Marianna M. Duford
...an artist with wanderlust
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Marianna M. Duford
...an artist with wanderlust.

"Soliloquy"
8x16 studio oil
$625 framed


website gallery of paintings

Here it is!  ...and a beach painting to warm you up.

2/10/2014

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PictureThe Hideaway 30"x40" Outdoor Art,
For those of you who might be interested in reading my "script" from my ART TALK last night.  The weather blew the gathering out and only about 15 hardy souls made it!

"The expression, "head in the clouds" might be true for many in the art field... but the reality is that to make a living in this day and age an artist has to wear many hats- not just a beret and needs to have their feet firmly planted in both the clouds and on the ground!

Just loving what you do is not going to get your paintings into galleries or into collector's homes.

If an artist is serious you have to make a business plan, just like any self employed business person would have to do to be successful. Part of any good business plan involves marketing. Selling your art and creating a demand for it is by name recognition and name branding.

Whether it is through advertising in art magazines, or by getting your name in the local paper (not the police blotter section) for your art, for exhibitions and/or awards won or prestigious juried competitions...name recognition is truly the name of the game.

An artist has to be their own worst critic and their own best fan, which can be difficult for a reclusive artist type to face...but it has to be done. We have to be willing to meet "our public" and give a piece of ourselves to them and shamelessly hand out cards and literature to promote ourselves, as any good salesperson would. But the hard part is ,it is our souls in our art that we are promoting, and a thick skin has to be developed as one person's trash is another's treasure and the average person doesn't hesitate to tell you what they think.

With name recognition comes better sales and the opportunity to have your art increase in value, which in turn hopefully gives you more time to create instead of spending days on end, on the computer, taking care of the business end of art. In other words... paying bills, ordering supplies, entering competitions, writing press releases, contacting galleries and being involved in social media, can take up endless hours on the computer. Most of us don't have a secretary or doting unemployed family member to do all of this for us.. it is the life of the self employed artist, mine anyway!

Facebook, blogging, twitter, instagram and online galleries have also changed the face of how an artist does business and all of these things help bring about name recognition...and it works! A year ago I needed to raise some capital and I literally had the answer come to me in a dream, (which brings us back to the saying "head in the clouds"). It was called "The Little Gems Project" 100 oil paintings in 100 consecutive days for $100 each.

I created a blog page where everyday I would post the painting I had just painted, and it would go up for "adoption" along with a story that I had written to tell about the inspiration of that days "Little Gem". I also created a fan page on Facebook. My blog would simultaneously post to my Facebook page which linked to the blog! WOW! The first person to request adoption rights "won" the "Little Gem".

I had over three hundred people a day checking my blog, some being adopted within 20 seconds and ALL of them were adopted by the end of the 100 days! It was a miracle...it worked!

From this Little Gems project sales of my larger paintings started happening and I also started to get more request for commissions of all types, from painting someones home to capturing their children and families in portraits.

I also was picked up by a another gallery in Denver, Framed Image, and it even helped sales of my art in the Ducktrap Trading Company Wildlife Gallery in Camden Maine, that has been selling my original artwork and African photography for 10 years now!

Name recognition...has now brought me to you, this afternoon, and what a treat to get to chat with all of you. I'm honored to be the first artist to get to exhibit in this beautifully refurbished gallery space in our County Commons Building. Thank you to the Summit County Arts Exhibits Committee for making this happen!

Sooo...what is Outdoor All Weather Canvas Art and how is it made? I'm going to take you on a journey. The process from creating the original art to licensing the art to how the prints are made.

My business plan that I started years ago, was to eventually be making enough through licensing and royalties to have time to create only what I want to paint...not what I have to paint to make a living.

The beginning of my licensing relationship with West Of The Wind started at a wholesale trade show I did in Atlanta in 2007. I had invested $6,000 in a booth at the show and was hoping to find markets for prints of my paintings and African photography. Marketing 101...called taking a chance!!! It was a bust. The economy crashed. All the orders I had written at the show were cancelled later.

