Art Update

Well hello everyone. I wanted to provide a quick update on things that aren't school related. In the middle of midterms and finals I had my first "solo" show at a real live gallery. It was a blast. The feeling of walking into the room and seeing only your work hanging up just cannot be described. The work is all framed professionally (or looks like it is). It's just amazing.

Here is the link on the gallery page for me

Just having a "bio" is pretty wild.

Here are some photo's from the show. They aren't great photo's because that's not my thing but I think you get the point. They are mostly just to give you a feel for the space and how things looked hanging there.

Books and Commission Update

In addition to having time to catch up on my movie watching I've also had plenty of time to read. I love to read and miss it dearly when I'm school. I'm sure in grad school reading is going to take on a whole new meaning. So anyway - I'm reading tons. About 15 minutes ago I finished a book which will probably be in my top five books forever. The book is called "Lottery" and it's by Patricia Wood. There is no description that I could give here that would do it justice. The book is about Perry L. Crandall who has an IQ score of 76 (he reminds us often that 75 is considered "retarded" and he is NOT retarded). Perry wins the Washington State lottery which is worth 12 million. Its a fabulous story that is at times really heartbreaking and at other times will make you laugh completely out loud. I absolutely loved loved loved this book. Go and read it - yes I mean now! Go Go Go!!

I met with my commission person today. It went much better than expected. Commissions are tough, but it's my opinion that they are tougher for an abstract artist. When you have people point at something you've done and they say "Can you do that but in blue"? You aren't sure if you should be happy they asked or insulted because they think your work is the kind that just can be reproduced that easily. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and I like to believe that they don't always know that they are being insulting.

So take all of the pressure that comes with a commission and then add in the fact that the person that is asking you do something is someone you've known for a long time. I had actually put off doing this - he had hinted around that he wanted me to do something but I never took the bait. I made him ask me directly. Basically what happened was he saw something he liked, bid on it on eBay and didn't win. So he sent me the link and wanted to know if I could do something similar with some color changes and also canvas size changes.

My answer was "well, I can try"

And that's what I'm doing. I brought two of the three panels up to him today for him to see. They are both very different on purpose so that he could make decisions on color. He seemed happy, but that's the other thing about doing something for someone you know. No matter how many times you tell them that it's not going to hurt your feelings if they don't like it, I'm not sure if they believe it. The fact is, abstract art isn't for everyone and giving someone and "idea" of what you want isn't always successful. I understand why people try to be nice - but the last thing I want is something hanging on their walls that they don't like or that they feel like they have to hang because I did it.

That being said - I trust this person. I think he'd speak up, I hope he would anyway. We'll see. I'm going to take some pictures later and post them you guys can give me your comments.

Back On Track

Well after taking an unscheduled but apparently much needed hiatus I'm back on track. The past month has been interesting. Lots going on...lots going on...

First of all I'm unemployed. My job ended a week ago Friday. Since I didn't take any time off in between my last two jobs I'm looking at this time as vacation. I should be more worried than I am but I just can't seem to bring myself to stress about it.

I'm starting school in the summer as opposed to the Fall. I can take 6 credits starting in July and get those out of the way. I'm not sure that it will help me finish my degree any sooner but it may help me finish my coursework sooner and that's always good.

I'm still not sure where I'm living in the Fall and hope to have that figured out in the next week or two. If I'm not living at Simmons I need to get on that and come up with a suitable alternative.

Things have been fabulous artwise - I have a bunch of my stuff up a gallery about 1/2 hour away and my stuff is being bought by people I don't know. What a concept! What I mean is that when you have a show and invite all of your friends your work tends to be bought by people you know....makes sense right? It's a whole different thing to have your stuff bought by strangers. I quite exciting actually. It's even more exciting when the gallery wants more of your stuff and they are handing you a check. It makes you feel like a real artist.

Another thing that makes you feel like a real artist is a commission. That's when someone pays you in advance to create something for them. Usually it's something that have specifically in mind. In my case being an abstract painter this can be very very stressful. Usually the directions are usually something like. I like green - can you do this one in green? (as they are pointing to something I've already done). Or I get a picture with a request to recreate something.

The latest commission that I am working on is a three panel (18x36) abstract which is based on something that this person saw on ebay and didn't win. He wants enough changes that I feel confident in saying it's not a copy of the piece it's more of a replica of the artist's style. That's something that is done all the time. How many people use Pollock's spatter style. Exactly - ton's.

The hardest part of a commission is that even though you tell the person paying over and over "My feelings won't be hurt if you don't like it" you can't be sure that they believe you. In my case it's totally true. Abstract art is not for everyone and just because you like one thing doesn't mean you are going to like another piece. And as I told this person - I can probably sell these at the gallery if they don't work for him.

So now I have to get this done - my plan is to get it done this week. With no job I shouldn't be driving around too much (the price of gas is ridiculous) so should just settle in and get it done.

When it's done and hung I'll post a picture for you all to see. In the meantime this is one the pieces that sold at the gallery. Apparently it sold to a therapist.


I'm also working on some abstract pastel's. As soon as I have some pictures of this I'll post them.

Art Work

Some people have emailed me and asked me to post some of my more recent work. So here ya go.....
Here is some self pimping - they are all for sale!

Show Update

Yesterday was my opening. It went really really well. My niece Stef and he boyfriend James helped me set up yesterday and run around in the morning.




James took it upon himself to organize the food and as you can see from the photo he did a great job.

In the end I hung 62 pieces of work. I decided at the last minute that I really didn't like one of them enough to put it out there. I ended up selling 17 as of right now and giving one to my niece. I have offered my other niece the same deal so I 'll give another one away. They are teenagers and I want them to appreciate orginal art.

The important thing is I made more money than I put into my show and that's a good thing. I've had people email me about other pieces to see if they are still available so I may sell even more.

My niece took a bunch of pictures- when she sends them to me I will post them (hopefully today).

Ok now on with the school work!