Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #13, March 26, 2015

This week’s beer painting for Thirsty Thursday is of Red Chair NWPA by Deschutes Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon. I neglected to include this great beer in last year’s Year of Beer Paintings series, because I painted many other great Deschutes beers, and was looking for more variety of breweries to increase the scope of the project. I chose to paint this beer this week because of the upcoming Merry Marmot Festival taking place this weekend at Arctic Valley – a ski area near Anchorage, Alaska. The festival marks the end of the ski season for this ski area, which is a bummer, because on a normal snow year we’d still have a couple weeks of great skiing left, but the lack of snow this year makes that impossible. Arctic Valley has two red chair lifts, which are Riblet brand, with the tailbone-smashing center pole. Hope your snow pants provide ample padding. Still, it’s the best option for getting to the top, the other one being a Poma t-bar. Although this beer is named for the red chair on Mt. Bachelor, I consider it to be a tribute to all red chairs out there. This North West Pale Ale has a nice hop aroma and flavor. Hardly a pale ale, full of Centennial and Cascade hops coming in with 60 IBUs, this beer is closer to an IPA. Overall, a great beer to enjoy ski après for its refreshing crisp flavor, and stunning complex malt body.

Cheers to downhill skiing, one of my favorite sports, and to Deschutes Brewing, one of my favorite NW breweries!

This painting sold. You can purchase a limited-edition print, or order a custom painting at my Etsy shop.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #13 by Scott Clendaniel. March 26th, 2015. Red Chair NWPA by Deschutes Brewing Co. 8″x10″, oil on panel.

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5 Things to Consider Before You Ask an Artist for a Charitable Donation ~ by Maria Benner

People frequently ask us to donate art to fundraising events, and we happily donate to some, while passive-aggressively ignoring others.  We receive over a dozen requests each year, as do many other artists.  Sometimes when people find out that Scott is an artist, the next thing out of their mouths is, “My kid’s school is having an event to support X program, would you donate your art?”  For some reason people assume that artists are more willing to part with their work for free, maybe because they think artists just make art for fun, not for work.  In reality, an artist needs to be compensated for time, just like a dentist, or a lawyer.  We don’t donate just to get exposure, we want more in return for a piece of art that took many hours to create.  So, here are five factors to consider, before you make the request.

1. Does the charitable organization/fundraiser/silent auction support anything that is relevant to the artist?  Do you know the artist personally?  If the answer is no, then we’re not likely to donate, unless one of our friends is asking us.  In that case, we’re just doing our friend a favor.  Also, if the event is not even taking place in Alaska, don’t expect to hear back from us.  If we don’t respond, move on to the next person on the list, there’s no need to follow up.

2. Should you give the artist a percentage of the final amount?  We gladly donate a piece of art if we get at least 25% of the final value in return.  One of the most common misconceptions is that the donation is tax deductible for the artist.  This is not the case!  An artist can only write off the cost of materials, not the final value of the item.  Since the cost of said materials is already included in the total amount for the tax year, there is no tax benefit for the artist for donating.  However, we would be glad to sell you a print, or a painting for you to personally donate, and then you can take the deduction.  Speaking of benefits to the artist, if the organization makes a special effort to promote the artist’s donation on social media, in printed materials at the event, on the event website, etc., we really appreciate that, and are likely to donate again in the future.  Unfortunately, while most organizations just promise exposure in front of a high number of affluent event attendees, in reality, the event organizers rarely do more than just place the item in a silent auction among hundreds of other items vying for the same exposure.  Just keep in mind that making an original piece of art takes many hours of work, and wouldn’t you want to be compensated for your time in some way?

3. Are you making it hard for the artist to donate?  After we say yes, we have to fill out a form, and are asked to deliver the item by a certain deadline.  Preferably, someone should stop by the studio to pick up the donation.  Think of it as an excuse to get out of the office.  Make the donation forms as simple as possible, and provide an option to fill them out online.  Remind the artist several times about the deadline, but not too often.