I met the owner of a company called ARTFX at the show. His business was manufacturing and marketing interior wall art internationally and he was interested in licensing my African photographs.

I worked with him for several months hoping to recoup some of my loss, but it ended up falling through. Another bust! I had had to spend more money purchasing a photoshop program and a new printer for testing prints etc. Farther into the rabbit hole!

Life takes a new and improved direction and success with my business plan was beginning to look more hopeful. A woman that worked with me at the Atlanta show was so impressed with ARTFX that she had started negotiations with the owner to become partners. She wanted to make outdoor canvas art. He thought she was nuts but they became partners. She started her own division called West Of The Wind which only manufactured and marketed Outdoor All Weather Canvas Art. The images being reproduced at that time were 100% photography based and she wanted to start reproducing fine art images also in the line. Her partner didn't want to add painting based images so she split from ARTFX and became her own entity.

Now I come into the picture. She asked me to do a series of 6 Italian paintings for her company and in 2010 the first ones were brought out at a show in Chicago on Navy Pier. Six out of almost 600 photographic images, but it was a start...I had my foot in the door!

Not long after the owner called me and said to do the "happy dance"! A catalog company called "Grandin Road", the parent company to "Frongate" had picked up my painting of "The Red Curtain" for their catalog. They have now sold over 2,000 of my outdoor art painting to their customers...and are still reordering!

So how does this work? I have a licensing contract with West Of The Wind where I get a royalty for every image that they manufacture. It's not much...but it's something for doing nothing. They manufacture, market, bag, tag and ship everything. I do nothing. It's refered to in the industry as passive income.

Being the first fine artist she had licensed I negotiated a separate contract allowing me to buy my own art back from the company at wholesale as if I had a retail store and then sell it myself. I now have access to all 44 of the paintings that they have licensed from me.

About 18 months ago West Of The Wind started making high end, (they retail for $700-$1000 each) outdoor umbrellas. She is the first person to ever put fine art images onto umbrellas and she chose several of my paintings to be featured. I had to learn how to digitally paint to make the images fit onto the umbrella sections...my photoshop program really started to pay off finally! These are also a licensed product. More passive income.

My association with West Of The Wind also brought me to Jake Jabs and American Furniture Warehouse. They have what they call their "Artists of the West" interior art line. AFW has now licensed 11 of my paintings. More passive income.

I'm not done with my business plan...things have to be reevaluated yearly, but I'm on track with my dream. My name recognition is growing with every print these companies sell as each one has my signature on it!

Now, on to the creative process.  If you would like to know the rest of the story click on the photo...it will take you to my Outdoor All Weather Canvas Art webpage."

Hope you enjoyed the beach hut painting...I needed to go to a warmer place today!





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Freedom 58 Project and human dignity!

1/28/2014

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Picture"Prema, A Leap of Faith" 16x16 oil on board
I have felt the most profound honor to be contacted by Bob Swenson, (former NFL player for the Denver Broncos), to help with an extraordinary project that he and his wife, Libby Swenson, have started titled the "Freedom 58 Project".  They are asking artists to create paintings of freed slaves which will become part of an exhibit to raise awareness of the huge problem of slavery and human trafficking worldwide.

My painting of, " Prema's Leap of Faith" is the first one to be painted in the series they are going to call Dignity Portraits. This woman is a former sexually trafficked young woman on her way to healing. There is also going to be a series of head shot portraits that have not been "blanked out" that reveal the true image of the person being portrayed.

Please visit their website, which launches this week, for more information, http://freedom58project.com/

This is my painting journey of capturing the likeness of this beautiful spirit using the photograph that they furnished to me to paint from to portray this young woman's joyous leap of freedom into her future. In all of the photos for the Dignity Portraits the person's face has been blurred to protect their privacy.

I made the choice to place the butterfly mask on Prema's face and made up her nose and mouth from my imagination.

