CoLab show at Baker Arts Center in Liberal, Kansas

A couple of weeks ago, I, along with artists Brian K. McCallum and Michael Kent Knutson, hung a show at Baker Arts Center in Liberal, Kansas. The display includes works by each individual artist, as well as 18 collaborative mixed media pieces by all three of us. These works are both all of us, and none of us, and they are quite interesting and fun to look at. Please be sure to check out the show; it will be up through June 30, 2017.

This photo shows me in front of two of my paintings: Bloom and Kiss from a Rose. Both are mixed media on paper and can be purchased presently by calling the Baker Arts Center: (620) 624-2810. Partially pictured is Baby Elephant, which is acrylic on hand-stretched canvas. To see the painting in its entirety, you should go check out the show!

Art Event: Spring Art Reception at Strasser Plaza in Manhattan, Kansas on Saturday, March 26, 2016!

I am planning to host a repeat solo art reception at the Strasser Plaza Meeting Event Space in Manhattan, Kansas on Saturday, March 26, 2016, from 4-6pm. Last year's well-attended event was a great time.

I will hang a few pieces of art in the adjacent Strasser Plaza Leasing Office and Nano Gallery the week before the reception. These paintings will also be available to view for several weeks afterwards, although I may rotate art during the course of the hanging. The majority of the work will only be viewable that Saturday, however, so don't miss it!

This photo was taken at last June's event by my art colleague Susan Rose. The featured painting is Flint Hills in March, 30 x 30 inches, acrylic on stretched canvas, which sold in the Fall as a result of the buyer having seen it at last year's reception!

Art talk in Garden City, Kansas

Last Thursday, my friend James Taylor and I made the five hour drive from Manhattan, Kansas to Garden City, Kansas to hang our show, Body and Blood. The next day, we gave an art talk to students and a few faculty from Garden City Community College (GCCC). The show looks great on the walls, the art talk was well attended, and it was a neat experience overall.

The show hangs at Mercer Art Gallery through November 20, 2015. If you find yourself in the area between now and then, please check out the show! If you are interested in purchasing a piece, please contact me directly.

In other art show news, I have art currently hanging at Arrow Coffee Co. in Manhattan!

Last week, I hung five paintings over at Arrow Coffee Co. in Manhattan, Kansas. Please make sure to head over there to have a fantastic cup of coffee and check out my art, which is all for sale. The art will hang through sometime in September; I'll post the take-down date when I confirm it.

The work you see here is called Snow in July and is 30 x 30 inches, acrylic on pre-stretched canvas. It is for sale directly through the artist.

Overdue Update: Junction City Arts in the Park Festival from June

I have been meaning to write a blog post about my first festival experience for over two months now; things have been busy for me, so my apologies for the delay.

It was the first time I've been on the booth side of an art festival or art fair, and I got to find out just how much work is involved to be a participant. I had suspected the level of effort would be as high as it was, but of course there are always little unforeseen things that can crop up. These little things add up, and my immediate conclusion was that there was no way I could have pulled the whole thing off myself! Luckily, my dad (seen in this photo) had offered to help me out, and I'm very grateful for that his presence, assistance, and ideas.

The immediate takeaways from the event were:
1. The vibe was good and the people were friendly and interested in looking at my art.
2. My art was well received and it looked good on display, even from a distance.
3. I got to display my art to a new audience.
4. The heat stayed away, so being outside was tolerable!
5. I tentatively booked another show for Junction City (more on that in a minute).

There were also a few negatives to the day:
1. We got rained out and had to close up shop before the day was done! That's Kansas for you; at least none of my work got damaged.
2. I didn't sell anything!
3. The Juneteenth celebration moved to an indoor space, so some traffic and energy was probably lost as a result.
4. Working a festival booth is... hard. At least now I know.

It may be a while before I participate in another art festival, mostly because I don't have my own kit and won't be able to invest in the necessary components in the near future. Also, I can't realistically do these things by myself, so until I know who I can count on to help out, I won't have all the resources and tools necessary to do a good job.

I'm okay with all of this, however, because right now my principle task is to be in the studio painting. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted if this changes, however.

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...)

Featured artist for local business Grand Opening in May!!

I confirmed a show for May a few days ago! Some friends of mine are opening a new business (an e-cigarettes bar, for those who are wanting to quit smoking!) and I've been invited to be the featured artist for their grand opening. This is exciting, as it will involve local advertising.

The bar is called The Vape Bar and will be located at 312C Tuttlecreek Plaza in Manhattan, Kansas. I get to have all of the wall space to myself! I'm planning to hang some pure abstracts...

The business will open it's doors on May 16th; however, the grand opening event will be on May 24th. Mark your calendars!

If you haven't already guessed, this painting is from the Corridor Series. It is #2 of 5 and is titled "Corridor Threaded".

Sold at Auction (Donation)!!

Full disclosure: I did not take this photograph! But my friend Adam McKeague did give me permission to paint this painting using this photo as an inspiration; I was present when the photo of downtown Les Cayes was taken, for the record. Adam has let me tag him in reference to this painting on Facebook, so hopefully he won't mind me posting his photo on my blog...

I had been sitting on this painting for about a year and a half with no bites, so I donated it to a local fundraiser for the husband of a colleague who has stage 3 colon cancer. The painting did sell, and I secretly wish I knew for how much!

Swogger Gallery Opening at The Columbian in Wamego, KS!

Last night's opening at the Swogger Gallery in The Columbian was a hit! According to my sources, it was our best opening ever. That's something to be proud of.

The art will hang through June 2014, so there is plenty of time to check it out. These three paintings of mine are currently hanging in the show, but they could rotate out if they sell, so check them out sooner rather than later if you want to see them in person. I think they make more of an impact in person.

SOLD!!! Red Square

My first sale through a third party.

I'm glad I went with the title of "Red Square" on this one, so as to not influence my audience too much. The buyer saw some interesting things, including golf and music.

I love hearing about what other people see in a piece of my artwork.

SOLD!!! Phoenix Rising

I technically sold this back in late 2013! Just now getting around to blogging about it... The owner let me hang it in a show after-the-fact, which was nice.

Potential shows?

I've got a few conversations going about potential upcoming shows! Nothing is a definite yet (I honestly wonder if my emails with attachments are reaching the recipients!), but cross your fingers for me. My goal is to show a more consistent body of work, whether it is abstracts, circles and squares, landscapes, or whatever.

And, for the record, this is what shows up on the back of this. Honestly, the paper was a test piece (although, for the price, it never should have been a test piece to begin with, but I digress...), and I am having fun with both sides. On this side, we see less of a "work of art" and more of an exploration. I'm comparing burnt umber (my historical go-to brown) and raw umber (I recently experienced a revelation that this brown might work better with my evolving color scheme) to each other with nothing added and with white mixed in. We also see a pure paynes gray used to sketch out a design I dreamed about. That is not a "20", but a set of abstracted incomplete circles joined with a curving line. Enjoy!

My Art Show!!!!!

My show is up!!! Go check it out. I think it looks pretty darned good...

Next up, update my website...

Art Show at Radina's!!

My artwork will be hanging at Radina's in Aggieville during the entire month of November! I'll have my work in both rooms. Come check it out!

(Photo hijacked from this site. Giving credit where it's due...)