4. Should you send a “thank you” letter?  Absolutely send the artist a letter after the event thanking us for our time and generosity.  Also, let the artist know how much the item generated for the cause.  This is helpful for knowing the impact of our donation.

5. How many times has this artist donated in the past?  We realize that it’s easier to ask someone who has said yes in the past, but if we’ve donated for several years in a row, consider giving us a break for a year or two. Hopefully these tips will be helpful for those of you who have to ask for donations.  I’ve been in that position, and now I know each side’s perspective.  Let’s make it a better experience for everyone involved.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #12, March 19, 2015

This week’s Thirsty Thursday beer painting is of Modern Romance — a collaboration by Midnight Sun Brewing Company and Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge. Brewed with cacao nibs, cocoa powder, cinnamon, chilies and maca, this dark ale is a sexy brew indeed. Spicier than last year’s batch, it will bring on the heat and clear your sinuses. This is a great winter warmer, warming more that just your spirits. At 9.3%, and sold in 22 oz bottles, I recommend sharing this one with a friend. Not for someone who dislikes spice, but if you want a beer that will broaden your palette, this is the right bottle. This seasonal, and limited brew comes out right before Valentine’s Day each year.

Cheers to Modern Romance, a great collaborative product from two of my favorite Anchorage establishments!

This painting sold. You can purchase a limited-edition print, or order a custom painting at my Etsy shop.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #12 by Scott Clendaniel. March 19th, 2015. Modern Romance by Midnight Sun Brewing Co. 8″x10″, oil on panel.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #11, March 10, 2015

This week’s beer-themed painting is of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew Ale by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Delaware!  This unique dark beer brewed with gesho and honey waited for the right moment in my beer cellar for several months.  I was saving it for a quiet evening when I could relax and listen to jazz while sipping on a special brew.  Like the jazz music, this beer was sensual and rhythmic, with just enough funk to make it striking.  I am a fan of what the brew team at Dogfish Head put together, and love the music themed beers.  I listened to this album for the first time 15 years ago while attending music history class at Western Oregon University.  My cool-cat professor was such a huge fan of Miles Davis, he would give away free Kind of Blue albums to people who had never heard the Miles Davis sound.  I drank the beer and painted this piece while listening to the Bitches Brew album.  The background is completely inspired by the Miles Davis sound.

Cheers to the Prince of Darkness, the original Miles Davis and to the brew crew at Dogfish Head, who was genius enough to pair beer with music!

You can purchase this painting, or a limited-edition print at my Etsy shop.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #11 by Scott Clendaniel. March 10th, 2015. Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew Ale by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. 8″x10″, oil on panel.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #10, March 5, 2015

This week I decided to make an abstract painting of a pint using the stylistic lines and forms that would be common in a Kandinsky painting. Wassily Kandinsky was born in Russia in 1866 and died in France at the ripe old age of 78. He studied law and economics at the University of Moscow, but is ultimately credited with the first completely non-objective, abstract modern art. Ironically, this beer painting is objective. Kandinsky started painting when he was 30, and studied art in Germany. He returned to Russia in 1914, when World War I broke out, but didn’t jive with Communist Moscow’s approach to art, and moved back to Germany in 1921. He taught at the Bauhaus, an avant-garde school of art and design, until the Nazis shut it down. So he moved to France in 1933 where he lived for the rest of his life, and produced his best paintings. This beer painting was inspired by composition VIII, painted in 1923 when Kandinsky was a professor at the Bauhaus. I call this painting Pint Composition. I find the paintings by Kandinsky to be both inspirational and beautiful, and I hope you enjoy my beer-themed version. I wonder if Kandinsky drank beer at the Hofbräuhaus when he lived in Munich.

The original oil painting sold.  You can purchase a limited-edition print, or commission a custom beer painting at my Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #10 by Scott Clendaniel. March 5th, 2015. Pint Composition. 6″x12″, oil on panel.