She is from India and the culture celebrates color and symbolism in their art and in their everyday lives. The butterfly is an international symbol of freedom which I felt would help convey what she is feeling and so I used that shape for the mask. The color of marigolds, orange is featured in almost every celebration and blue is the color that represents Lord Krishna, one of the most favored gods in India. I chose green for the main color of the mask as it symbollizes nature, new beginnings and God himself. The ribbons are metallic gold, a precious metal much revered in India, to symbolize her wealth and strength in spirit.

It's been a long time since I felt like I've done something with more meaning than a pretty landscape....and it feels really good!  We CAN help make a difference in the world through our art.

If you are an artist and would like to donate your skills and gift this amazing organization with a painting of a freed slave, which he will furnish, for the "Freedom 58 Project" please contact Bob Swenson by email... fsland@gmail.com


Click on the image if you would like to see a larger photo.

The original photograph of Prema.
The "cartoon" or drawing created from the photo for the painting.
Day one on the easel...blocking in color.
Day 2 on the easel...more color and more detail.
Day 3 on the easel and the painting is completely blocked in.
Day 4 on the easel and attention to details and changing some values...now to stare at it for a few days to make sure I don't need to adjust anything or make any changes.
There is also a Pulitzer Prize winning book titled, "Half The Sky", by Nicholas D, Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn that has been praised worldwide regarding human rights violations and should be read by all of us in the "human community" on this earth of ours.
http://www.halftheskymovement.org/pages/book




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A whole bunch of "stuff" going on!

1/8/2014

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PictureClouds of Fire #4
My painting "Clouds of Fire #4" , 24"x30", is now being shown at the Art Students League of Denver till the 20th of January.  The artists' reception is the evening of the 17th so stop in if you are in the neighborhood!!!  I painted this in response to the Hayman fire that consumed a huge part of Colorado and affected my life deeply.  It was selected for a national show in Denver years ago and I'm quite proud of it if I do say so :)  

A new show, "Once Upon a Time in the West", opened yesterday at the Framed Image Gallery in Denver.  I'm honored to have 4 paintings exhibited.  The images are attached below.  If you happen to be in the neighborhood, Happy Canyon Shopping Center,  5066 East Hampden Ave, Denver Colorado... please stop in and witness first hand the beautiful art by some amazing Colorado artists. The show will be up till March 7th and then, like the famous Cadbury Egg will be gone!  

Tomorrow I go into the abyss of commercialism.  I will be at the Atlanta Trade Show helping promote the 47 paintings that West of The Wind Designs reproduces and sells internationally.  It is a wonderful company that pays my way to have me come and "glad hand" their customers so that they can meet me personally.  I'm honored, as they carry over 600 images in their outdoor art line, and I'm the only artist they have come and meet their clientel.  Standing on concrete 12 hours a day for a week is really very little to pay as this company has believed in me and my art for 5 years now!  How lucky can a girl be ;-)   Wish me well and I hope their sales increase 10 fold as a result of my presence ...as it makes my income better every day!
Ciao art lovers...I'll be in touch!


Paintings in the Framed Image show, Denver.  Open till March 7th 2014
click on the image for more information!
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Mountain Top Challenge

1/2/2014

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Picture3 panel tryptich, 33x15.5 oil
Thought it was time to share one of my latest projects...now that the holidays are over and secrecy is no longer needed!  

I was given a particularly challenging commission to paint.  My client wanted his home captured in a series of 3 paintings, which in the art world is referred to as a tryptich.  His home is literally perched on a mountain top near the beautiful town of Breckenridge. 

I spent several days hiking about trying to get photos that I could use as reference and my skills in perspective were given a workout as it was virtually impossible to get any photos that contained the entire front view of the home. 

He also requested each panel depict a different season and had sentimental requests that certain things be included...such as the tipi and Subaru in the first panel, (There is a logo on the back window that needed to be included, too!  Whew).  The reflections of the western mountains are visible in the massive windows.   

