Some New Stuff

Since selling some work at the Art Festival, I have felt the need to make some more pieces, especially because I have two shows going on simultaneously.  I have a smaller one at the Kitchen Sink on Berwyn, only about seven paintings, then I'm setting up an exhibit tonight at Dolce Casa Cafe on Damen, which will be a much bigger show.  I'm really excited about Dolce Casa; the owner is very organized and expects me to promote myself and bring people in, and the employees in turn will also talk to interested customers about my work.

So I've created a handful of new, smaller paintings, because smaller work are the ones that sell quicker:

Elklungs
Acrylic on Canvas
10" x 10"

Mooseheart
Acrylic on Canvas
10" x 10"

Rambrain
Acrylic on Canvas
10" x 10"

This set is part of my "imitation" concentration- human organs or machinery trying to disguise themselves as part of nature (see The Machine, The Factory, The Pump, Fresh Fruit Coup).  I feel they were very successful and fit in with this series, while at the same time I was able to experiment with some different painting techniques and styles.

Deer
Acryic on Canvas
6" x 8"

I think this painting is so sweet!

Land Octopus
Acrylic and Gossamer Paper on Canvas
11" x 14"

I want to start incorporating some different mediums into my work, as I've been so focused on acrylic for so long.   This attempt was perhaps not the best, but it is the first in a while, so we'll see how the next one goes.

Finally, Success!

Last weekend my friend Erika and I did our first art fair.  We had a booth at the Glenwood Ave Arts Festival in Rogers Park, right around the corner from my apartment.  WE KILLED.  It was so much fun, we were a lot more successful than we thought we would be, and we got a lot of good feedback from people.

As we were setting up our tent we were saying, "Oh no, we're going to look like such amateurs, we have no idea what we're doing..." but it came together really well aesthetically, especially the second day.  We both had paintings and jewelry, and I had pottery and little handmade journals as well.  We had three tables set up and arranged in interesting ways, then paintings hanging from the side.  I think the result was very eye-catching, then we had a nice flow from one table to the next, so we had a lot of visitors to our tent.  Most people just looked around, some people wanted to talk to us about our work, and some people bought stuff.  I had business cards right in front, and a lot of people were picking up my cards.  I've already had one person contact me asking me to do another fair next weekend, but the entry fee is $350...so, unfortunately I can't do that.  But it was flattering that he asked!

This is what our tent looked like:

All in all I sold 8 paintings, three pots, and one pair of earrings.  To be fair, most of the stuff I sold was to people I know, but that's ok!  My parents bought my Delicacies triptych, my friend Libbey bought Georgia O'Keefe, Noel bought my Mushrooms, Jake bought the Lightbulbs, and I made two little skull paintings specifically for the festival and a stranger bought one and my friend Kasey bought the other.

I feel like I finally broke the seal in selling work, and now all I have to do is keep the momentum going.  I also feel like I got some recognition at this festival.  People took me and Erika very seriously as artists, and probably assumed we were a lot more experienced and professional than we actually are.  I can now say I've sold some paintings and had a couple shows.  I'm setting up another small one today at this cafe called the Kitchen Sink, and then another bigger one at Dolce Casa Cafe.  Since I've now sold 6 large pieces, and I have two simultaneous shows coming up and another one in October, I've got to get to work making new paintings! This is the only new one I have other than my little guys above:

Shiny Things Three
Acrylic on Canvas
16" x 12"

Not Much Goin' On

It's August, and I always feel like there is this stagnant air to this month.  We're all trying to slowly savor the last days of summer before the world kicks into gear again in September.  The heat is oppressive, though not so much today.  Our air conditioner broke, so we keep the shades drawn and the lights off all day, which contributes to this feeling I have of pungent, melancholy bliss.

I should really get out of the house and go do something.

I went on vacation a little over a week ago.  My mom and I went to Seattle for my sister's baby shower, then I went to Olympia and hung out with my friends Nick and Carlos, then back to Seattle, then to Portland with my sister and Carlos.  It was busy, and I guess I was expecting inspiration that didn't come.  We went to the ocean, and it was dreary and ugly.  We went hiking around the Cascade River Gorge and saw a lot of pretty waterfalls, but I never got that breath of air that felt like I was really somewhere else, unique and different.  There were too many other people around.  But I have come to the conclusion that I need to live somewhere like Portland where I can go on day or weekend hikes at the whim.

I have one new painting, and it is about the Northwest.  Oddly, I had finished most of it  before I even left.

Northwest
Acrylic on Canvas
20" x 16"

I remember being at beaches in Washington that had these really cool caves and rock formations  when I was a kid.  Weird things wash up on the beaches, at least they are weird to me.