The Artist -in 2024

Hi

I thought I’d share some information about how it is to be in the arts in the year 2024, in Melbourne, Australia, for me (lots below). But first, here’s some art and music as usual:

Here’s some piano music to listen to as you browse, if you’d like

Exhibition

Still on (Now extended til March 14th! – see pics and prices on the Synchronicity blog post). Mornington, Vic.

Painting

Heres some work in progress pics of a painting which is available for purchase at the the current exhibition. Or contact me directly.

I sold an 80 x 24cm version of this scene at the Mornington Art Show in January. I was really happy with the feeling in that painting, so I’d decided a while back to do a large one (1.5m x 60cm).

Sky and water blocked in, I like to do a sienna wash to help identify the lights and shadows… it helps me keep the paintings ‘clean’ and crisp, (eg, not trying to make a darker area light again if a mistake is made).

The whole process is rewarding. Painting the detail in the background gives an indication of where things are heading tonally.

working on across the canvas…

leaving the whites. I love those big dark trees in Mornington. We need the trees!

and on to some main objects – the building and reflections. Finally the yacht – and then the reflections of the yacht.

and then adding all the details like the buoys, more highlights and colour here and there – and stopping when it just feels right.

FINISHED PIC Coming Shortly. (you can see it front and centre in this photo of 3 paintings in my current exhibition (which I featured on a recent blog post).. It’s 1.5m x 60cm.

Exhibition Update :

#1 Mills beach (red white beach box ) has sold.

Now for some new music…

Song and A Chat Podcast

Episode #199 Song For August

(Song starts at 3:08)

Welcome to another song – and another 30 mins of observations, humour, with a particular focus on songwriting.

On this episode, as it happens, I found a couple of different of versions of Song #369, Song For August, using the same lyrics. Both were done in 1994. One was written on the piano by myself. The version we went with ( and quite rightly) is the one Paul Dredge and myself wrote on guitar (Paul) and voice (me).

This was one of 12 songs which Paul and I decided to record one weekend, years later in Melbourne Australia. We were joined my the marvellous Earl Pollard. We’ll always miss his great drumming, as sadly he’s no longer with us.

It was another person passing over that gave me the motivation to write these lyrics. His death had a profound effect on me. Not long after I found myself out on the road by myself. I was a bit thin, struggling a bit really.

Hanging on in there was the only choice to make . But sometimes it’s a rough road, isn’t. There’s a line in the song ‘standing on my own two feet’ . It’s about surviving then, hanging in there against the odds, perhaps..read more / listen

Ok… here we go:

And the songwriter / artist considers his life. Sitting in the cafe, the background noise falls back into white noise and thoughts come and go.

That’s me. Typing away.

The recurring thought that quickly rises to net surface is: I’m doing too much. Most people tell me this, have been telling me this for 20 years. I know this.

So I’m planning to make some changes. Look out for lots of live gigs later this year.

I really need new gear, so…

Here’s the link to a

Go Fund me page

Check it out, see what you think . All support gladly received, thanks so much.

By the way, when you get there, it’ll look like this. The main information is on a ‘read more’ link, just below the included youtube video – see below):

Curious as to why I might need to this assistance? read on…

While I’ve been lucky and managed to make a living, there is much that’s been sacrificed along the way – including not bring able to finance new gear.

I’ve steadily expanded the range of what I’m doing over the years because it seemed to me that’s what I needed to do to make a living in the arts.

The idea being: Just keep on keeping on – and when I have a breakthrough, then I’d be able to pull back and focus on just one or two things for a while.

As it’s turned out so far, I’ve had what some might call modest success – but not enough for me to ease up… in fact quite the opposite….

There were a series of children’s books, which I illustrated. I sold 1000’s (at markets and so did the author). The publisher did not sell many at all. We made a good profit, thank goodness, because our efforts to sell them – also, because The publishing deal was not destined for longevity, nor great income over time: an American annual royalties cheque = between $2 and $20.

5000 piano solo CDs sold due to performances at the market and gigs, over a few short years …then streaming happened. Bye bye, 20 CD sales and $400 income per week (Youch, right?). Hello, streaming. I got streamed 45000 times in the last 12 months… hello to about $50. Times have changed. That’s where it’s at with the music.

I hope to increase the streaming over time and finish the 100 pieces of associated sheet music which I’ve started(The ‘merch’).

This could provide ongoing income.

But just very recently there’s more than a rumour that this income might be undermined by a giant online company offering sheet music via a streaming sort of model, rather than a $3.50 per sheet music sale.

Which would be devastating to me.

