LEFT

Canyon Light

Succeeding as a Fine
Artist With Savvy
Goal-Setting Strategies

2007, oil, 48 x 60.

Collection the artist.
BELOW

Cotton Creek
2007, oil, 27 x 40.
Collection John and
Dana Griffith.
OPPOSITE PAGE

Tall Cottons
2007, oil, 60 x 48.
Collection the artist.

Because he began his career as a

fine artist relatively late in life,
Roger Dale Brown knew he had to
make up for lost time by setting
specific career goals and following
through with detailed strategies.
by Michelle Morton
uccessful artists share certain qualities in
common: ample talent, unwavering selfdiscipline, and skillful technique. Adding
to this mixture is something Nashville artist
Roger Dale Brown happens to have an abundance
of: a knack for thinking big. Because of this, the
dream of becoming a fine artist was easy enough
for Brown to conceive. But the mechanism that
set his dream in motion was his commitment to
achieve a series of specific, quantitative career
goals. Looking back over the span of my career,
one of the most critical aspects of my development has been the ability to set goals, giving me
the direction and discipline to succeed as a fine
artist, says Brown. Im not an organized person
by nature, so setting goals provides a structure
that helps me stay focused and gives me something to shoot for during the year.
Staying on target did not always come easily
for Brown: He was the kind of kid who could
hardly sit still in class and had little interest in
what teachers had to offer. Ultimately, it was lifes

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American Artist

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BELOW LEFT

BELOW RIGHT

OPPOSITE PAGE ABOVE

OPPOSITE PAGE BELOW

Sailing

Flowers and
Crystal

Blue

Conversing

2006, oil, 36 x 36.

Collection LandAmerica,
Richmond, Virginia.

2007, oil, 10 x 8.
Private collection.

2007, oil, 11 x 14.

Collection the artist.

2004, oil, 28 x 22.

Private collection.

lessons that taught him how to channel his creative energy

through a paintbrush and realize his potential in fine art.
After a turbulent adolescence and years of moving aimlessly from city to city, Brown moved from Missouri to Los
Angeles in 1993, marking a turning point in the artists
life. It was here that he landed a job in an optical retail
store, where he struck up a friendship with a muralist who
came in to buy glasses. After seeing some of Browns drawings, the muralist hired him as an assistant. The large-scale
medium of mural painting must have appealed to Browns
oversize imagination because his success was immediate.
After working as an assistant, the artist created his own
business painting murals in the homes of elite Los Angeles
celebrities and television business executives.
Still, he longed for the freedom to chart his own artistic
course without commercialism driving his work, and at the
age of 38 decided to become a fine artist. At first, Brown didnt
have a plan to back up this decision, other than to quit Los
Angeles and move back to his hometown of Nashville. Once
settled, he began to paint furiously-although rather haphazardly, he admits-to make up for lost time. Because I got a late
start with my painting, I knew I had to catch up by putting a
lot of brush miles behind me, says Brown. Instead of going
at a calm career pace of 70 miles per hour, I was going 100
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American Artist

miles per hour, for four years. This probably wasnt the best
course of action because, just as in other areas of life, balance
is important in art. But somehow lifes challenges and adversities seem to motivate me like nothing else.
Rather than chase a vague goal of learning how to paint
better, Brown wrote a detailed plan that included setting time
aside for studying art, obtaining a specific set of drawing skills,
networking with other artists, and painting both field studies
and studio work. I also set goals for my yearly income,
including how many paintings I realistically needed to sell and
how many galleries, shows, and events I wanted to be involved
in to accomplish my long-term plan, says Brown. One of the
short-term goals the artist set was to complete one painting a
day for an entire year. My first year of painting I did 350 field
sketches; my second year I did 327, the artist recalls. I also
painted between 120 and 140 studio works. Painting became
my highest priorityother interests and hobbies were put on
the back burner, and I became an avid student of art, taking
classes and reading books about the masters.
Brown would read for hours on end, scrutinizing pages
filled with works by the artists he admired most: Anders Zorn,
Edgar Payne, and John F. Carlson. He now advises students to
not only read the masters writings but also to dissect their
methods and paintings, and then apply that knowledge to their
www.myAmericanArtist.com

field studies. Keep in mind, too, that field studies are just
thatdont go out and expect to create a masterpiece every
time, he advises. Enjoy studying new techniques and experimenting with how the masters painted. Their teachings, combined with mentors advice, peer groups, and workshops, can
give a comprehensive understanding of what makes art great.
Following the example set by the Old Masters, Brown tells
serious art students to practice their drawing skills. Schedule
specific times during the week to sketch, the artist says. Also,
take sketching materials with you wherever you go, whether
traveling by car or on an airplane, waiting for an appointment,
or even going to parties or your kids soccer games.
Daily practice in painting and drawing techniques, as
well as diligently studying the masters, were important first
steps for Brown, yet the artist realized early on that these
alone would not be enough to get him where he wanted to
go. After a year of weekly art classes taught by Hazel King,
an 86-year-old icon in the Nashville art scene, Brown next
set his sights on obtaining the best instruction he could find
through a workshop with Scott L. Christensen in Jackson
Hole, Wyoming. He credits this particular workshop in
2002 as one of the most important events in his career.
Under Christensens influence, Brown learned that fine art
and the great outdoors pair together perfectly. And not only
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About the Artist

