and the joy of it. And even in the we get a lot of nor'easter like storms and even in that there's this beautiful poetry that, you know, just can be expressed. Just through that energy in that power. So yeah, I became hooked on see and still haven't tired of it. You know, it's just, it's amazing. I think it'd be forever. I don't know.

Laura Arango Baier: 12:42

Yeah, I mean, I love that. Because if you don't, the thing that you do, right should really be something that you enjoy so much that you don't think it's work, right, it should be something that almost gives you more energy than takes it away. Yeah, very

Karen Blackwood: 12:58

good. Yeah, that's true. It does. Like I, my daughter, it's so funny. My husband's an actor, writer, my daughter, I mean, actor, singer. And my daughter is a writer. And we were the parents that, you know, like, in my childhood, I didn't even know I could be an artist just wasn't, you know, a thing. And in my daughter's, it's almost like the pressure to be an artist. Because for us, that is such a joy, to be able to do what you love, you know, and it's like, yeah, you don't work a day, it's, I, you know, a little dirty secret is like, I would do this for free. You know, you just, you just want to paint all the time. And when you find something that you really want to understand and master, you know, you're just never ever going to know enough about it. You're just never going to, you know, express everything that you want to say.

Laura Arango Baier: 13:58

Beautiful. I love that. Ah, it's really cute too. Because it's like, you can sense when someone really loves what they do what they do, and you're definitely one of those people. And especially, you know, I really love how you started, you know, realizing that why, while you were exploring, you know, the the seascape. And I think the other thing that I really liked about how you described, you know, why it drew you towards it is, you know, historically, that area of, you know, the New England area. It has a lot of history with the ocean, and I think also capturing it. It's very timeless because the people who were there before the people who were there before them, they've all seen it as well. They've probably all been in awe at it as well, both in good awe and in fear because of those storms. I mean, yeah, any storm would have been terrifying, but capturing it. The way that you do is very, it's like you said it's very poetic. It

Karen Blackwood: 14:58

is and it's I Get like you're odd and you respect it. You know, it's like the power of it. It's not Yeah, it's I actually think I first experienced it in college, I used to body surf and I got caught up in you know, massive wave and I ended up on the top of it. So instead of riding through it, I got spun like a, you know, washing machine, spit out, and I was like Marge Simpson crawling out of the beach with sand piled in my hair. And I'm just lucky because that was immense power. And I think that's possibly why I see the ocean add so much weight of water. Because it's powerful. And that's just one body surfing waves. So you can imagine on nor Easters like, you know, those are just awe inspiring there. Yeah. Yeah. Like, I'm, I'm both in fear and enjoy it. And you know, when those waves hit? Yeah. Like,

Laura Arango Baier: 16:09

like the one that's right behind you.

Karen Blackwood: 16:12

Oh, yeah. incredible day. That was like, after the hurricanes, I believe, a hurricane Sandy, possibly from Florida. We got the nor'easter after that. And oh, wow, they were just like, I think that one was like going into somebody's backyard. I had to get to that wave. And it was just a beautiful wall of waves crashing. Yeah. It was amazing. So yeah, I can't wait to the fall. That's when we start to get some of those.

Laura Arango Baier: 16:50

You're making me want to go up there. So I can say them? Because I've actually never been to Massachusetts, so it would be really nice to to experience it

Karen Blackwood: 17:01

this way. Yeah, the ocean is main along the main coast. You know, it's, it's more craggy. So it's got, you know, more, more oomph to it. And just sometimes I think I enjoy just the role of the wave and the ebb and tide. But I, for me, it really is that powerful moment of crashing on the rocks, you know, that really sets me off. But I appreciate both. I appreciate Florida's waves as well. Those are, you know, gorgeous and stunning. And they have beautiful skies, which we are. But yeah, I always think sometimes, like California, if I were living there painting the ocean, I think sometimes their cliffs are so tremendous, and the waves are smaller in comparison. So the paintings would be more about possibly the sky and, and the cliffs with the water hitting that, where I think here, it's the water that's much more present, and the rocks are there. But that battle is a little more even. And on the West Coast, I think they have some massive cliffs and just, you know, vantage points that are much higher. And

Laura Arango Baier: 18:27

yeah, it's funny, you use the word battle, because that's literally what came to mind. It's like the battle between the land and the sea.

