First Solo Painting Exhibit

Jun 5, 2014

The support of friends is priceless. Texas Women Ventures will host my first solo painting exhibit. Thanks and appreciation to Whitney Martin,  Susie Riggs, Lennie Sullivan and Greg O’Shea.

 

You are welcome to drop by any time during work hours before July 31 to see the exhibit at 3625 N. Hall Street, Suite 615, Dallas, TX ( southeast corner of Hall Street and Wellborn Street in the Moroch Building).

 

 A special note of gratitude to Mary Vernon for advice and guidance preparing this exhibit.

 

 

The first eight paintings shown on the web link above will be on view and available for purchase in this exhibit. All paintings are framed in walnut silohuette frames.

Donating Art to Charities

Apr 12, 2014

    Some would tell you that a good way to get your name out in front of the public is to give your art away. Maybe that’s true. And maybe that is why we are compelled to give a piece of art work to a charity for a silent auction to help raise money for a good cause.
     However, a long-time professional in the art field gave me pause for reconsideration.They commented, “People imply, when they ask you, that it is good for you to have exposure. Maybe the surgeon would like to donate a free operation for some exposure. I donate when I have to and when my dealer begs me to, I guess about twice a year.”
Next, there is the question of which charities to donate your art to. One art colleague prefers hospital donations of art, so that your art is hung on walls and viewed often by many to brighten their day. This was the first advice I received in 2012.
     When you do get your art in public, whether in a charitable donation, community art show, gallery exhibit or selling an art work, be sure to sign your name to the front of the art work and tape a business card to the back. Marketing may not be your business core competancy; however, it makes good sense to let others know who you are in case they want to also purchase a piece of your art work.
     You may hesiitate to donate or be present at the non-profit auction event because of too much exposure or shyness for all the attention. After discussing this matter with another art colleague, he mentioned: “Whether it’s a donation or it’s your paintings in a regular gallery, the main lesson is not to worry about feedback or others’ reactions.  When she heard I was having my first show several years ago, one of my art teachers said that an opening is like being at a cocktail party where there’s some nice food and drink with some nice things on the walls. Everyone is walking around and talking.  You’re there too, but the difference is you feel you don’t have anything on!  The lesson was not to pay too much attention when someone glances at your painting and quickly moves past it or when someone makes a negative comment.  It might be better to stay away from your paintings, she said.  Whatever, I hope you enjoy the experience. ” Yes, be a duck and let the water run off your back when you hear comments positive or negative.

 

After all, we paint because we love it, without the voices of others. It’s the process, the experiences and the sheer joy of visual expression we crave.

Destination Art Adventures

Apr 6, 2014

     Studying art includes getting out of the classrooms to galleries and museums. The combination of travel to an art destination with friends is one of the most fun activities on my agenda, and educational too. It is like two revealing, discovery opportunities in one: exploring the destination and the art.
     This year we are targeting major art markets in the U.S., starting with New York City, NY and following it with Santa Fe, NM.
     The New York trip was wonderful and at the same time, supersaturating with visual experiences.An experienced colleague put together a world-class itinerary including  museums, artist’s historic homes, studios, shops and galleries in all the main burroughs of the city. We travelled by taxi and by foot to outstanding world-class art.
     My main take-away is that by seeing collections of an artist’s work, for example the Guaguin  at MOMA http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1418,
one comes to appreciate an artists’ creative and imaginative wholeness. Seeing his oil transfer prints, drawings and sculptures, all inter-related to his paintings, was such a positive experience. It was inspiring to me, encouraging me to complement my painting with more drawing, print making and 3D design work.
     Towards the end of our week of NYC art, I also felt the law of diminishing returns. With each successive piece of art, the visual impact had to be greater than the numerous ones before in order to register in my brain as something I wanted to remember, recall and enjoy again. I was becoming happily, visually saturated.
     When possible, travel with friends to art destinations. Discussing and ruminating on the art during and after the exhibits enriches the experiences all the more as you engage others in dialogue and share ideas.

