Andy Smith, turning 10 years’ worth of paintings into books!

Do you like art?  Yeah we thought so.

In this week’s interview Andy Smith tells us about his love for watercolor painting, the challenge of “A Painting A Day” he took on years ago and the process of making a blook out of his work!

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Hello Andy Smith. Tell us a little bit about yourself : You, your passions, your hobbies, your projects.

As a man, I am passionate about my family life and I love bicycle riding. As an artist I am passionate about watercolors. I have been a full-time artist for over 35 years. I specialize in watercolors and my style is realistic. I paint and my wife runs the business so we are together all the time. I paint every day, most of the day and attend art shows on weekends. We enjoy traveling where I find new subjects and inspiration. In fact we will be in France in a few days! My wife has real wanderlust and I am happy going wherever she wishes to explore!

What is your blog about and why did you want to address this subject when starting it?

About 10 years ago the craze of “A Painting A Day” became popular. You start and finish a miniature painting (4×6”) every day and offer it for sale at a discounted price so anyone could own an original piece of art. I thought I could easily do this. So we decided to feature this painting on a blog and add bits about the day in the life of an artist and share a bit about our family life and travels. It has given me a greater connection with clients that live far away.

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What Andy Smith content (articles, illustrations) are you the most proud of?

After 10 years I often feel like I have said all there is to say, so it’s a little hard to think outside the box and come up with something new. Last year we invited clients to be a guest writer and share what my paintings mean to them. I found it moving to hear what clients see in my work. Every now and then I get asked to write my thoughts on a subject… how to start a collection… how to stay inspired, fresh and motivated.

What do you like the most about blogging and painting?

I am amazed that after 10 years of blogging I still really enjoy the discipline of creating a painting every day. I like that I can explore subjects that I may never paint in a large format. I use them as studies to improve my skills.

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Why did you want to turn your blog into a book?

We always printed out the blog just to have a copy, I am 64, I am not of the age that trusts computers! There is something about holding paper! To have a year of blogs in a book form is fantastic. It’s like having a diary, I can go back to any year and see what I painted, where we traveled and just a general snapshot of my life.

How did you find out about BlookUp?

An ad just turned up in my emails one day and my wife mentioned it and we saved the information.

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What did you think about the making process of your blook? Did you encounter any difficulties or issues?

I think it was just unlucky but our first book was lost in the mail for several weeks. BlookUp was excellent in returning my emails and then printed a second book and mailed it. Weirdly both books arrived on the same day. The next issue was that it did not print in date order. Must have been a glitch on our end. But again BlookUp offered a discount to reprint and I decided to print all 10 years at one time.

Do you enjoy the final result?

Very happy!

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Would you recommend BlookUp?

Yes, I mentioned BlookUp on my blog and I have a friend going to print her blog.

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Thank you very much Andy for this interview, for recommending our service to your friend and for mentioning us on your blog! 

Don’t forget to check out the blog to see more of his fabulous paintings!