Karen Blackwood: 18:33

Yeah. Yeah, that dichotomy of those two kinds of, you know, the rock solid and hard, but that water, you know, and covers it, it's like, so yeah, there is that kind of, it's fun to play with that.

Laura Arango Baier: 18:53

I really love that. I was also curious to know, since you've had a very interesting career, you know, going for fine art, then, you know, advertising and then back to fine art. What do you find has been the greatest lesson that you've learned from your artistic career?

Karen Blackwood: 19:11

You know, I think my work started to become much more consistent. One was using something called the armature of the rectangle. I think before that, the one thing that would make me you know, throw away a painting or, you know, just give up on it was if the structure was there. So, you know, no matter how beautiful a paint stroke you're going to do, or, you know, the colors you would add, it's like, if that structure wasn't there, I wasn't going to like the painting. So when I had come across the armature of the rectangle, it just kind of was one of those things I thought, you know, I might try that and Lance skate because I hadn't seen it, you know, applied to DaVinci, or Renaissance painting, but I hadn't thought about it for landscape. And I tried it and it became this organic structure to hold all the elements and, and I don't even notice that I have it on my sketches now. So if I do a thumbnail sketch, I put the armature on, that's on all my canvas, it's just there, and it's organic. And it i, since I started using that I've yet to have a painting that doesn't hold up for me. So you know, it was a strong tool, and I don't use it the way like I actually told some guy who is, you know, a mathematician, and he started going off on numbers, and it's like, makes my stomach turn, because I'm much more organic and intuitive a painter and I feel my way through things. So I use it in a very simplistic way it's just sits underneath, I would say that and just realizing that the more work I put in, the more work I have to do, I have more ideas. So work begets work. It's like if I, you know, take the time to really read up on things and, and put that extra time doing a sketch before the painting, or even a color sketch. The work stronger, and it just fuels the work. And I noticed that when I do pencil sketch more so than a color sketch, I find things in the piece that I don't think I would find, if I just jumped in, I see patterns, I see shapes that, you know, like, rather than focusing on detail, I focused on shapes and ways to move in the painting. And I think by sketching, it slows me down, it allows me to basically paint it first in my head with values only. So you really start to get to know the subject. So by the time you paint it, I really I kind of rely on that sketch as much as a reference or my memory, the sketch kind of has all the work in it. So it becomes my guide. And things get changed. For instance, in this painting. When I did the sketch on location, the rocks actually, you know, went across the foreground, and it didn't serve the painting. So through the sketch, I was able to open a pathway which then led to the star, which was that massive wave crashing. So taking the time to do the sketch allows me to, you know, create the painting, you know, because you're kind of trying to capture a scene, but ultimately, you're trying to create a painting that expresses that scene.

Laura Arango Baier: 22:57

BoldBrush re 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 to sign up completely free a 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 artists 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 our 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 forward slash podcast. That's FASO.com/podcast. Wow. I like that because you know it goes to show that you know kind of like how you said the more you work and the more you study the more studying you realize you have to do. Yeah, and I love that because you know it. It almost feels like an endless game instead of especially when you enjoy it instead of it being like this endless like I don't know like a kinda like the rat and little hamster wheel or something, it feels a little bit more like a game instead of something arduous and heavy. It's,

Karen Blackwood: 25:08

it's fun. Yeah. And it's kind of, I think maybe that is something that artists are very lucky to have is that. You know, you, you want to understand things and you want to see things. And I feel like when I went back to my art leaving advertising days, I would step outside and see color. You know, and I think people go about their lives, if they're, if they're not as lucky as artists gets to slow down and really see deeply. I think people just go about and they don't see the color, they don't see the light and where that hits. And I think that it's our inquisitive nature and our desire to see, and to keep knowing, you know, to see deeper and to know more. And, you know, I think that that's what makes it so fun. It's like, you know, how lucky are we? Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 26:10

yeah, it's eye candy for us. Yeah. Life? Yeah. I guess because also, you know, deep down, the act of painting, the act of drawing, really is the act of seeing, clearly, you know, seeing what you're what you're trying to draw, or imitate. And since we use that so much for us, you know, seeing a rose or seeing a tree is like, Oh, how would you do that? How would I? How would I express that shape with a, with a paintbrush or with a pencil? Whereas, you know, for someone else, they could still see it as a beautiful tree. But we would be thinking, how can I? How can I get this so that I can?

