Saturday, November 15, 2014

Three art shows in three months


My Wednesday art group had the opportunity to rent an empty storefront for the last three months of the year. There are eleven of us and we're sharing the cost of the rent so we can have a pop-up gallery. Each month we put up another show with entirely new work.  It's been an eye opener for me to see how much work goes into such an effort. It's not just about doing the painting, but there's the work of deciding which to submit, how to frame it, how to hang it, scheduling of the sitting of the gallery, organizing the openings, getting the word out by email and posters...and so on and so on.

Here's the poster for the October show and here's what it looked like. Our teacher/mentor Bill Porteous curates the show and his philosophy is to present the work as in a real gallery with lots of white space so people can really view the art.  It's a lovely gallery space with good lighting and the art shows really well. 

These, by the way, are paintings of some of the other artists in the group. All are abstract painters.





For the October show I submitted eight paintings and three were selected. The others were kept in the back room in case visitors were interested in seeing more of the work.  These two were selected. The one on the left is 24 x 36" and the little on on the right is 12"x12".

















But it was this one, actually a pair from the back room that sold.  





Here's one of the paintings I entered into the November show. It's actually three canvases that I framed as a triptych. 




Our November opening was a couple of nights ago and the work was well received.  Now, it's the middle of the month and I'm working on something for the December show.  Again I'm working on multiple canvases, this time they're 2 feet by 2 feet so when put together it's pretty big. Actually it's the biggest work I've done to date. You can get an idea of the size from this photo. There isn't a spot in my house that I can put them against a wall to view so they're spread across the corner of the living room. I think the palette in this one may have been influenced by my time in Sedona.




It's feeling quite pressured actually having three shows in three months.  I'll be glad when it's all over.


 

3 comments:

  1. Your paintings are so interesting.
    I seem to gravitate toward smaller paintings and I so like your small one. I like it very much.
    It reminds be of summer in the desert mountains. Isn't strange how we project our life into someones else paintings.
    Always have a few pieces set aside for viewings. As you found out. Congratulations !
    Paint paint and paint. And then paint some more.
    I am working on my Christmas card after a longish layoff and I tell you how good it feels to feel the pen on paper.
    I am so excited for you ! I even got teary at this post.

    cheers, parsnip

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  2. Thanks for you comments William and Parsnip. I think you're right that it's important to just keep painting. It's hard to get started but then it's hard to stop!

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