 

     Santa Fe, NM is next on my travel agenda to art destinations with friends. “Santa Fe is considered the third largest art market in the U.S. based on sales with over 240 art galleries and dealers in town. ”
– .See more at: http://santafe.org/Media_Center/Press_Room/City_Profile/

 

Most importantly, in New Mexico, we will visit the museum, historic home and research center of my favorite woman artist, Georgia O’Keeffe. A destination not to be missed; can’t wait!
http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/

Supporting Other Artists

Jan 25, 2014

Being part of the art community means supporting other artists. There are many ways to be involved in the community. The primary way is to participate and engage other artists. Go to their studios. See their work. Ask about their concepts behind the art and their inspirations. Attend their gallery openings and exhibitions. See art museum exhibits together. Find out where they studied art and ask about the teachers that inspired them the most. Exchange art work with them and start collecting. Discover who are their most creative students and proteges. Discuss art, artists and art events.

Recently I decided to purchase two wonderful drawings by Ted Houston. http://www.tedhoustonart.com/

He has been drawing all his adult life and his talent at figure drawing shines through. I put these two drawings in the hands of a skilled professional framer. The figures now jump off the page with sensual form even more so.

We support and encourage each other. But most of all, I admire his talent, his persistence at his craft and the way he sees a figure in a sensual, artful, yet gentle manner. His eye is fine tuned resulting in fine organic lines; not linear and jagged. I appreciate the years of study, long hours and hard work represented by these beauties. Keep making your art, Ted. You have my support.

Collaborative Painting Studio for 3

Nov 27, 2013

2013 has been a very fulfilling year, for both art and business. I am taking on a new urban venture starting in December. It is an interesting change: starting a collaborative painting studio with two other artists in Dallas.
Like going to the gym or going to work, we will have a collaborative art space to go to paint. Sharing the space, creative vibe and painting process will take us all in a new direction. There are other challenges that come with sharing space, but that is part of the urban adventure. I look forward to supporting each other and seeing the differences in our work. We can encourage  each other and be supportive during the struggles of painting. It’s an opportunity to accept our differences, share lessons learned, painting tips and new discoveries as well.
My hope for your 2014 is that you also take on a new adventure, even in your backyard.

Drawing and Painting

Oct 26, 2013

What is drawing? What is painting? How are they different? How are they alike? How can one help improve your creativity of the other? We wrestle with these questions and realize how similar drawing and painting really are, especially to the emerging artist that depends heavily on them both.

Of course we use sketches and drawings as a preamble to our paintings, sometimes. In this example, I am using a drawing abstracted from Nature, with oil pastels, to enhance my color sense. By layering the oil pastels, I achieve more meaningful and sophistacted colors. I spend a lot of time layering the pastels.

Then when I paint the image, each attempt to reach the color by mixing my oil paints requires taking more time than I have in the past to carefully mix and try to match to my pastel drawing. I am slowing down, being more patient. I am looking more. I am feeling my way toward the complex color.

This was a breakthrough exercise for me and pointed out my colors are too simple; too much like “out of the tube”. They are too easily recognized when I do not care to have them be recognized. I want the complexity that Nature brings to color: vibrant and dull, transparent and opaque qualities with indirect ways too achieve the color, i.e. not a straightforward mixture from a spin of a student’s color wheel.

What else about my painting can I learn from drawing?

Challenge the Boundary Conditions & Break Rules

Oct 20, 2013

In art and science, or generally in life, the old and new ideas overlap for a considerable period of time. Tensions exist between the rationale and theory for why the old idea was adopted and held strong, while the new premise has to bubble up through our culture and into our psyche as knowledge and then embraced, as subjectivity. It takes time. Adoption rates, for example of new products, can be tracked. Typically the adoption rate of a new consumer product, such as a TV, phone or iPhone follows an exponential curve. The tail of the curve overlaps the new product for sometimes decades. The multiple generations of products must coexist and be supported in the ecosystem.  The new does not drive out the old exclusively.

 

The contradictory nature of many generations of ideas coexisting simultaneously creates a complexity and yet, an opportunity. Similarly our beliefs about race, classes, and ethics all change rather slowly over time; however, they do surely change. Many beliefs overlap in time, creating disagreement between minority and majority groups. As the size and influence of the various groups change, so do the acceptance of the majority and ideas relative to the minority ideas, the acceptance of new versus old ideas.

 

The question arises, how does one rescue the old idea into present times with a revision or spring lose the historic script that keeps us attached to old ideas? The attachment to the old and the resistance to change, perhaps because of fear of the unknown, are where we, as artists, focus to make change happen.  Here then is the opportunity for art and artists to ‘strike preemptively’ working at the ‘nexus of aggravated psychic and social forces’.  We can challenge the boundary conditions and break rules, discerning them from laws.