Karen Blackwood: 26:50

Can I show it to everyone else? Yeah, yes, exactly when I'm out. Like, if I'm on the beach on a nor'easter, I'm not gonna set up my easel and paint. And I'll think like, I'll be taking my photos and I think, ah, the cameras never gonna capture this. So it's, it really is like you having to really, you know, look and see, because you got to take that back to your studio and express it. So you have to, you know, bank that in your memory so that you can, you know, get that down. And I'll usually put notes on my reference, when I do a crappy printout, I kind of prefer the crappy printout, because I'll rely on, you know, on my memory, as opposed to try to copy a image. And I think, you know, like, I'll leave notes saying, Oh, it's much more of a glow or, you know, is much more cool. And, you know, so when I get home, I'm immediately making notes of that is otherwise you just, yeah, the camera never captures that for me anyway. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 27:57

yeah, that's the unique part of you know, human vision. There's, we all see things in a particular way. And the things that we see capture us for a certain reason. So yeah, that's a really great way of doing your studio practice. Because I would have thought that, you know, most of your paintings were either done on site or have that on site sketch. So it's good that you're able to properly translate the picture because it did it today, I find that it's so hard for, for artists to completely disengage when they're using a picture, like disengage from the camera eye instead of the human eye.

Karen Blackwood: 28:35

Yeah, give me about what you remember. And I think especially with the ocean, I would say, observation is about as important as when I go plein air paint. Part of it is the plein air painting helps me no true color. movement, but it really is. Spending time just observing and watching and seeing what's happening. And you know, really soaking it up so that when I paint, I can be as fresh as when I'm painting and plein air at the ocean. So that what I enjoy about the studio is that I am also in my place of Zen. So I both love to plein air paint because I find that the best way to get a painting and I can observe and all my information is there and I you know, it's it's easier. Studio can be more angst but it's also my Zen and it's a more internal place so that those internal questions can come into the work as opposed to my reacting to the scene. I can you know, kind of be a little more contemplative, I guess in the studio, which I kind of like that. That time. I

Laura Arango Baier: 29:58

love that. Yeah. I'd like to, you know, the fact that you mentioned observing, just observing, not not doing anything but observing. I think, you know, that also touches on the very, very underrated thing that people use and should use more, which is memory. I think, yeah, I think it's so underrated. Because memory means if you can remember something properly, it means that you've observed it, and you've learned it, and you can now apply it, right? It's one thing to like, it's almost like when you Gosh, when you're learning a language, literally, like you have to know the words and you have to memorize them and use them properly, it's very much the same with painting, you have to memorize visual language, so that then you can apply it. And that's part of that observation. And I think it's very underrated.

Karen Blackwood: 30:49

And that's actually body absorbing and observing when you're on a site or a location that you might do plein air painting, to take that time, helps me when I'm in the studio, to know when I'm finished, because that feeling hits me again, and I say, Oh, my God, I'm feeling you know, I feel it. Now I feel what I felt. That's what I want to express. And so, you know, to soak that up and observe and to have a feeling about what I'm observing helps me know, when I've achieved it in the studio. You know, I'll know it's like, I get that feeling like, Oh, my God, that's, that's it? Yeah. That's kind of my stopping point. And sometimes I catch myself putting a piece out. And, you know, I'm like, it's not really done. That's being lazy. Because then when I take it back and say, yeah, no, I don't think it was done. And if I push myself to go beyond just the graphically interesting, you know, painting, there's that emotional layer that you'll feel if you push beyond.

Laura Arango Baier: 32:06

That's brilliant. Yeah, that's brilliant. Because oftentimes, I think one of the things a lot of people struggle with is, how do I know I'm done? Like, when am I finished? And yeah, recreating that feeling? Because I, you know, the painting reaches a point where like, you look at it, and you think, Oh, this is like the real thing, right? This is like looking at the real thing. And if it does have that feeling, oh, yeah, that definitely hits the nail on the head with that. It's more

Karen Blackwood: 32:33

fun for us to because then you get excited and you're like, Oh, my God. Yeah, that's it. It's a pain. And then we truly what we were so moved by in the first place. Exactly.

Laura Arango Baier: 32:46

Oh, that's genius. Yeah. And I really I want to go back to that transition, where you went from your day job, right, as a an advertising to painting. How was that jump like for you? What was that transition? Like?