Originally from Nashville,
Roger Dale Brown has traveled extensively throughout the
United States studying and
painting with notable artists
Dawn Whitelaw, Scott L.
Christensen, George
Strickland, and Everett
Raymond Kinstler. Brown is a
member of many professional
organizations including Oil
Painters of America, The
National Arts Club, Plein Air
Painters of the Southeast,
Cumberland Society of
Painters, and Allied Artists of
America. Every year, he participates in solo shows and group
exhibitions and conducts plein
air workshops through prestigious art galleries and arts
organizations. His work is in
private collections throughout
the country, and his clients
include many well-known
celebrities and major corporations. For more information on
Brown, visit his website at
www.rogerdalebrown.com

Dawn Whitelaw explaining how she sets up her

palette to a workshop of students at The Factory,
in Franklin, Tennessee.

www.myAmericanArtist.com
To read a transcript of a recent live online
chat with one of Roger Dale Browns
mentors, Dawn Whitelaw, visit the Critiques
section of www.myAmericanArtist.com.

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American Artist

www.myAmericanArtist.com

was painting on location immensely enjoyable to a lifelong

outdoorsman like Brown he also saw gratifying results in
his paintings by following Christensens disciplined methods: master the fundamentals, set strict goals for scheduling
painting time, and paint outdoors to observe nature directly.
While taking Christensens workshop Brown met fellow
Nashville artist Dawn Whitelaw, who became his mentor back
home in Tennessee. Dawn is the definition of a true artist,
says Brown. She is not only a great artist herself but also finds
time to study, teach, and mentor. She got my art career on the
right track. Whether working outdoors or in the studio,
Brown follows the same procedures he first learned from
Christensen and Whitelaw. I use a limited palette of cadmium
yellow light, cadmium lemon, cadmium red light, alizarin
crimson, ultramarine blue, and titanium white, he says. With
each painting, I ask myself, What do I want to say about this
scene? Then I locate the brightest color, the sharpest edge, and
the darkest value in the composition. Sometimes, it takes rearranging objects to make a more pleasing composition. I think
an artist can capture the essence or tell the story of a scene better by taking liberties with the composition rather paint a literal
interpretation. As I work, I visualize the end result. When the
actual painting agrees with my vision, I know its time to stop.

BELOW

OPPOSITE PAGE ABOVE

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Docked

Sunflower

Blue Creek

2005, oil, 24 x 30.

Private collection.

2006, oil, 24 x 20.

Private collection.

2004, oil, 40 x 40.

Private collection.

Enjoy studying new techniques and experimenting with how the masters
painted. Their teachings, combined with mentors advice, peer groups, and
workshops, can give a comprehensive understanding of what makes art great.
Although he will always have a special fondness for landscapes, Brown deliberately paints a variety of subject matter,
knowing that each genre has something to teach an artist.
Painting figures helps sharpen drawing skills and the ability
to create form, which then carries over to landscape painting,
explains Brown. Still lifes are wonderful to help build skills
in observation and composition as well as to learn subtle relationships between value, color harmony, and temperature.
As Browns confidence and skills grew, so did his ambitions to build a thriving career as a gallery artist and workshop
instructor. His goal has been to teach six workshops annually
and to participate in national exhibitions and paint-outs every
yeara strategy that resulted in not only good rsum material but also important networking opportunities. I have given
advice to a lot of people at shows and in workshops and, in
return, I have received valuable information from them. For
instance, early in my career, I learned how to interface with
gallery owners and find a gallery with the right mixture of
artists for my work. Its important for artists to research galleries before approaching them to make sure its a good fit.
When you find one, ask for an appointment and be ready to
submit a professional-looking portfolio.
Although setting clear goals was an effective way to
jump-start his career, two ethical decisions Brown made
from the start also helped increase the demand for his work
and teaching: First, he decided to paint only for himself and
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according to how he sees the world, not according to market

trends; and second, he determined to give back as much as
possible. Believe it or not, this is one of the best marketing
tools of all, the artist admits. I try to help people as much
as possible, and in one way or another it comes back to me.
To make great art, aspiring artists need to learn how to
see subtle nuances in their subjects, but they also need to
keep an eye on the big picture of their careers. To be successful, artists need to have foresight, develop a long-term
plan, stay focused, concentrate their efforts, and build their
skills and confidence if they want to reach their greatest
potential. The most important way to achieve this is to get
better! says Brown. Dont be fooled into thinking all you
have to do is market yourself. In the long run, a classy and
skillful approach to making art is what will keep you in
business and earn the respect of other artists and art connoisseurs. The best marketing goal is to stay true to yourself and your artistic ideals by not bending your principles
to accommodate the market. And whatever level you
achieve in acclaim and income, remember that the biggest

goal of all is to enjoy the process.

Michelle Morton is a freelance writer from Greensboro, North
Carolina. She recently completed a book about Guan Weixing,
Chinas foremost watercolorist. For more information on Morton,
visit her website at www.mortonartsmedia.com.
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