Was in Telluride the week prior to the Fourth of July and had a blast!! This year the weather was great but camping in Town Park with a fire ban left a little to be desired. Telluride is one of my all-time favorite places to paint and one of the most beautiful places on Earth. There’s about 5 waterfalls that find their way to the bottom of the box canyon and I was on top of depicting them in oils!! The painting in the picture is a 24×30 multi-day plein air that I worked on during the same time of day for two days to complete. The picture was taken by a random hiker (Michelle McLellan thank you). I got the idea from friend and Best of Show artist this year, Bill Cramer, to put the ply wood on the roof rack for a view above the chaparral. If you’re thinking it might be a rice patty worker from China on the car and not me, you’d be wrong. I got the KAVU “Coolie” from Salida Mountain Sports and it’s a highly effective sunshade with a breathable mesh against your skull so it stays cooler than most hats!!
The Sheridan Arts Foundation that puts on the Telluride Invitational does a very good job and it’s an event I highly recommend to plein air painters that like to paint town scenes, vertical country, alpine lakes, waterfalls, and have a blast doing it.
This paragraph is for the accompanying artists…As per usual, I got a fair amount of heckling from them for the prices that I have my work at. I take this as a high compliment (in other words, I am painting at too high a quality for my reasonable prices) and I do not intend to raise them until demand dictates it. I was the TOP SELLER in Telluride this year, and I only came home with a couple of small paintings, so this tells me that I was in almost perfect alignment with Supply and Demand as it were. I think some artists that did not sell as well, would be better off NOT giving advice on how I price my work, and instead take notes on the careful orchestration of my success…Matching the sizes and prices to the Social Economic Demographic of the foot traffic.
Below is the body of work from Telluride. For availability, please browse to the AVAILABLE LANDSCAPE paintings pages using the navigation bar above.
7 Comments
As you usually do, great information.
I am planning on applying to Telluride next year. Would love to know what you price your small works at. A lot of the pieces are very small so I don’t imagine them going for more than a couple hundred dollars. Congratulations on being the top seller! Is it because you sold so many small works and they added up? I can see someone selling one expensive painting and making the equivalent of a handful of small paintings. I am enjoying my new Prolific Backpacker easel.
Thanks for the plug Josh! Happy that the hat is working for you. I’m glad you had a great show and don’t mind your ranting at all. The paintings look beautiful so it is understandable why you were the Top Seller. Good luck the rest of the summer.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for pricing your artwork at very affordable prices. I love the Telluride Plein Air Festival and when I’m in town over the 4th look forward to the event. I always admire the artwork but have a difficult time justifying the prices! This year was different, I discovered your artwork and was hooked. I love the piece that I purchased and will be back to buy more. You are dead on in your comments about pricing your artwork. So glad you were the top seller for the show. Your artwork is outstanding and your clients will be loyal! Many thanks again from a new loyal client. :)
Rant away, Josh. You’ve earned it.
Top seller? Wow! That’s no give- away. You earned that too. Congrats!
I am so proud to say I own one of your great new paintings from the Northwest. Really enjoyed seeing your gallery in Salida. CO. Thanks for coming down to the gallery to visit with us after your long trip.
Congrats on your many well deserved successes.
Hi there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok. I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.Orangeburg Roofing & Painting, 512 Breezy Dr., Orangeburg, SC 29115 – (803) 566-8577