Karen Blackwood: 33:02

There was a long and you know, I didn't have any idea how to do it. I just knew I wanted to. So when I left New York, and we moved to Burbank, I freelanced in advertising for a couple more years. And decided I was going to go back to my fine arts, I had taken a class at a place called Barnsdale Art Center. And it was, you know, Bohemian, you know, artsy, and it was like, Oh, my gosh, and I took that class, a watercolor class, and it was literally like, I could breathe again. And I thought, you know, oh, my God, how did I leave it for so long? And so I knew I wanted to get back to it. And I waited on tables, I left advertising, waited on tables, and actually had a group in New York come, and I thought, like, Oh, my God, they're gonna see me. And then I thought, You know what, I'm proud. I'm, you know, doing what I love. So, I went up to the table and said, Deanna, you know, I left it and, you know, I'm waiting tables trying to figure it out. And, and they were, of course, most of them are all artists. They're all creatives. So they were all like, you know, and odd that somebody takes the path away from the safe, you know, guaranteed income. So it was a slow path started with my fingers because I knew that then got asked to do the murals. And then move towards landscape still wasn't you know, I was teaching in my studio and teaching at local art centers to subsidize my income. And it wasn't until I moved, we moved to Michigan and I got my first gallery. So in California, I didn't need the gallery. Because I was busy doing portraits teaching, and seem to sell locally. And then when I moved to Michigan, I was a little more isolated out there, it's not quite, you know, I didn't have an art community and got a gallery in Connecticut. So that got me out to the East Coast, and I could paint. And then it wasn't until I became, you know, socially social media aware that my career started to take off, I would say, that's the biggest thing that moved it from, you know, making paintings selling into galleries. But I would say I, all the magazines I've been in, somehow came from somebody seeing me my work on social media, and came to me, the social media, I've sold work on Social Media Galleries approached me from social media. So I would say that, you know, I always think, like, if I had had that tool, when I had left college, it could have been a whole nother, you know, thing, because that was the missing link for me was, how to do it. And I think artists today, have, you know, like a zillion artists that they can reach out to, or they can follow, they can see what they're doing, they can see it's possible, you know, that we can make a living that we, you know, can do quite well. And I think, yeah, I would say social media kind of changed the game for me, because it was putting the work out there. You know, where I think until you're used to doing that I was one of those, I would do my paintings, and then they end up in the closet, you know, and my husband's friend from his acting class came over one day, and she's like, Oh, I'd love to see your work. And so it was like, okay, so I went into the closet, rotted out, and she's like, What is the doing in the closet, like, put your work out. And there was such a hard thing to put my work out, you know, that was such an emotional, you know, exposure, vulnerability, you know, like, I was so vulnerable, because you're so in your work. And I think social media helps you get over that a lot quicker. Put your work out, you know, and it's, it's a positive. I mean, I have a lot of problems with social media, and other ways. And, you know, we love and hate it. But as artists, it's a great tool. You know, we're lucky we have a community that, you know, you have a zillion artists you can get to know and incredibly talented people, they're out there. Yes,

Laura Arango Baier: 38:08

yeah. And I love what you mentioned, too, about community because you would, you know, if social media wasn't there, it would be a lot more lonely. For artists, it would be, I think, a lot harder, kind of like how it was, you know, obviously, pre social media, where galleries were the only way to go. But today, for sure, it's become really great, because you can talk to other artists who will support you and you support them. And they're all over the world, which is the other really cool thing, because they have different experiences. And yeah, the connections and of course, the sales are really great.

Karen Blackwood: 38:45

Right? Yeah, it is. And artists are very supportive. I think I remember that in, in my college days, you know, that. Artists love other artists, you know, we just, we appreciate each other's work. There's there's kind of like a shared love. And I think, you know, you get that support from social media. It's a positive, you know, you can put your work out and there's this wonderful supportive community of artists who appreciate each other's work. And that's

Laura Arango Baier: 39:25

wonderful. Yeah. Yeah. And I did want to know, too, because of course, we have the experience. What advice would you give to an artist who's looking to live from their work?

