Friday, April 30, 2010

Street View - WIP


I'm attaching a small view of the work in progress I started called Street View. It's based on some pictures I took while in New Orleans a few months ago and is reminiscent of Vibe of the City which is being auctioned off in NYC next week (7th). I've already completed a bit of progress since this one and I will be posting those pictures soon. In this photo I've roughed out the basic shapes and tried to grab the feeling I am hoping to evoke in this piece. My favorite part of this is the sky which I painted in vivid lime green and hints of red oxide. Who said skies had to be blue?

Katie

Thursday, April 29, 2010

New Commission - Lipizzaners

Yesterday I officially got a completely wonderful commission to start on very quickly. It will be a 3 foot by 4.5 foot painting of Lipizzaner stallions in their airs above the ground. Completely, completely energized and invigorated by this one. The client is great, the idea is great and I am heading to the gallery today to get the handstretched canvas I'll be using to do this one. I'll be posting pictures of the work in progress here on the blog at various stages.



If you live in Cincinnati you may have heard of Essex Studios. I'll be speaking to them next week and visiting their open house May 7th to look into renting some space myself. There are some larger projects I would like to start and the small home studio I currently work out of is starting to run out of space. I have been waiting to get involved in oils until I have separate work space to be able to set up.

More info soon - for now I need to get painting!!!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

WIPs

The two works in progress I'm in the midst of are called Sanctuary in Blue and Street View. Street View has a bit of a Vibe of the City feel to it and Sanctuary in Blue is an energetic yet tranquil piece (I have a hard time putting those words in the same sentence but those are words that remind me of this one). The finished versions will be up soon. Oh, the suspense!

Hope everyone is doing well and thanks for reading!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Great Cougar It's Cold

I don't think it's fair to subject an artist in the midst of enjoying the blossoming warmth of spring to a sudden cold snap, so this week I'm pretty cranky about that.

Tomorrow is the opening of Vivid and I hope everyone can come. It's pretty casual and laid back. If you know me you know I'm a jeans and t-shirt kinda gal, so I hope the whole event is inviting, fun and a great place to just come hang out.

Until it warms a little I think I will return to hibernating. Goodbye! :-)

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Vibe of the City - off to NYC!

Vibe of the City has been donated to a design charity event in NYC. Sending it off shortly but hopefully not before it is the star of my short show @ the Nordheim Gallery next week. Speaking of which I'm sending out the invitation to those on my email list tonight.

This leaves me with very little work in the studio and lots of painting to do! I'm placing a new order for canvas next week and am working on two unnamed cityscapes which will hopefully be finished soon.

Sorry for the short post but I will upload some pics soon. Until then enjoy your week and thanks for reading the blog!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Vivid Invitation

VIVID

I will be having the opening reception to my solo show, VIVID, April 21st from 6-8 pm. This selection of my work is being held by Covington Independent Schools and will be in the Nordheim Gallery on the Holmes Campus. For an invitation please click here.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Prints in the Shop!

Vibe of the City, 2009

Prints are in the shop! Right now I've posted Vibe of the City and Funky Giraffe, with Arabian coming soon, possibly later today. Stay posted and if you see one you like, buy it to support this artist!


Storing Artwork

With proliferation comes storage issues, at least in my studio. I work out of a small 10' x 10' room in my home since my daughter was born, and the sole closet is precious space that I plan to utilize to store the work I bring home between shows.

Now that I've been exhibiting for a good period of time, I've started to develop a plan to store my work. Again the unique size of canvas comes into play. Horizontally stored work is definitely not ideal, and leaning work against each other is never a good idea, resulting in overstretched canvas, possibly damaged paint, and scuffed frames. What sort of solution do I have within a limited budget? Although I could purchase specially designed and manufactured storage solutions, the money required to put down on those would be a serious dent to anyone's artist fund.

Why not build our own?