You cop it on the chin because you have to. At the moment.

Having invested so many hours, my entire life, pretty much, to get into the position to recoup some income for hours spent, it is particularly galling to have the rug pulled out from under you. Time and again.

So. The video courses (coming up, folks!) Here’s a quick look at something I’m working on:

I’m getting very excited about this painting course. When I finish the courses (painting, piano , cartoons – initially), let’s see how they go.

It will give me great satisfaction, knowing they are available online for those that have asked me to teach. I’ll be helping people some more.

If the courses make me an ongoing income, even better – I’ll have more time and energy to create and publish more art and music – and help people some more.. and so on.

(I currently rely on income from 24 weekly private piano lessons, which I teach on Mondays and Tuesdays. It is a privilege and I’m very grateful to be doing this. It takes a lot of energy. There will come a time when I’ll need to move away from the in-person one on one lessons. I see the video courses as way of perhaps being able to do this).

I realise writing about life in the arts like this runs the risk of sounding like sour grapes. But I think this is a platform where this sort of thing can be shared, occasionally, along with the positive music and art content.

I thought sharing those sorts of snippets of business in the arts might help somehow, might help to raise awareness of the situation most arts and songwriters are in, presently.

The world needs the arts. To create to your potential, your art can’t be a ‘smaller concern’, alongside a ‘real job’.

It’s tough out there. Here’s some more: At 17 years old, a gig earned me $100 (after tax), dinner and a few beers (here’s a link to another blog – my memoirs chapter from that time: The restaurant trio /kazoos! ). Incredibly, 40 years on, that’d be considered a reasonable deal by a lot of businesses – if you can find a gig. A muffin might’ve cost me .50c (?) back then….

Muffins cost more these days, right? I got hungry the other day, when I was in a shopping strip. Out of desperation, I bought a muffin from a cafe. $6! Gordon Bennett! And it was a very, very average muffin, not fresh, dry – and it was made from an instant mix. Blue berry count: 2. I wouldn’t want to be in the cafe business presently. That might have just been might last muffin I buy when I’m out and about for some time.

So

If you’re enjoying streaming someone’s music and they’re an independent artist, perhaps consider buying a digital album on bandcamp if they’re there ( btw, you can pay above the asking price. You get to decide how much you’d like to -and you can send them as gifts). My page looks like this. you can play all the songs, read lyrics, etc…

Or you can make a donation via a tip jar on their website, like mine.

or a crowdfunding exercise, as per above (it’s not a money grab, by the way. It’s a great initiative. It’s a means of survival for many, and it allows for the arts to continue. It’s also a way of personally paying an artist for work done, rather than your money going to a large company who owns an online platform). On that note…

Did I mention more new grim news for the independent artist with music streaming?: From now on, if a song of mine streams 999 times (on a platform everyone pretty much uses) in the calendar year, the income generated now goes to a big label artist ( apparently deemed more worthy of reward). Surely someone song which has been streamed 50,000,000 times is a better song? Hmm. Perhaps it is, or perhaps it has just been advertised more extensively.

I don’t begrudge those who are successful with the record labels. But I don’t think they need to be receiving the rewards of my lifetime of labour and passion, either – my creativity.

But then the music industry has always been a bizarre story of broken dreams, wild success stories and most falling anywhere in between.

Perhaps looking back, I might’ve played my cards a little too closely to my chest, advertising not having come naturally to me. Oh well. I’m doing my best to share online, in a positive manner, what I’ve been up to, these past 199 weeks. I own the copyright to my 800 songs. So, theoretically that’s a potential goldmine. At least I think it might be. I’m naturally optimistic and I believe in my music.

I thing is: am loving what I’m doing now. Who knows what the furute holds.

So you’ve gotta get busy, keep afloat and produce the goods before the game changes again.

What about the art? The small more impressionist paintings sell steadily at the market .

Not sure of the numbers, but the 85 painted during lockdowns have all been sold,

and I’ve painted a small one most weeks since. I have 6 Ieft, I think. So that’s good. And there were 100s that have come and gone before that.

I only have a few large paintings for sale. Plus there’s there’s 4 still available at the exhibition. Must be around 100 big ones have sold, I think, over the last (15?) years. I’m happy about that.

Paintings like this 1.2m x 45 of a Sandringham sunset (sold). I generally paint at least 1.5m x 60 these days.

And sales of prints of seascapes have been brilliant over the years. I’ve taken digital photos, personally printed, cut, glued and taped into matboard borders and plastic and sold 1000s of these at markets and via my website.