Karen Blackwood: 39:37

I think nowadays, it's very funny because when I went to college for art I had a great art program and luckily had some incredible professors who, you know, were pretty well known in their own right. So I don't regret that at all for my time, but I would say for artists, now they don't need the four year traditional university experience that if anything, I would go for the Atelier a schools or like the New York Academy or, you know, a two year program, where you are in meshed with other artists. And then you have Facebook as a guide for how to you know, it's like, or Instagram or, you know, whatever social media, it's like you, you have that network of help if you need it, or people to reach out to, and I would say, to use that, and then just put the work in, you know, if you take the work seriously, put your little job cap on and treat it like, this is your job. And, you know, you put the time in, like you would do any job. And you'll see, you know, massive results just from putting that time and,

Laura Arango Baier: 41:07

yeah, yeah, it's that consistency. In the end, that helps. I mean, if you if you hadn't had that breadth of work, right, if you hadn't had all of his paintings, maybe social media wouldn't have been such a big, big thing. But you were ready, you already had all of the stuff that you needed. And I agree, that's very important.

Karen Blackwood: 41:28

Yeah, putting it out too soon. And that's one thing that I think you see on social media is that for the pitfalls of somebody who doesn't, really like I've had students, and sometimes who think they take a workshop, you know, they're going to make their living, you know, like, after taking a workshop, maybe they've taken five, you know, and I think like, they see artists out there, and they don't know that you have put in a lot of years of study and work and that it just, it doesn't happen, you know, like, from one class or one, you know, that it's, it's a, you can't compare yourself to other artists just stay on your path, you know, do your thing and keep growing and keep working. And sometimes the results are, you know, people expect it too quickly, and they give up, you know, when it's a long road, it's like going the, the journey. And don't worry about the results. Just love the journey. And that was my advice.

Laura Arango Baier: 42:39

I love that. That is very true. It is it is the journey, the journey is the destination. That's um, that's one of the things that I've heard. And I feel like it's very, very true. And especially, you know, just seeing you, you're a great example of that, where you just, you're in it, you love it, and you can feel it in the work, which is amazing, amazing.

Karen Blackwood: 43:06

We're, like, we're so lucky. I feel it's not about the income for me, and it never was, you know, and I'm thankful to make an income. But it's, it is like, just feeling so lucky that you have this talent and that you can do this. It's like, you know, it's a nice way to make a living. Yes. You have a nice way to have the life. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 43:35

and it's a much more organic life. I feel because you can be more present, and actually sleep all night and not wake up early. And yeah,

Karen Blackwood: 43:46

I used to stress when I was in advertising. Yeah, there were times where I was so stressed out. And, and yet, you know, for some people that is their art, you know what I mean? Like, I think all of us have a different way of expressing ourselves in life. And for some that was it for me, it wasn't. So it wasn't natural. It wasn't, you know, it's like, this was where I could breathe again. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 44:17

yeah, I feel the same way. I feel like the rhythm is much more like you said, organic. It's much more in tune with, you know, our, your natural way of being. And that's the really beautiful thing about this career, I think. Yeah,

Karen Blackwood: 44:33

exactly. And some of us just take a little longer to get to that, you know, and I think nowadays, I hope anyway, that artists have so much information out there that they can follow their path, you know, early on.

Laura Arango Baier: 44:49

Yes, definitely. Which actually brings me to question that I want to ask you, which is what have you found has been the best way that you have marketed your work has it been Only Social Media Galleries, maybe painting society's like what's been the best avenue?

Karen Blackwood: 45:07

I think the best avenue is definitely social media, you know, if I'm honest, and my galleries I have one local that I've gotten a lot of students who've seen my work, they're, you know, buyers from the gallery, I would say social media though got me the gallery gets me going. So that I think, has been my biggest thing. And I joined the American society, marine artist, and I think the museum tours gets my work seen in different parts of the country. And, you know, that's a cool thing. But yeah, I would say social media is, is what a tool, you know, for an artist, I think it's a, it's almost, you almost say, yeah, do we really need galleries, because we can do it on social media, but I do get a lot from my galleries that I couldn't get on social media, because they're the ones that work for you, there are, you know, a handful of galleries that are just gold, you know, and you, you know, the difference between a gallery that's working for you in a gallery, you know, that just, you know, paying job work, but they're not putting that extra work in for you. And I think they still earn their, you know, their percentage, it's like, I think in the old days, galleries used to be the ones that got you the magazine articles got you, you know, known and got your name out there. I think social media does that now. But a good gallery is still a sales, source and builds, they are wonderful at building collectors. And I love there's one gallery I can visit more often. And they are so good at engaging young collectors, which I love seeing that, because just gives me chills, the thought that, you know, young people are showing an interest and collecting original work. Because for a while, I worried that oh my god, the poster thing that we see sometimes in decorating, or you know, that we're going to lose that love of original work. But no, I'm seeing a lot of young collectors, you know, really show an interest understand the difference between what a poster would do in your place versus a piece of original work, the kind of life that's in that work. There's an energy Well, hopefully, yeah, artists are trying to put that energy into the work. So I think it's nice that young collectors are, you know, they're, I think, a future good for artists, I think we're good. Oh,

