Dear sweet bucket of paint thinner! I haven't posted anything for a month! But it wasn't all bon-bons and rainbows, this artist was working.
Here's what I've been doing:
I completed some works on paper, and a few canvas paintings, I built a storage bench for the dining room, and made my painting space a bit more user-friendly.
Oh, and I participated in two art shows.
First was Arts Goggle, an awesome event that happens every spring and fall in the Near Southside Neighborhood of Fort Worth. It's kinda like three large block parties connected by trolley service. I was in the Park Place block party, along with the rest of my Piranha Bear art members. We had our row of art booths for people to visit, look at the art, and sometimes even purchase! This was my first good-sized art festival, and I learned a lot about how to make my booth more appealing to visitors in the future. I also learned that I need more tarps for my booth if I'm gonna properly protect my paintings from the rain! I passed out lots of business cards, and sold three of my works on paper: two paisleys and a ribcage piece.
The second art show was a home show. A wonderful local lady, Mrs. C, who purchased a few of my paintings previously really wanted her art-loving friends to appreciate (and hopefully purchase) my work as well! I showed about 50 canvases ranging in size from 5x7 up to 48x48, some of my paisleys on paper, a few framed prints, and the blank sketchbooks I've had made. I also brought my sketchbooks. Honestly, I wasn't sure what the foot traffic would be like, and I wanted to be able to keep myself creatively busy. I needn't worry about staying busy, the first visitor arrived within 5 minutes of our announced start time! My sketchbooks did come in handy in another fashion: one of the ladies who stopped by commissioned me to do two original drawings based on some of my doodles and designs. Pretty exciting! I was lucky enough to sell three paintings, seven works on paper, and a half-dozen sketchbooks.
Here's what's coming up:
From November 8th through the 29th, I'll be participating in my fourth gallery show at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. I will be sharing the gallery space with fellow Grizlybexar Collective member M. E. Majeske. Her medium is photography, and she has her work printed on stretched canvas. The opening reception is the evening of the 8th, from 6 - 9pm. This event is free and open to the public, and there is always at least one gallery space with great snacks and free booze (and non-alcoholic drinks for our sober friends). I'm hoping to sell every piece I hang in the show, because I'd love to have space in my house for new works, and I wouldn't need to borrow my friend's truck to get everything home!
Thanks to my membership in a few DFW-area Facebook artist groups, I heard about a 24-hour open call for regional artists for an upcoming event called Art Conspiracy 9. I hurriedly crafted a submission, and then waited. And then forgot about it. And then remembered that I still had not heard anything. Then I received that awesome email saying I was gonna be part of the event! So on November 9th, I'll be driving into Dallas for a 4-hour creativity blast. Dozens of area artists and I will be creating original works of art on provided 18x18 wooden panels. These works will then be auctioned off the following Saturday, the 16th, during their fundraising party. All proceeds go towards a different local charity every year. This year's beneficiary is My Possibilities. I'm really excited to be a part of this event!
I may have previously mentioned about a second art show in November, but because event conflicts and other unknown issues, the venue won't actually be ready to host a show until December at the earliest. So now I'll be participating a Piranha Bear show in December! As I have more details, I'll be sharing them.
After the November and December art shows I'll slow down a bit to work on some home projects, but art will still be happening! After all, I have an April 2014 art show to start preparing for!
