Wow, these acceptances just keep coming! This time I have a Merit Award for the Artists’ Choice exhibition at Art Room Gallery Online for Vermillion Delight. Click the name of the painting there to see things about it on my website that Art Room Gallery don’t show, namely the poem.
I was recently invited to join Alessandro Berni gallery for representation in their online gallery. In the last few days we dotted the is and crossed the ts and this morning I was one of the new artists introduced in their mailing.
Having gotten to the point in life where I can order from the senior menu, I was eligible to enter the 55+ show “Visions: A gathering of Elders”, and this was it turned out the last time I was able to go to a gathering before the world imploded. True that people were observing precautions such as elbow bumps vs. handshakes, but otherwise it seems that the elder wisdom was the same as for having a bad cold. Don’t cough on people, and go home and feel sorry for yourself for two weeks.
Otherwise it was a normal art show. This was hosted at the Walter N. Marks art gallery at UC Riverside Palm Desert.
I recognized the work of Gary Borgstedt – far right – though I didn’t see him at the opening.
Diane Morgan was also there, she too had a painting in the show.
That scuplture in the middle was very intersting.
One of the two fabric entries
Intersection of the virtual and real worlds.
Such a variety of mediums, subjects and styles with an open-themed show.
I think I had the physically smallest entry in the show.
This lamp was my second favorite entry.
The orange Bee painting to the right of the door is Diane’s.
Donna Miller-Haggerty and I took pics of each other in front of our paintings.
And this one was my absolute favorite. So sorry, don’t remember the artist’s name at this point.
It has been a little while since I blogged – sorry – busy then away for a while. Actually ‘off the net’ which pretty much equates to vanished!
Tuesday June 4th I set off for Escondido Municipal Gallery where I hung a solo show in a single room that, when I first stepped into it seemed small, but yes, the dimensions did work out as the plan said and all the paintings I bought fit in nicely as planned. Actually I had some extra space on the outside I hadn’t know about, but that was easily handled because I brought more smaller paintings than I thought I’d have room for, so it ended up perfect! Just took me two hours instead of one. Then it was pedal to the metal to catch the plane (which was eventually cancelled and I ended up leaving the next day, but that’s another story entirely).
Box city arrives
…and a little table for promo materials and a bin.
Now it’s starting to take shape. At this point one of the local artists came by and liked my work and wanted to buy a book.
…line em up!
You can see that I like to work barefoot where possible.
Now that looks like a show
One on each side of the door
Looking good! Books and cards went into the gift shop at the front.
The back wall is concrete and the gallerists gave me special nails that go in the wall, my regular nails were turning into L-shapes!
I spent so much time getting the quadtych level! It’s so much easier in a booth.
Almost ready. One more sign to go up, and that box of nails to go back into storage
Each year there is a ‘Shakin up the Arts’ show at the Carmen Durazo Center in Calexico. This year the show was just about equally divided between high school students and adult artist entries.
Some of the adult entries
There was quite a crowd at the reception
Some more adult entries.
The support pillars are ideal places for the small artworks
The one on the left was my favorite in the whole show
Artist Sherry Nash and I met and discussed work – this is one of her mixed media pieces
Sherry also does acrylic pours
Some more of the student work. This young lady had no qualms about asking me whether I liked her painting!
There were some 3-d pieces also.
I entered three paintings into the Collage Artists of America show ‘Reality is Overrated’ and one was accepted. I was delighted that I was able to make the reception at the Betsy Lueke Creative Arts Center in Burbank. Amazingly I arrived on time after setting up for the art fair in Calabasas, with a little help from my Airbnb host on confirming that my alternate route would be good.
There was quite a crowd there that evening.
There were awards (though I didn’t get one)
Just thought I’d take a photo op with my child.
Last week, while I was in Yuma, a good friend of mine, Michael Angelo Hernandez (yes, you know someone whose work hangs right next to that of MichaelAngelo) organized an art display and evening at Desert Polymer Flooring in Indio. Well, an evening turned into a month and they want us to leave the artwork there until the end of May. Works for me!
Another weather-related tale to follow the drizzle in Arizona. Last Friday I was scheduled to sit in the gift-shop at the 29 Palms Art Gallery, and was also going to take artwork in for the upcoming membership judged show. I knew that there had been a little snow in the high desert because Snake Jagger had posted a picture of some snow in his front yard in Morongo Valley on Wednesday.
I love snow in the low desert: it’s up there on the mountains, where it looks pretty, not down here in the driveway where you have to shovel it.
On the Thursday afternoon, Darlene who is the scheduler at the 29 Palms Gallery called me and said that the previous day the grade between Morongo Valley and Yucca Valley had been closed because of snow on Wednesday and that it was snowing in Yucca Valley right now and was forecast to continue snowing until 11pm and freeze overnight. She thought the chances of my making it to the gallery safely the next day were slim and had called in a possible substitute.
I said let’s wait until the morning to see. Friday morning I called her and she said the sun was shining and everything was melting. Caltrans website confirmed the 62 was open so I set out.
There’s even snow on the Santa Rosas
San Gorgonio mountains with snow is not unusual
Getting closer to Morongo – on the 62 now – yes, it snowed up there!
I had to stop in Yucca Valley to pick up a painting that Raini had collected for me from the prior show so I was able to take an unusual photo – me with snow.
Selfie with snow (and sunshine).
I had considered taking a pic of me holding a snowball but the thought of cold wet hands made me reconsider. This is quite close enough to the snow for me.
Yesterday I was a gallery docent and gift store clerk at the 29 Palms Art Gallery in – guess where – 29 Palms!
I had a solo show there a couple years ago and this time I entered a painting into the annual membership show. One of the requirements is to gallery sit for a day so off I went.
Something looks familiar here
I’d not gallery sat here before so there was a bit of a learning curve, but there was good documentation for new and rusty docents to follow. When I arrived, a group of the board were doing some envelope stuffing for membership renewals, so I was able to help out there too. Many of the board members stayed through part of my day so I had help.
And I needed it. I had a couple who went into the gift store and chose something to purchase. I had been shown the ropes a little regarding the iPad with the Square on it, and read the manual, but was not prepared for the fact the iPad wouldn’t turn on. It turned out to be a faulty socket where it was plugged in!
There were inevitably a lot of questions I couldn’t answer, but a few that I could. By the end of the afternoon I was a lot more confident of the next time I’m going to be there.
Member’s artwork in the Membership show
The pics are of the membership show in the central gallery. There was also a historical show in the main gallery and a solo show in the west gallery – along with no information about the artists, Reuven Wallach, which didn’t help!
Sorry I didn’t get the pic of the third wall of the membership show, a gallery visitor walked in at that point, then we were busy until closing time.
I entered three paintings in the Chaparral Artists’ annual show, held at Rainbow Stew in Yucca Valley, and two of them won ribbons.
“Another’s Eyes” (at the top) won second place in Abstracts.
“Accumlations” won third place
Skyscapes for the Soul - Jeni Bate 