Printed on quality photo paper (thick gsm), acid free borders , it’s a great way to archive a piece of art. They are priced reasonably. Personally signed too. Fits a frame 43 x 22.5cm (17″ x 9″) .

My greeting cards are off to a good start ( but it’s another few hours a week gone to produce them). email info@petepascoe.com to order these ( go here to get the image you require- they are all numbered.

Material costs creep up all the time, which is a given, but there’s been some big jumps in price across the board, lately. Market rent is now $120 instead of the $40 when I started.

Where is the encouragement for the artist or musician starting out? Art and music will suffer because it is very hard to become brilliant at what you do if you have a real job at a bank.

I think the creative muse, if you will, is there for us all. Like any relationship, it requires commitment, love, work and passion to make a constant ongoing connection and keep it growing in strength.

In other words, the personal freedom to have the time and energy to keep up your side of the deal.

The likely outcome of being your own marketing person, business operator, what have you, if you’re in the arts is: burn out. The creative projects gradual fall away and you’ve drifted away.

I’m keeping a close eye on where I’m at. I’m aware changes have to be made – and soon (simplifying my life, cutting back on the weekly work, working smarter).

I’ve probably produced enough creative output so far, for 3 lifetimes. I certainly don’t regret it. In fact, the changes I’m making will hopefully make more time in my week to produce and publish more of my work done.

My motivation is: it helps people. Cartoons bring humour; the piano music peace and time for personal reflection; the rock music lifts spirits; the seascapes remind people of the beauty of nature, old treasured child hood memories of time spent at beaches. And so on.

There are currently another 20 or 40 songs waiting to be written into my song books (these were composed in the last 2 years -when it felt like I was writing hardly at all, due to evertyhing else… I’ve never been so far behind. Still, 800 done…including the 199 on the podcast (with their back stories, etc).

and then there’s my youtube channel... music videos, paintings, cartoon drawing ( to be edited and included in a video course). EPK videos coming soon (electronic press videos). Video is a great way to convey what you’re up to. More music videos coming soon, too, btw.

The current 5 albums are still coming along (nearly finished). I record and produce these myself (and in conjunction with Paul Dredge and the Patient Hum band guys).

So I’ve been busy and I’ve been enjoying sharing it …

We’ll see how 2024 goes for me, and then the 20 years after that. Hopefully there’ll be lots of this:

and this

and this

Right. Now, I’m back in my skin… after some minutes of thinking and writing. The coffee is nearly gone , the first lesson (of 12) for the day starts in 15 minutes.

Pete Pascoe, piano teacher, will put his own work aside today – and tomorrow – to hopefully inspire others down (up?) a creative path. The path which I hope brings them rich rewards, as it has me: personal healing and development; the pure pleasure of creating; lifting others – and so on.

Yes, I’m lucky to make a living from what I love to do. I’m pointing out here: it’s very, very hard to do that presently. You probably realise I’ve only shared the tip of the iceberg here.

I do think artists need to get paid what they are worth. I’m not just fixing a sink, you know. Yes, some people are more suited to fixing a sink than others. But everyone can successfully learn to fix a sink – and can expect to make a good living (and good luck to those who people who do this).

But writing a song, painting a picture good enough to sell… what price do you put on something as indefinable as this? No matter how many hours a lot of people put in, they may never write a piece of music or produce a song that is up to the standard of being for sale. That’s the thing….shouldn’t that be rewarded? I think so.

Again, I realise I’m lucky to be doing what I’m doing. I’m just trying to make a positive difference in some small way each week.

Thanks for having a read today. I hope sharing some more of my story has helped somehow.

Pete

(This doesn’t seem that long ago, either!)

PS Here’s the lyrics to the song featured on this week’s podcast episode.

Song For August           words & music by P. Pascoe & P. Dredge

Just days away from my good friends

This loneliness could scar you

Stories and dreams coming to life

It could frighten you half to death

*

And Oh, I’m feeling lighter

I’m floating on down the street

And Oh, I’m just a fighter

Standing on my own two feet.

*

All this to do with lions and jesters

And witches sent to test ya

Hobbits and dreams coming to life

It could frighten you half to death

*

They’re bound to say he’s blown away

He’s turned into something new.

I’m always going to say

I’m making a niche, aint life a b –

When you can’t cure that itch?

*

It’s just the way its always been

Just a vehicle to take you

Cynical beings trying to wreck your life

Just got to do your best

Got to pass the test. 

Got to listen

*

And Oh, I’m feeling lighter

I’m floating on down the street

And Oh, I’m just a fighter

Standing on my own two feet.

Standing on my own two feet.

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