Laura Arango Baier: 48:12

I love that. I love that that's such a positive message. Because so many people, especially in the realism realm are so afraid of that, that, you know, there won't be enough collectors or that no one has an interest because, of course, the predominant market is contemporary. And, you know, I like hearing that there. There's hope that there are people out there who are, you know, in their, in their youth who are interested and can also afford it? Because that's the other side, you know, can't can they afford it? So that's good.

Karen Blackwood: 48:41

Yeah, no, and I think, you know, a lot of young people earn more money than they used to do. So they do have income, and it's realizing the value of art in their life, that that's worth, you know, some of that income that they earn. I think, you know, it's like, people who will spend a fortune on, you know, I don't know, the latest tech thing or whatever, it's nice to know that art is still a part of the scene. And I think for realism, you know, it'll always be here. I think there's always going to be a market and I think we owe a lot to, you know, the realist who didn't give up on it and stayed with it perlstein and, you know, was at a time when she could have easily, you know, pushed his work abstract, but you know, I think, why if they all hung in there and stay true to realism and I think abstract and contemporary work will always Have a place as well, unfortunately, majority, that's who knows whether some of that is, you know, just the market and Wall Street of art or, you know, place to put money. But, um, but I think there's room for both. And I think as long as we build both markets, because actually, I think realist has abstraction in their work. And, you know, good abstraction usually comes from people who have been trained academically and make decisions from a academic perspective and have that structure in their work. Because I know extraction is hard, it's a hard thing to be able to do well, but there's so much bad abstraction out there that a lot of uneducated buyers can't tell the difference. And they don't know. But yeah, good. abstract work is a difficult piece to achieve. So I think there's room for both. I

Laura Arango Baier: 51:01

completely agree. Yeah. I don't like when some people think that you know, only one can exist or when should push out the other? Yeah, because it's for everyone in space,

Karen Blackwood: 51:11

too. I love when a collector, you know, combines abstract work with realist work, I think it's beautiful to pair different work. One guy who commissioned nine pieces for his home, and I was so honored to be in his home because he had like a hopper. And he had, you know, I felt like I was in a museum with his home. But it was such an eclectic mix of work. So he wasn't strictly collecting one genre of art he had, you know, like everything, which, hopefully, you know, there's always going to be room for both. Yes, learn early.

Laura Arango Baier: 51:57

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's almost kind of like how, you know, abstract is, of course, a derivative of classical painting. The same way that like rock is a derivative of classical music, you know, like, it has to come from somewhere. Yeah,

Karen Blackwood: 52:12

that's very true. And you'll actually hear symphonic compositions within rock, you know, so yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Laura Arango Baier: 52:23

Um, and speaking of since you mentioned your collector, how have you, you know, uh, how do you approach building and maintaining relationships with your collectors.

Karen Blackwood: 52:35

I actually have one collector that is one of my best collectors, who found me online, when I lived in Michigan, and bought a piece and continues to buy my work out here now. And I've had her to my home. And I usually will have a once a year. So salon show at home where I invite only my collectors or future collectors kind of like a way to just show them what I'm working on. So they become, you know, friends, and I value them. And then through my galleries, I would say, you know, they maintain a really strong relationship with collectors. And anytime I'm working on a new piece, they'll make sure that collector gets to see it. And then out on social media. You know, people get stay in touch and the newsletter actually on the FASO website, my newsletter, I built a strong following during COVID I couldn't paint my large paintings, I thought I would kill them. And I and I knew I had to pay. So I did that I could keep working. And I knew I could sustain focus for you know, a six by so I think I painted about 80 of them close to 80 and sold them all through my newsletter on FASO. So I would let the buyers know that, you know, next Tuesday, you know, look for my newsletter and first come first serve, it gets so to you know, whoever tells me I want it. And so I built up you know, I think I added 400 followers from that campaign on that on that newsletter, because they were buying the paintings so so the newsletter is out. So a big thing I would say social media and keeping in touch through a consistent newsletter on FASO has been Yeah, fine art studio online for those who don't know Oh, yes. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 55:02

