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| 1999 #2 Not Going Gracefully |
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| 2014 #3 "The little old lady..." |
…whose show got cancelled. No, I am not talking about the
studio/gallery status, which will be addressed in another post down the road.
Right now, I am preparing to bring downtown about 30 of my more “controversial”
and “misunderstood” paintings from the now retired (?) Women Series, the one
for which I am best known as an artist. The first official painting of the series was done in 1999 when my sons were 6 and
9, and the last (?) was in 2014 (ironically of a grandma in a graduation cap). My boys are are now 23 and 26.
Somewhere at last count, I think I completed about 150 or so
paintings, with a few in storage that may or may not ever get done. My dream
for the series was to have it shown in retrospective form, somewhat in
chronological order, as the intent of the series was to depict the social,
cultural, moral, emotional and physical changes of a woman’s pathway through
life. As she ages, as she has kids, interacts with people and circumstances,
and so forth. Using visual imagery, color and humor to soften the blow of my
statement, some pieces hit the mark and others were just too obscure for the
average viewer.
Over the years, I wrote numerous versions of my “artist
statement” to try and explain the concept. Some venues got it and hosted a solo
show, filling a couple dozen guest books with mostly positive comments. Others
could not get past the “comic” nature and felt it was not serious enough for
“real” art. But back to my point…..I
wish I could see them all in one big show, the huge party scene of color and
expressions that happens when they are all together, even in small groupings.
“I love your work!” Yep, hear that all the time….I do too,
that is why I did it. “But not in my house…” Yep, hear that too. My house must
be very weird compared to most. “They are so expensive!” Yep, in this part of the woods that would be
true. In major markets, they are cheaper than dirt, which also devalues the
product. How to price at market value when the local market does not see, or
can support, the value? Catch-22, but somebody already wrote that.
So it is with a bit of sadness that I am letting these more
“difficult” children of mine go out on the floor in time for First Friday in
hopes that someone will want to adopt one that may be problematic in their living room. And if they can’t find homes, I am happy to bring them back and
add to the growing boat load awaiting my Viking funeral. I wonder if one can get their paintbrushes
spade so they stop producing so much?!
I won’t let go of the dream to see them flooding the walls
of a venue big enough to house the whole lot, frameless however. Thin little
sides with exposed staples cannot compete with the deep sided finished
edges I can afford now. Back in the earlier days, the cheaper the better, hence
a few warped ones in the lot (like me in many ways). 50 or so have long since
been adopted and I have no idea who owns most of them. Sold at shows and I just
cashed the checks. Some favorites will never be allowed to leave while the boat
is still in dry dock.
Will I ever go back to the series for a second wave? Maybe.
There are so many “subjects” waiting to be brought to canvas, but there has to
be a purpose when one is my age, to add to something that may not ever go away. I
am considering a book. Maybe pick my 100 favorites and add updated commentary
to them. A book would not be the same impact as a real life sized in your face
presentation but I am not aggressive enough to go after that. I like to plant
seeds and hope that something sprouts in somebody else’s garden.
So with all that said, stop by First Friday for a final
farewell to Snarky Art …the studio as a destination in the downtown area. My
space is FULL of “stuff” from the sidewalk sale including tablets, drawing
boards, tempera paint, cigar boxes, glass bottles, sheets of glass, ceramic
tile samples, cans of paint for pollocks, frames, props, leftover community art
project supplies, the projects themselves, and just lots of junque that needs
to go. Cabinets, work table, some shelving…looks like a tornado went through so
I apologize in advance for the mess!!!!
And it is a BIG mess, which for an avid merchandizer like me, is a very stressful state of being.
Hoard Couture is not discounted as that is almost done being
an official trademark with the US Government! Step one of going to the Cloud is
to protect the “brand”. Most paintings
of mine in the signature series and the botanicals are not discounted either but
fashion paintings, photography, and misc works are reduced. My last day is Sept
23. So much love and laughter has been shared in that space, so that post is
for another day. As always, thanks for playing and see you soon!
PS…I am going to have more time for blogging you lucky
readers you!
