Successful Art Opening at Strasser Plaza!!

Yesterday was my art opening event at Strasser Plaza, a newly opened public meeting space in Manhattan, Kansas that can be reserved through the Strasser Village Leasing Office. The space was excellent, and the event was an absolute success. I had at least 64 attendees, 13 of which I did not know. The reaction to my work was great, and I made four sales [Cello Playing Spider; Flint Hills Sunset II; Thin Yellow Line (Prairie Burn Afterglow); and Harvest Moon]. I had 16 paintings properly displayed, and another four that were not-so-properly displayed. This translates to a rate of sales of 25% if you just count the properly displayed paintings, or 20% if you count all paintings. Either way, that's a winner!

Thank you to everyone who attended, everyone who helped with set up (including the great call for easels of 2015), everyone who gave moral, emotional, and rational support along the way, and, of course, to the people who got the conversation going to begin with (you know who you are...).

This is a photo of me talking with two of my guests, taken by Susan Rose.

Three of the paintings from the opening are currently hanging in the Nano Gallery at Strasser Village, and four are hanging in the Strasser Village Leasing Office, including one in the small conference room in the back.

Fun while hanging an art show!

I am a member of the Columbian Artists Group out of Wamego, Kansas, and one of our activities is to hang art at the Radiation Oncology Waiting Room in Manhattan, Kansas (I believe the actual name is the Central Kansas Cancer Institute, although I forgot to confirm...). We rotate one artist a month, and the main goal is to give patients something interesting to look at while they wait for their treatment appointment.

I didn't expect there to be anyone in the waiting room at the time I went to hang my show, but I miscalculated! I ended up with a bit of an audience by the time everything was situated. The lady who arrived first even pitched in to help me and my art colleague by giving objective feedback about which pieces could hang together successfully. I had a pretty fun time hanging my pieces and answering questions about my art, including what media am I working in, whether the work is for sale (yes!), where do I get my inspiration, etc. There was a lot of interest in what was going on, and that was energizing.

If you find yourself visiting the Radiation Oncology Waiting Room this month for whatever reason, I hope my bright colors and undulating abstractions make you smile.

(Pictured here: Thin Yellow Line, also known as Kansas at Dusk. If you flip it over, you get a nighttime seascape...)

Sales motivate me to keep painting... Flint Hills Sunset: SOLD!!!!

The original Flint Hills Sunset just sold! While I've thoroughly enjoyed hanging this on my living room wall for the past few months, I'm so glad to know it has a new home.

I'm probably not supposed to share this next part with you, but... I like it when my paintings sell. Sales motivate me to create more work. Sales inspire me to pick up the brush and get painting. Sales help me to feel a part of my value as an artist. To some artists and teachers, those are not the right reasons to continue making art. Some folks would argue that art created for entrepreneurial reasons - or for any reason other than creating art for art's sake - is misguided. I could sit here and state the same - because that point of view does have merit. I could claim that the urge to create art and express myself artistically are the only things driving me to produce artwork, and that sales are just a byproduct of such a dedication to art itself. But I'd be lying if I wrote that.

While it is true that what drove me to make art in the first place was indeed a primal urge to express myself and explore my creativity; and while it is true that I admire the artist that wholly embraces the conviction that art for art's sake is the only valid reason to make art; I have to admit that when I hit an artistic slump, selling a painting is the best way to invigorate me to dive back in to my craft.

I love it when you buy my work. I love it when you can't tell me exactly why you have to have it. I love it when you feel the value of the painting in the amount of money you paid me. I love it when you treat that piece of work like a treasure to be admired and cared for. I love it when you invite me visit the art you now own that I created and displayed in my home for a short while, before it made its way to you.

And I'm okay with this. I suppose that's what makes me a businesswoman as well, eh?

NOTE: Painting is no longer for sale; however, actual transaction will not take place until 2015.

Mini #3 (abstracted) continued...

55% titanium white + 45% cadmium yellow medium hue. Love where this is going; not sure what to do next, though...

Mini #4

12 11/16 x 17 5/16 x 0 inches (acrylic on watercolor paper). I need to strengthen one of the dark lines and then this one just needs to be signed and framed...

Only one layer of gesso used here.

Mini #3 (abstracted)

18 x 24 x 1.5 inches. This one is a work in progress. I like where it is going so far.

There is a Mini #4 but I have not photographed it yet. I painted it on watercolor paper so it needs to be taped to the wall in order to get a decent picture and I don't have the energy to do that tonight...

Mini #2

16 x 20 x 7/8 inches. I think the double halo in the sky needs to be softened.

Mini #1

11 x 14 x 1.5 inches. I think the hills need some more layering of darks.

Assembly line production...

I'm enjoying this process more than I thought I would...

The main difference in execution is brush size. Although I did apply the base coat with my #16 flat brush, the horizon line was done with my #1 white taklon round brush and the hills painted in with my #12 Utrecht 206-B tuscan series brush. The canvases are all Blick Premier canvases. The 11 x 14 inch and the 18 x 24 inch canvases are both the gallery depth of 1 1/2 inches. The 16 x 20 inch canvas is the traditional depth of 7/8 inches. Three layers of gesso were applied on all three canvases, as was the regular gel (semi-gloss) mixed with quinacridone violet and applied with the #16 flat brush.