that's, you know, I love that you bring that up because I think that's another thing that's pretty underrated, you know, people, the real people who sign up for your newsletter are people who are actually interested in buying, right? Because your followers on Instagram, they're sometimes they're just there to support are just there to be looky loos or to be inspired. But then the people who really are interested and want to know more and want to be engaged, they will definitely sign up for for newsletter and maintaining that list is also very important. Yeah,

Karen Blackwood: 55:30

exactly. Yeah. Those are the people who a lot of them are artists themselves, and a lot are actual art buyers, or, or people who have a love for the arts. And, you know, you know, your work is speaking to that person, because they've taken the time to sign up. And yeah, that actually, I sometimes forget to be as consistent if I don't have a campaign or something go by. But it is important to maintain that relationship because they signed up and they you know, they want to know what's happening and what's new.

Laura Arango Baier: 56:16

Yeah, yeah, it's a lot more, I guess it's a lot more intimate in that way. Because on social media, it's just an image, maybe you'll put like a paragraph underneath, but with a newsletter. And, and if you also keep a blog, which I know that I'm faster, you can have a blog, you can also write longer form things. And there are people who will read it, they'll comment and they'll email you. And I think that's such a wonderful thing.

Karen Blackwood: 56:38

Yeah, I love getting the emails back. I love when I send the newsletter out, and I'll get, you know, responses back even if it's just to say hi, or got it. Yeah, I love that. Jack because

Laura Arango Baier: 56:50

it reminds you that you're not you know that cuz I feel like you know, being an artist is kind of a very solitary thing. So it's good to get those emails back. Because you remember, you're not really alone. There are people who are almost like flies on the wall in your studio.

Karen Blackwood: 57:07

Exactly that they actually, you know, want to see and I should actually can we do videos on the newsletter? I wonder I never

Laura Arango Baier: 57:17

think you can. I think you can link a video. Yeah, you can link a video in there.

Karen Blackwood: 57:22

I'll do a Student Yeah. Studio Tour for them. Yeah.

Laura Arango Baier: 57:28

Great idea. Yeah. And speaking of, you know, being more open and vulnerable with, you know, people who love your work, and being present, do you have any upcoming shows or workshops that you'd like to promote? I

Karen Blackwood: 57:44

just taught one. So I don't have a workshop to promote. I just did Lyme Art Association. And I've, since COVID. paired my I used to do about four where I would go to Carmel, California, do one in Connecticut do one, you know, Cape Cod. Now I do want to year so next year will be Cape Cod in Chatham at the Creative Arts Center, which I love going out there. We always do. Plein Air on Narragansett and the waves have always been my camp. I've always been really strong there. So that's a wonderful workshop. But that will be in September of 2025. And then just the galleries to look for my work in our Tod Bonita gallery and Portsmouth New Hampshire Chad Bonita gallery in a gun quit name. Camden falls gallery in Camden falls name and Valerie's gallery in Newburyport mass. So you can on my work there and I do need to work on a show, but I don't have one lined up anytime soon. And if you do want to come to my home salon, if you are interested in being a collector, you can always go to my website on FASO. And just look up my name countback would find art.com

Laura Arango Baier: 59:16

Great, awesome. And then I think you also have social media, right? You have Instagram. And

Karen Blackwood: 59:21

yes, I have Instagram and Facebook and I always post whatever I'm doing new on there. So usually, I'll even post I tried to post a beginning stage block and and then post a mid stage and then a final stage of the painting so people can kind of follow along and see how it began and how it ended. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 59:48

I love that. Well and of course all of your links are going to be included in the show notes for anyone who wants to immediately check those out, which I highly recommend because you will feel very happy seeing these painting because they are so so expressive and definitely emit joy.

Karen Blackwood: 1:00:05

Thanks, Laura was so nice talking to you

Laura Arango Baier: 1:00:09

too. And thank you for coming onto the show and being a spark of joy. Thanks

Karen Blackwood: 1:00:15

a lot. Have a great day. You too. Thank you.