I think I captured what the client requested...as he had a smile on his face when the paintings were delivered...he was gifting each one of his 3 children with one of the paintings so that each would have a piece of the home they grew up in.  The 3 paintings will only be reunited on special occassions!  What fun and I was honored to be chosen to capture this for them.

WISHING YOU ALL A PROSPEROUS HAPPY AND HEALTHY YEAR TO COME...ONE FILLED WITH ART AND JOY!
If you are interested in a commission of your home and or loved one please don't hesitate to contact me...anything is possible :)

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I did it...I reinvented the wheel :)

11/10/2013

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PictureThe maiden "voyage" of my new "wheel"
I keep modifying my plein air set up...this is my 4th pochade "box".  My husband is endlessly "fascinated" (Not really, as it usually entails him having to do something for me!)  With the lengths I go to make something better that's already been made, because my way is ALWAYS better :)

I've been working on a unit that would weigh in at under 6lbs and all fit into a  small daypack for overseas travel and hiking, and if I lay out my paint needs for the day I can lose another 1 3/4lbs off the total weight!  If you've ever tried carting a French full Julian around you will appreciate what I'm saying here.  Of course I'm limited to how big I can paint, but I'm on vacation, I'll paint the big ones in my studio at home. 

I put this together by cannibalizing other art things I've collected over the years and taken apart, and by adding new stuff to make it all work.....and it did!!!  Part of the process is combing the hardware isles imagining the different things I could do with all the gadgets.  I LOVE hardware stores, something else my husband loves about me.

Below you will find a gallery of photos that show how I assembled it.  If you click on the images they will open up in a larger windos. 
A)  I glued 3/8" square dowels around 3 of the bottom edges to an old folding palette that I already had.  
B)  The back edges, where the hinges are each have a smaller square dowel glued to it...the top one holds the bottom of the painting panel straight.
C)  Lots of velcro makes the rest of it work!  
D)  I tried larger alligator clips, but then I couldn't use an 8x10 panel.  With the smaller clips I can paint 5x7's-to 8x10's both vertically and horizontally!  
F)  I also files 4 notches on the short sides of the top section so that the elastic cord would stay put.  
G)  I love, too, that I can just close the palette up and leave the wet painting in the case (only the 5x7's or 6x8's)...I do need to pay attention to the height of the paint piles, though.
H)  I can also just set it on my lap and be somewhat incognito and sit on a park bench, in a restaurant, or in the front seat of my car if the weather is rotten and not attach it to a tripod at all!

The next set of photos shows what I bring with me.  If you click on the photos to enlarge them you will be able to read the descriptions on each photo.
Last, but not least, I left the thumb hole open in the palette so that if inspired I can hold it like a traditional palette and not use a tripod.

Well that's it folks!  Hope you enjoyed my tour...leave me a comment if you would like more info or if I've inspired you to reinvent your own wheel.
Ciao
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Getting Ready to Head Out!

10/10/2013

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PictureMake A Wish 8x10 oil
I've been woefully neglectful of addressing this blog of mine... but its been crazy busy around my household the last couple of weeks!  Yahoo, much better than the alternative.  The painting featured is one I did today... it just accepted into a gallery show at the Framed Image Nov. 2-Jan. 4th 2014!
  
The last 2 Mondays our plein air group gathered at the Smith Ranch here in Silverthorne to paint.  This beautiful ranch has been slowly eaten away by building and "progress" but it is still beautiful and it offered us views hard to get to otherwise.  They were getting ready to hay one of the upper meadows and it was a fabulous day...one of the last to be had with the fall foilage in high color now that Father Winter has reared his ugly head :(

I've been madly packing my plein air gear for a trip to Rochester NY, ( I get to be in a wedding this weekend!), and then on to Camden Maine to paint the fall colors of New England...hope it waits for me to get there!   Our crack of dawn flight is calling and I must finish packing!  I love to go places...and I love getting home even more...ciao and I'll be posting from the trip soon so stay tuned

PLEIN AIR PAINTINGS FROM THE SMITH RANCH

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Day 3...INCREDIBLE!