I may be over-generalizing, but I think America is on the cusp of being in a major do-it-yourself phase. With the recessing ebbing many of us have become more appreciative of the resources we have, and debt has taken on a stigma that makes living within one's means a much more palatable alternative.

With this in mind, why would we spend up to a thousand dollars or beyond on furniture that can be easily made ourselves? This art rack will sit in my closet, so my design will essentially be an upright rack made with a good quality wood approximately 1" x 4" or similar. Slots between will allow space for the work without touching it and lined at the top and bottom to provide a secure fit, or at least that is the design currently in my mind. I have yet to draw out a blueprint but the idea is to set this contraption upon wheels so that in the event of a show it can be easily taken out and wheeled to the gallery. When home, I can wrap my pieces in dust cover and know that they are being stored in the most careful way possible without sacrificing precious storage space.

What do you think? How do you store your work?

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Packaging Artwork

In the past year my collector base has grown from the southeast to nationwide. This growth has been phenomenal but also creates it's own logistical implications. Packaging, shipping charges and keeping track of contact information is something that requires time and patience.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be evaluating some ways to approach these duties in a time-saving and user-friendly manner. Some of the topics I'll be working on are:

  • Collecting contact information from my guestbooks, Quickbooks, website, etc, into one workable and easily adaptable database.
  • Finding boxes to fit the unique shapes of my canvas artwork and finding a supplier that works with small businesses and enables smaller bulk purchases.
  • Putting together a shipping table so I can have a quick resource guide for my shipping charges. I would like to be able to offer more shipping coverage without building a quote.

I've been migrating towards more sales online which has made this necessary. The contact base is going to be time intensive in the beginning, but this way I'll have a comprehensive list of people for my show invitations.

Things to keep in mind when creating contact databases:

  1. Keep track of what sort of contact this is. How were they referred to my work/website?
  2. Do they require updates on all work, local showings, blog updates, etc?
  3. What pieces does this collector own currently?
  4. Do not over email. I refrain from using email except for show announcements and possibly an update 1 - 2 times per year. If a collector would like to be updated frequently, they can subscribe to the blog.
  5. Last contact date.
  6. Format. If you use Excel many times this database is exportable and can be used when creating invitations.

Things to keep in mind when packaging:

  1. Allow enough room around the canvas for whatever cushion you use.
  2. Be green. Either re-use mailing material for small pieces or buy biodegradable packing materials. I loathe styrofoam peanuts. Who likes to spend more time cleaning up packaging than they do opening their purchase? And just how long does it take until these peanuts break down? A looong time, if ever. If you need packaging peanuts, starch peanuts are out there which break down faster and are more eco-friendly.
  3. If you can buy packaging in units of 25 boxes or more it goes a long way towards lowering your packaging costs. One vendor I'm going to look into is U-Line.

What have I left out? Let me know.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Horse 8 x 10 Sold, New Solo Coming Up!

Just about as soon as I posted Horse 8" x 10" to my etsy shop she was sold and off to Oklahoma City. As much as I enjoyed having that painting brighten my studio, it now has it's own place to make a very vibrant presence known.

I have an artist reception/solo show for the month of April (well, the 11th through end of the month) at the Nordheim Gallery in Northern Kentucky. This gallery is set on the beautiful and massive Holmes High School Campus. Invitations will go out as soon as they are finished - the reception will be one of the last Wednesdays of the month, either the 16th or the 21st I believe. Email me if you would like to receive a personal invitation.

May is shaping up to be a busy month as well! I have a few possible engagements then and will post details as soon as I have them.

Now being painted in the studio:
  • Commission - people @ the pool table 12" x 24"
  • Commission - winter horses 12" x 24"
  • Cityscape - New Orleans Sanctuary 12" x 24"
  • Commission - Portrait of a mother and son.

Now I'm working on a few proposals and am busy creating new work. Also ordering some canvas. Phew, things are getting busy! How wonderful is that?!

Katie