Slacking at the Holidays

It's been a good vacation in terms of spending time with loved ones, with the exception of my art. After a few disappointing shows in Florida I had to take a little break from the studio. Inspiration comes and goes, but definitely lurks in the corners during periods of inactivity. There aren't many winter festivals close to home and things around Atlanta don't get rolling again until April. I've got plans for some shows in Florida in the early spring, but it is a bit hard to bring myself to paint with as many paintings building up without selling. Sure, I'm an artist, I'm supposed to live to create art, but I am practical and I'm running out of space to store it (need real studio, not guest bedroom/office/studio). 

Ideas aren't scarce, in fact a different direction is where I'm headed. It will be similar in style to the Ideal Destinations series only looser and more abstract. Vivid color and idealized landscapes will still be the dominant characteristics, but I will be adding texture and a thick application of paint (which I love doing and am missing with this current OCD series).

I'll post some examples in the days to come and make myself do them since I'm letting it be known in cyberspace, wouldn't want to let you down, those of you barely listening (thanks).

Inspired by Florida

Majestic Palm, 2008

(acrylic on unprimed canvas)

36" x 16"

Palm Coastal Resort, 2008

(acrylic on unprimed canvas)

30" x 48"

Midtown Sunrise

Midtown Sunrise, 2008 

(acrylic on unprimed canvas)

22" x 50"

Harvest Midtown

Come on out for a great day of food, wine and art!

http://www.harvestmidtown.com

17th Street Art Fair

Atlantic Station is an ideal location for an art festival. An abundance of restaurants, decent bathrooms, good parking and an extremely pedestrian friendly area should yield a good turnout. Unfortunately, there did not appear to be many more patrons than the regular weekend crowd. I made it through with a few impulse buys, but without serious art shoppers it can be kind of rough. Where were they? Is it an new festival and people don't know about it yet? Were people really staying home because of the fear of not having enough gas to get around (which, BTW, I never waited in one line the entire time)?

Hopefully this weekend at Harvest Midtown will be better.

Roswell Report

After a dismal Saturday at the festival, Sunday began with a bang. The initial bang was followed by several more purchases of large pieces of art. Panic set in almost immediately (a good panic) as I realize that perhaps I've been producing too many small pieces for people who can't afford larger work. It will be necessary this week to create a few more large pieces (before the next festival this weekend) since I am realizing that a good number of people who are looking for art at a festival are interested in a large piece to fill in specific space. 

I've got a few planned already, some even stretched, but I will be frantically painting the rest of the week.

I'm working on a few Atlanta skyline pieces and another tree scene. Every piece that has been predominantly trees has sold right away. Other people must be as fond of trees as I am- trees are good, m'kay?

Grant Park

Here are some photos from the Grant Park Summershade Festival. As you can see I finally have my booth together with real walls. I custom sewed the fabric to stretch over the mesh panels. I'm glad I went with the set up where you have the door out the back (or I could have it on either side) it made it convenient to put all my stuff out of sight but within reach. I just had to make sure I didn't slip down the ravine behind me when I was rummaging through my tubs.

 

I did sell several items, a lot of prints of my work, which I printed at home off my inkjet printer. There are some new technologies that are available where you can print onto canvas, thus making a homemade giclee print that looks like a little painting. People really liked the looks of them. I did sell one original painting and I got a lot of really great feedback. When my artwork caught someone's eye they just started smiling, stammered and then couldn't help but come in and smile bigger. They really seem to enjoy the colors, the rhythm, the depth perception issues and the generally happiness of my work. Yea!

I Really Miss Her

Sammy had to be put down Friday night. I miss her keeping me company in my studio while I worked and her sweet face full of expression. She was one of the sweetest dogs I've ever known and I am so happy that I got to spend so much time with her in the last year. I recently completed a painting of her for Nelson and I will upload it as soon as I get a photo of it. We miss you Sammy!

Ready to Roll

My wireless credit card device arrived today... everything seems to be rolling out smoothly. Yesterday I found a small print rack and a convertible table for my booth. Painting is pretty much complete, everything fits into the car, now I just have to survive the "load-in." The load in for Grant Park Summershade is Friday, which is great because you don't have to be there at the crack of dawn on Saturday to get things set up.

Grant Park Summershade Aug. 30-31

Americus Walk, Booth 218

Visa/Mastercard accepted.

(sorry Paige, can you talk to AmEx about lowering their rates!)

A Fun New Direction

Here's the computer mock-up of my next triptych. I'll probably make several different versions and sell them mix and match. I'm going to get back into the more abstracted designs for a little while before I evolve into a textural version of the same style. I'm in love with these colors at the moment and playing with a more selective palette. Perhaps folks can handle bright colors if the palette doesn't include the entire rainbow.