Rooms Exhibition at City Arts and a Peek at a WIP

Yesterday I delivered nine framed paintings to City Arts for my exhibit there.  I have so many figures in rooms now so Rooms seemed like the perfect title. 

These are all the paintings that went.  You probably recognize some of them.  They don't look so good against that busy rug, but you get the idea.

WIP detail

I started a 16 x 20 inch mixed media painting late last week.  It's very slow-going because there are four figures and a lot of little details.  Hopefully I will finish it this week.  

Hope you're having a great week!

At Evening's End

At Evening's End
16 x 20 inch oil on canvas panel
SOLD

This painting was in the works for so long, I can't remember when I started it.  It is a very detailed work for my lack of artistic ability, but I am patting myself on the back because I had some specific visions and they came to be.  To begin with I wanted to paint a scene in a room because that is what my next exhibit is going to be called...Rooms.  I also wanted a fireplace in the scene and from that point everything else sort of happened. The figures revealed themselves as I painted.  As the figure on the left appeared I thought "why not make this one a man?" and there you have it.  Their story is up for discussion.

At Evening's End
detail

The picture hanging on the wall was originally a landscape painting, but then I thought it would be more interesting to make it a portrait of this couple.

At Evening's End
detail

 This chair beneath their portrait was added at the very last.  One chair just didn't make sense. I made the pillows blue...they sort of fight with all the earth tones in the rest of the painting, but something about the pop of color worked in my opinion.  The pillows could have been any color with any pattern, it was hard to decide which way to go. They were more of a black, but I thought they were boring that way.

At Evening's End
detail

 The fireplace was actually pretty easy, which was a pleasant surprise.  I used a knife to smear on the paint in spots which made them look like stone...or at least I think they look like stone.  The wooden mantle, the lantern and the flames in the fireplace were pure luck too.  I looked at images of fire on the internet to help me.

At Evening's End
detail

The hardest part of this painting was the man.  I don't paint many men and for a long time his figure and his face looked very feminine.  When I smeared light blue on his face to create sort of razor stubble I said "ah ha!", then broadened his shoulders and voila...a man...a dude!

At Evening's End
detail

The woman was the easy part...at least this one was.  However trying to create wrinkles and light where her thumb is indenting the pillow was impossible and I gave up on it.  I even took a picture of my own hand grasping a pillow to use as a reference, but I think the small area I was painting in made it too difficult.  

There is something special to me about this painting and it makes me kind of sad to think of actually selling it, so I might change my mind.

This is one of the oil paintings that needs oiling out because it dried so dully.  I am tempted to just spray it with Kamar varnish which I know will make the colors pop, but it adds so much gloss and I am not sure that's what I want for this piece.  I think somewhere in the middle of high gloss and very matte would be best.   I am open to suggestions if you have any.

I hope you all had a great weekend!  Thank you for visiting!  

Letting Go of the of The Art of Letting Go

Me
opening night of The Art of Letting Go exhibit

It went beautifully.  I could not have asked for more.  So many friends and family came to give their support.  I spoke with numerous art enthusiasts, collectors and artists, and their comments about my work was very uplifting...the kind of words that make you want to keep painting.

The two Featured Artist walls in the front area of Tessera Fine Art Gallery

Three 9 x 12" paintings sold that evening.

The Wishing Sisters

Brooklyn from a Boat

She's Out in Blue Meadow

One of the back walls at Tessera Fine Art Gallery

 On the following day someone went back to the gallery and purchased two of my larger works.

Among the Yellow Roses

Fortunes on Vincent's Poplar Avenue

The Eight in Payne's Gray series

In the above photo, many of you probably remember the Eight in Payne's Gray series of 16 x 20 inch paintings I did last year for a one night show called Art In-laws done with my brother in-law Dewayne Horner .  These ladies have not found a home yet even though they have been shown at Dock 410, City Arts and Rebecca's and people seem to love them.  They are pretty funky, but I just know that some day the right person(s) will come along and buy them. 

One of the front walls at Tessera Fine Art Gallery

You have not seen the painting in the upper right in the photo above.  She is called Medicine Maker and she made her debut at this show.  There is a special story to go with her, but that is for another blog post.

A precious family...among the first friends that stopped by opening night

My only regret of the evening is that I did not take pictures of all the people that were coming and going.  I took the picture above of our sweet friends at the very beginning with every intention of taking lots more like it, however after that point it was nonstop visiting.  I literally forgot about taking pictures...and my camera was in my pocket!!!  I missed SO many photo opportunities!  Our son KC came and played his keyboard during the event and it added such a nice ambiance to the evening...but not one picture of him either!  Next time I will designate someone to take pictures.  

 As a help for those of you wanting to start selling your art too, I will tell you that I did price my work relatively low for this exhibit.  It was a hard decision to come by, but after discussions with the gallery owner and reading hours of numerous articles online, it felt like the right thing to do since 1.  my art is still evolving and  2.  I am an unknown artist.  And now some of my larger pieces have been released into the world which means as much (maybe even more) to me as earning the dollars for the work that was done on them.  It was a good sacrifice to make I think.

Did I forget to tell you anything?  If I did...leave a comment and I will answer here on the blog. I am open to any questions you might have, especially if it will help you launch your art into the world if you have not done so yet.

So that's it.  That's how it all went.
I am still feeling exhausted...but it's a good kind of tired.  

Thanks for reading everyone!  I am going to start trying to make some rounds this week and get caught up with you my artist blogging friends.

♥ Lisa