Attention Solomon Collectors!

2012-01-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

We have just launched the official "Collectors Gallery" on David Solomon's website and are inviting collectors help us build the portfolio.

With Solomon's artwork residing on at least three continents, and a few small islands in the South Pacific, it's often very interesting to hear where one of his paintings has ended up and how it got there. Please send photos and any stories about your Solomon painting to info@davidsolomonartist.com

Paintings submitted will be posted online, and may be selected for inclusion in an upcoming book chronicling the artist's career.

Visit the David Solomon Collectors Gallery

The McDonalds of Art

2012-01-05T08:53:00.000-08:00

Early in his career, David Solomon was approached by a marketing firm who wanted to make him "the McDonalds of Art." That almost happened when we signed a contract with the Bernard Picture Co. in the 1970's.

He painted a series of quaint scenes of front porches, ferns, wicker chairs and the like. Many of the paintings were in color schemes perfect for 70's decor - lots of green and yellow. The watercolor paintings were mass produced and sold across the country including in JC Penney department stores. Not only were they printed on paper and framed, but were also made into clocks and other decorative items. They sold like Big Macs! Royalty checks arrived in Solomon's mailbox daily. It was a sweet deal, but was not true to the artist's heart.

In the end, he decided not to renew his contract with Bernard and instead endeavored to paint subjects that he enjoyed. He continues this objective today. When galleries request vineyards, he paints junkyards.

Below are photos of some of the paintings printed by the Bernard Picture Co. We still get inquiries from people who have inherited one of these prints, or picked one up at a garage sale. They usually ask us, "How much is it worth?" A better question to ask is: "How much is it worth to you?" I have a few in my own collection. In my opinion they have a place in this artist's history and still hold their charm today.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

2012-01-04T06:53:00.000-08:00

Solomon has always been fascinated by airplanes, trains and cars. His love for these subjects shows in his paintings. His ability to depict the reflective surfaces, curving metal, or even the rust on an old junk car makes his renditions a joy to behold. Here are few favorites from over the years...

"The Fraternity" Watercolor by David Solomon
Done on commission, circa 1975.

To see more please visit www.davidsolomonartist.com

Enjoying Life as an Artist

2012-01-03T09:14:00.000-08:00

This article was published in Southwest Art in 1977. I find it amazing that when I speak with David Solomon today, 35 years later, his perspective on his art is exactly the same. He paints what he wants, every day, and makes sure to have fun doing it. Notably, his painting "Corner Light" which was featured in this article, initially purchased by the National Watercolor Society, was later transferred to the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute.

"Corner Light" by David Solomon. Smithsonian Institute.

ENJOYING LIFE AS AN ARTIST
By Allan Girdler

It seems that credentials are an inescapable form of human demand. And even though David Solomon's watercolors are here to be seen, there is some feeling of needing tangible proof that what is shown here is as good as it looks. For the record, then, Solomon's work has won awards, and his paintings have appeared in the American Watercolor Society's and the National Watercolor Society's annual show, and is listed in Who's Who in American Art and Who's Who In The West.

Getting details like this from Solomon is like dredging in the dark. Recognition isn't something he thinks much about. He paints because he paints. He is increasingly well-known. Critics and just plain folks are creating an appreciation of his work. Demand for his work is nice, but he'd be working just as hard without it.

Solomon was an artist before he did or had. When he was old enough to walk around alone in East Los Angeles, he looked at billboards and signs. Art in the classic picture book sense didn't appeal. Huge outdoor displays featuring perhaps the latest cars did appeal. "I knew how a bumper looked, how the designers made chrome sparkle and curve. On a billboard, up close, big and flat, I could see how they did it. I could make sense of it... When I went to Art Center I could draw more easily than most of the guys because I knew how things looked."

Solomon doesn't think selling is required. "A good painting sells right away. A fairly good painting sells sooner or later."

"What about not so good paintings?'

"No one sees the bad ones. They stay right here in the kennel where they belong."

"Well Seasoned" by David Solomon
Top Cash Award, National Watercolor Society.

Slow sellers serve as valid criticism. "If they don't sell, there's something wrong with them, whether I see it or not. Sometimes you paint things you love and everybody else hates, and it's always a mystery."

Pricing is harder than selling. "When you do commercial work, a rendering of a hospital or something like that, you know how long it took you and how much it's worth to them. When it's a work of art, they buy paintings because one of three reasons. They like it. It fits the room they have in mind. It might appreciate - or all three."

"People are apprehensive about how much they spend. So the hardest thing is figuring how much a painting is worth."

Solomon is open about his painting techniques and conducts workshops and painting demonstrations throughout Southern California.

His early work was sparse and broad and become more detailed as he developed his skill. "I'm going toward what I really like to paint. I wouldn't say there is less detail now. There is less detail than there appears to be. It's indication. The right brush stroke, the right color and value... the mind fills it in."

A glance at a pile of junk machinery becomes, upon close inspection, a collection of dots and lines. Sunlight reflected from a plank sidewalk is the paper itself, white highlighted by color laid according to texture, "which allows the texture to become something." For that, Solomon uses drybrush, moist pigment on dry paper. For the spontaneous aspect of watercolor it's wet-on-wet, or maybe re-wetting the entire section then dropping color on.

Creation of a rain-heavy sky begins with pigments of varying weight as well as value. Blue, which breaks into heavy granules, goes onto the paper with ocher, which is lighter and smaller. Solomon tips the paper, and the heavy portions naturally flow to the valleys while the light bits stay on the peaks and there it is, a damp yellow cloud with blue lurking in the background.

For subjects, Solomon limits himself only on the basis of form. Actual content, whether the subject is a boat, a western relic or a row of dilapidated stores, is secondary. The themes are "mass, weight... which even an empty field can have. I like that." Here too reality is a personal matter. This writer's favorite Solomon painting is a ramshackle collection of, well, they look like buildings at the head of an old silver mine, but not quite. It resembles a lot of old mines, yet is different from any one mine.

True, the artist says. He goes exploring, and he's seen lots of old mines and buildings. The painting came from them, but it's not one of them. "Suppose a mining engineer told you the sluice was on the wrong side of the tailings or something like that?" I ask.

"I'd ask him if he wanted to buy the painting." Do what you do, in other words. Solomon is polite. He says little when non-artists run through the I-can't-draw-a-straight-line routine or the old I'd-give-anything-to-paint-like-that. If they wanted to do it, if they would do it, they could do it. "I haven't met one person yet who's really tried and hasn't made it."

Being an artist, then, is more than making money. "If I'm broke, I can still produce paintings. I talk, I do some painting, I make sure I have a lot of fun, every day."

David Solomon: Artist's Journey

Attention Solomon Collectors!

The McDonalds of Art

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Enjoying Life as an Artist