Incredible Art Center Grand Opening

I officially became ‘The girl next door’ for an evening. Actually only one of them, there were several other artists with work in the pop-up gallery.

My second gallery reception on Saturday was the Official Grand Opening at Incredible Art Center in Palm Springs.  My good friend Rick Pantele reopened his gallery in this location – next door to where he was operating when we met about 9 or 10 years ago.  He’d also had an opportunity to borrow the empty store next door for the evening, so we took great advantage of it.  I gave him a box of smaller pieces and Kevin Winger hung them in a great arrangement.

Chatting with two gallery visitors.

 

 

 

Middleridge Winery Reception

Just warming up for the crowd. The Middleridge tasting room is in a beautiful building in downtown Idyllwild.

Yesterday I was scheduled to attend two gallery receptions (blissfully perfectly timed so that I could, despite the 90 minute drive between them) for galleries who have my work. The first is the group show ‘Art Uncorked‘ held at Middleridge Winery in Idyllwild.  This is the first time I have shown there, and there were eighteen artists in the show, most of whom were in attendance and who I got to meet.  Spoke to a lot of interesting people about both my work and theirs – and not just artists.

One thing that jumped out when talking to most people about my work – I have hidden the poem ‘Arrows‘ in the painting so well, that hardly anyone found it without being told to look for it.

The “Jeni Bate” wall. I have two other round pieces in the show which will be in the upstairs gallery.

Newer Work #38

#1213 Umber Sunset. Oil on Canvas, 12×12″. $100.

Umber sunset is painted from one of the most unusually colored skies I’ve ever seen.  A dust storm created a dark brown swirling foreground, (rather than the usual beige-out we get when we get a haboob coming through), with creamy gold clouds poking through at the back.  I also created a refractured watercolor from this scene.  Sadly the 10′ tall creosote bush that stars in the bottom corner is no longer there, it was uprooted when George’s house was built.

Newer Work #37

Sometimes I get asked about night time skyscapes – ‘nocturnes’.  Here’s one.  This one is pretty much out of my head, it’s not from a night sky in Joshua Tree – it’s named that way because of the foreground added.

#1212 Joshua Moon. Oil on gallery wrap canvas, 12×12″ $100. Currently at Borrego Art Institute, but coming out of the summer show Oct 17th if it’s still unsold.

Four more paintings available on Etsy

When I guide students through a painting at a paint-n-wine class, I am also painting to show them what to do – so I inevitably end up with a second copy of the painting we’re working from.  So – thought I would make these available in my Etsy store.  They’re all easily shipped, 16×20″ acrylics and ready to frame in a standard sized frame.   And I get to work outside my usual subject area – such as this one that was a request of a possible subject from a repeat student.

#1208 Two Blue Birds. 16×20 acrylic on canvas panel. $150.

Newer work #36

#1211 “Dayburst”. Oil on gallery wrap canvas. 12×12″, $100.

Dayburst is one I’m kinda thinking I might keep on the wall for awhile.  Yet another stunning dawn across the Salton Sea. This one from a photograph taken some years ago before it started shrinking.  Hopefully with President Obama’s new directives about federal level govt agencies working together to solve the problem, these dawn reflections won’t be numbered.

 

Getting the skunk out of the booth.

I picked up this saying from another art fair artist many years ago.  “I just got the skunk out of my booth.”  Meaning now that the theoretical, virtual stinky-de-skunky must be gone, my store smelled good enough for people to come in and buy something.

On Monday I was greeted by an email from the wonderful people (or more likely something they programmed) at Etsy.  I had my first sale!  The skunk is out of my Etsy store!

“Deep Pink Feathers II” went to live in Yuma.

And I figure it must come through someone looking at my website, because I immediately recognized the purchaser as a big fan of mine from Yuma, AZ.

The Etsy store isn’t very ‘big’ at the moment but I have one new painting in there now that I realized wasn’t promised anywhere else, and more coming not only next week, but there will be more next month when I reorganize stock from a couple galleries.