Aaaaand without flash

Okay, so I'm pretty excited about this, even if the flash is interfering with posting a truly representational photo of this painting. Why am I excited? Because I only used six different colors (from a tube) to paint this; because I essentially used nothing but an altered primary color scheme (in addition to different representations of white and black) to create multiple colors; because I painted a painting using mostly a "complementary colors" distribution as my guide (although at times it would seem that I followed the "triadic" pattern); because it looks like I've used green and purple but I haven't; because I thought this piece through and executed it successfully using color theory that I learned earlier this year.

My altered primary color scheme is: quinacridone violet (the main color throughout the entire piece), phthalo blue (green shade), and cadmium yellow medium hue. The gray scale colors are: titanium white, carbon black, and N6 neutral gray (although I supposed I could have mixed my own gray, but that would have been a lot of extra work...). My main brush is my size 16 flat Bordeaux brush by Royal & Langnickel.

The colors in the hills are a mix of pure quinacridone violet (the blending color), 25% carbon black + 75% quinacridone violet (mostly appearing on the left-hand side of the piece, from the viewer's perspective), and a dark green created by mixing the following complicated string of colors: 50% cadmium yellow medium hue + 50% phthalo blue (green shade) = + 25% cadmium yellow medium hue = + 25% carbon black = + 50% quinacridone violet (only appearing on the right-hand side of the piece, from the viewer's perspective).

The sunset itself is a mix of pure quinacridone violet (the blending color), 50% quinacridone violet + 50% N6 neutral gray, and an red-orange created by mixing the following complicated string of colors: 50% quinacridone violet + 50% cadmium yellow medium hue = + 25% cadmium yellow medium hue = + 50% titanium white. The glow of yellow on top of the hills (which I still need to touch up just a wee bit) is 50% cadmium yellow medium hue + 50% titanium white, brushed on with a small round brush. The signature is done in the same red-orange from the sunset.

And the sun itself? This is brilliant: it's 75% phthalo blue (green shade) + 25% cadmium yellow medium hue! And the halo of pink around it? I think that is the original underpainting of quinacridone violet mixed with roughly eight parts regular gel (semi-gloss) showing thru as some color pull happened during the application of the other sunset colors. I love how the sun came out. It truly is like a Kansas sunset...

Canvas is pre-stretched; 24 x 48 inches.

Test photo to see how this actually looks on the blog....

This painting is really hard to photograph. I suspect this is due to the high glossy content of some of the paints I'm using (I'm looking at you, quinacridone violet...). I wonder if that fades over time or if I should paint a layer of matte medium over the top of the whole thing?

Quinacridone violet...

This is what this painting looked like on Monday evening. My pitch was pretty feverish, but I wanted to document at least some of the process, so I stopped to take this photo before heading to grab a beer with friends and refresh my painting mojo. Upon my return, I dove into a painting trance to produce this, and then last night I solved a few problems and only have some touch up still to do in order to call it done.

The line of the Flint Hills through the middle is 50% quinacridone violet + 50% carbon black, applied with my size 12 white taklon round brush by Connoisseur. The sun was painted on in naphthol red, but that color did not go with any of the rest of the color scheme, so it was later painted over. The beginning of the color work on the hills is a mix of 25% carbon black + 75% quinacridone violet blended on the canvas with 100% quinacridone violet, applied with my size 16 flat Bordeaux brush by Royal & Langnickel. Up top, I am starting with a layer of 50% quinacridone violet + 50% N6 neutral gray blended with 100% quinacridone violet, applied with my size 16 brush.

More to come when I can get a decent photo of this...

Onward!

After I've become a famous artist, someone will take an x-ray machine to this painting and find this underneath. Or not. If they've read this blog, there will be no need for x-ray technology...

Over the top of the old painting, I applied three layers of Utrecht Artists' Acrylic Gesso (the medium viscosity option). The background is quinacridone violet mixed with roughly eight parts regular gel (semi-gloss), applied with my size 16 flat Bordeaux brush by Royal & Langnickel in a loose manner.

I have plans for this... I'm going to paint a Kansas sunset in the abstracted style of Phoenix Rising. My next step is to mix 50% quinacridone violet + 50% carbon black and draw an undulating Kansas horizon line (with a slightly hard angle, to create intrigue) across the bottom of the painting, then nestle a half setting sun in naphthol red slightly offset to the left. Then let the painting of the sunset begin! I plan to incorporate the following colors: quinacridone violet, c.p. cadmium orange hue, 50% dioxazine purple + 50% cadmium yellow hue (or maybe 50% cadmium yellow medium hue + 50% titanium white = + 50% dioxazine purple), and cobalt teal. I'm not sure what I'm going to do for the land itself... We shall see.

Update!!! I did NOT use the above mentioned colors for the rest of the painting. Click here to see the actual color mixing and application details.