9/28/2013

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What a beautiful, perfect fall day this turned into!  Once it warmed up above the 24 degrees it started out as, and the snow melted, it was a joy to be out in nature once again.  As you can see from the paintings today it was the signature clear blue skies of Colorado. It's with sadness that we said our goodbyes to this amazging group of warriors.   This mornings painting on the left was sold right off the easel, woot!  This afternoon after helping serve lunch I rushed out and set up the big old Julian French easel and tackled a 16x20...considered huge by plein air standards!  I even impressed myself as I got it done in time to return and help serve the last supper to the crew.  This dinner and the attending stories and overwhelming love that this happening generates is something that will remain in my heart forever.  Thank you, to all of you all over the country, that are involved in this wonderful organization. Huzzah and hurrah!  
YOU CAN VIEW THE AVAILABLE PAINTINGS FROM PROJECT HEALING WATERS FLY FISHING, (PHWFF) IF YOU CLICK ON ONE OF THE PAINTINGS...and don't forget that I will be donating 30% of any adoption fee to PHWFF.x  Please e-mail me if you are interested in one or would like more information.
marianna@mariannaduford.com
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Day Two, 2 paintings!

9/27/2013

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Whew, WHAT A DAY..day 2 of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing for wounded warriors!  Windy and cold...I painted inside my car today along with our stinky swamp dog that thinks she is irresistible so I had to leave a couple of window down.   None of them quit and they braved the elements with smiles on their faces.  Tomorrow is supposed to bring some sun...after snow showers tonight!  The colors were very different today as the skies were totally overcast. This always changes everything...the colors get flat as there is no sun to bring out shadows and highlights.  Makes for moody subjects.  Speaking of moody, I need to warm up and get a blanky.  Enjoy your evening...I'm going to sit in front of the fire!
Both paintings are 5x7 plein air oils and are being offered for adoption at $150 each unframed.  30% of the adoption fee will be donated to Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing.  E-mail me or leave a comment if you are interested :)


CLICK ON EITHER PAINTING TO SEE ALL THREE THAT ARE UP FOR ADOPTION!
ONly one more day to paint this amazing gathering of soul

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First Painting up for Adoption

9/26/2013

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Picture"Fall Fishing Fantasy" 8x10 plein air oil, up for adoption!
Today's plein air offering from the Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing for Wounded Warriors is an 8x10 oil on canvas panel.  
It was a brilliant Colorado fall day when the gang gathered to celebrate the first of 3 days of fabulous fishing!  Each warrior had their own guide to help them navigate the waters on this spectacular private ranch.  I've seen it first hand how this event changes lives in just a few days and I feel so lucky to get to witness it through my artist's eyes and put it on paper.  The wind started going crazy and I had to finish it sitting on the back bumper of my Blazer...ahhh the joys of being an outdoor painter :)  
The adoption fee is $400 unframed and 30% of it will be donated back to this great cause.
Please e-mail me if interested in having this for your own collection...or if you have any questions.
marianna@mariannaduford.com
Stay tuned for tomorrow's painting... it's supposed to be rainy and windy but I've devised an "in the vehicle" set up so I won't have to miss anything.


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Healing Waters Fly Fishing for Wounded Warriors

9/26/2013

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PictureGot One! plein air oil/ SOLD
The fall 3 day fishing event is here again and I've been invited to come a paint at this amazing gathering again!  I will be posting paintings for the next three days that I paint plein air (outside in the elements).  They will be up for adoption and 30% of the adoption fee will be donated to the organization.  They will be different sizes and prices based on the size of the painting...all unframed.  It's truly amazing what this does for these wonderful men and women, how it has changed lives and I'm proud of my husband for being a volunteer guide for the event.  Stay posted...I'm off for the day to see what I can capture in paint! Adios...

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    Marianna

    Artist, Wife, Mother, Oma, Traveler and Mountain Dweller in Search of the Meaning of Life...My Version of it Anyway!

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