ARMORY SHOW - December 2015

The Opening Reception is Sunday Dec. 6, 2015 at The Armory, 127 E. Clinton St., Napoleon, Ohio. The show will run through January 3, 2016. This show is sponsored by the Henry County Arts Council. Please stop in and take a look if you're in the area. Hours are 10 AM-5 PM Monday through Friday.

Exciting Weekend!!

Tomorrow night is the opening reception for my juried show at The Parkwood Gallery in Toledo. The show runs through Sept. 28 and also includes the large abstracted paintings of Mike Huffman and there is a great deal of contrast between our works so it should be interesting. This is a really nice gallery located across the street from the Toledo Art Museum at 1838 Parkwood St.. It is funded through a grant by the Ohio Arts Council and I had to apply to the Toledo Area Arts Commission last year for consideration. I found out last December that my application had been accepted so I have been saving many of my better landscape paintings for this show. Not all-- I'm still listing a few on eBay and Etsy, but when this show is over I will have some inventory of whatever doesn't sell.

I should mention that only landscapes will be included in this show, and 90% of them are plein air landscapes. I'm saving the still life pieces and figurative work for another show. :)

On Saturday, Sept. 22, Charlotte Loetz and I will be selling our artwork in Waterville at The Roche de Boef Festival. Show hours are 10:00 AM-5:00 PM. I will have plenty of sports prints available to purchase.

Art Show at the Opera House

I am one of nine artists participating in the Beancreek Area Artists Exhibit at the newly restored Opera House, 105 East Main St., in Fayette. The show runs from June 2-July 2, 2012. The opening reception is June 2, 2012 from 6-9:00 PM and if you are in the area you're invited to stop in and view the shows and meet the artists.

Many thanks to Kristin Michalkiewicz and the Fayette Arts Council for organizing this event and inviting me to be a part of it.

Self Doubt

I want to take a few minutes to write about something that we all, as artists, have experienced at one time or another: rejection. If you haven't yet, you will. This ugly word strikes fear in the heart of any aspiring artist who has swallowed that lump in her throat and risked entering a juried show. Juried shows, unlike open shows, allow the judge(s) to weed out any piece he/she feels is not worthy of judging. I have entered many shows over the course of my painting career. It comes with the territory. An artist spends hour after hour in the studio creating beauty and one of the only ways to share it and gain recognition for those efforts is to enter a show and display the piece. Early in my career some of my pieces were rejected.  When that happened I was always angry and full of angst about the perceived insult to my artistic "talent".  After all, many artists consider the production of a piece of art almost as painful as giving birth! I want to forget Marni Kotak  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/nyregion/birth-brings-attention-to-microscope-gallery.html, who decided to share a bit of "performance art" by giving birth in a New York gallery this week. I consider that a shameless display of self-promotion and a personal affront to artists everywhere who legitimately work on creating real art. I can say that because I've had some babies. It is work but it is not my creation- it's God's. I give Him all the credit where that is concerned. But you can see here the divide between what some people consider art and others consider 'private family stuff'. Anything in the name of art, right? I hope not.

Anyway, I am digressing. This rant is regarding rejection! I have a drawer full of ribbons that read "Best of Show" and "First Prize" so perhaps I have grown complacent. A few weeks ago I entered a piece in a small juried portrait show. When the little rejection card showed up in my mailbox this week I was stunned. I shouldn't have been, but I was. Filled with self-doubt, I questioned the actual quality of the painting I entered. Was it too dark? Too impressionistic? Was the message too obscure-- the focal point too vague? Many of  my artist friends had loved it and one confessed that she thought it might even win the Best of Show in this small local show. I had basked in their praise, not even considering that it might not even be accepted.

The hard truth is that not everyone is going to like your art. Art is, by definition, subjective. Which brings us back to the woman giving birth in the art gallery and calling it "performance art". Other people, many of them in positions of importance, actually agreed with her. They allowed her to set up a birthing room and publicized the event for her. Her baby's birth gave her that ubiquitous 15 minutes of fame. Judges are people too and they have their own preconceived ideas about what art should or shouldn't be.

If there's a lesson here it is to choose your shows wisely. Learn about the judge or judges and assess their qualifications. Are they people you admire or respect? Have they actually worked in the medium you use and are familiar with it? Is their work creative and wonderful or does it resemble the afterbirth? (OK, that was crude but I couldn't resist.) The show I entered did not announce who the judge would be and the last I heard this was not decided on even three weeks before the take-in. Be suspicious of shows that lack organization. Most shows require an entry fee and money is hard to come by these days. If the exhibition area is a room in an obscure location run the other way. Look for well- lit, well advertised shows and find out who the judge(s) are. I entered this show because it was sponsored by a group of painters I regularly paint with and I wanted to support their efforts. The venue was not a high profile gallery and will not see much traffic.

Don't be discouraged by rejection. Remember that it's only one person's opinion and many others won't agree with that opinion. If nine out of ten people find your work beautiful don't let that tenth person steal your joy. Above all, keep creating. It's what we as artists are made to do. :)

Here is the painting that was rejected. "Blind Date"