2020 Show Updates

Both shows in which I was scheduled to participate in the next few weeks have been postponed or modified. Princeton’s 50th Communiversity has been rescheduled to Sunday, Sunday, October 11. Handmade Hopewell’s street fair has been cancelled; however, there will be a virtual fair the weekend of the original show (May 3rd). The plan is that there will be a map of what the street fair would have looked like, and visitors (to the website) can click on each booth and see a short video created by each participating studio. I will post the link closer to the date the fair goes live.

In the meantime, please enjoy this painting inspired by my trip to Hawaii in September. Also, happy Easter (yesterday)!

Spring 2020 Shows

I’m pleased to announce that I will participate in 2 fairs this spring:

Update: Handmade Hopewell, cancelled. There might be an online market venue on or around Sunday, May 3.

Update: Communiversity, postponed from Sunday, April 26, to Sunday, October 11, Princeton, NJ, 1-6 pm

After last year’s experiences, my hopes are simple: that Communiversity set-up goes smoothly and that Handmade Hopewell won’t be rained out. 🙂 If you happen to be in or near central Jersey then, please stop by.

Spring 2019 Shows: Recap

Since my last post, it’s been a very active spring, artistically and otherwise. I was scheduled to do two art fairs (April 28 & May 5); it was my first time doing an outdoor fair, so preparations began well in advance. I also completed 2 new Pandagram commissions this season, prepared for (translation: “practice, practice, practice!”) and gave 2 carillon concerts, and traveled to China and Japan. (There will be paintings! Not to mention the 1,000+ photographs.)

4/28 Art Fair: Communiversity 
Wow, this was a lot of work for one person for one day. It didn’t help that my car’s trunk wouldn’t open, but with a little ingenuity, a lot of determination, and an immediate schedule to keep, I packed everything except a big painting of a Viking ship. (I did fit it in the car for the second show.) Logistically, the event could have been better organized for set-up and take-down. The streets were packed, so I lost at least 30 minutes of set-up time due to traffic and someone else parking in my booth space to unload; consequently, I wasn’t able to put everything up that I intended, including a hanging display across one side of the tent. Also, take-down was surprisingly short. Fortunately, the staff sent a post-event survey to solicit feedback. Despite various challenges, I was glad for the opportunity to test the waters and, surprisingly frequently, to improvise solutions. There were a number of adjustments I would have made at the May 5 fair the following weekend, but it was cancelled due to a heavy rain forecast. (Good thing, too–the forecast was incontestably accurate.) 

 

Click to enlarge photos. The second photo shows the side of the booth, not the front. I left the side wall rolled up to make the space more open, but left it hanging down a bit to dissuade people from hastily cutting through my booth to get through the crowds. The white circles on my shirt are Pindas.

Can’t do a booth without Pandagrams. 😉

Come back next time to see the two new panda paintings mentioned at the beginning of this post. ‘Til then, cheerio. 

Spring 2019 Shows

I’m pleased to announce that I will participate in two outdoor fairs this spring:

Communiversity, Sunday, April 28, downtown Princeton, NJ, 1-6 pm

Handmade Hopewell, Sunday, May 5, Hopewell, NJ, 10 am-4 pm

Both are 1-day shows (a gentler introduction to showing outdoors than a 2-3 day show or a week-long art fair) and are no more than a 10-minute drive away! I look forward to the short commutes. They will be very pleasant after the many less favorable long hauls I had to attend conventions in the fall.

I haven’t done an outdoor show before, so, like the times I was preparing for my first few conventions, there is a lot to think about and do. One of the first tasks was finding a suitable tent for the space. (I bought 1 that, to my durpride ended up being nearly 60 pounds — too heavy for me to tote & put up alone! That one got returned, & I found a lighter Undercover tent. (For any artists and tent-seekers out there, it’s the 10′ x 10′ Super Lightweight Tent: https://getundercover.com/product/uc-3-10×10-super-lightweight-popup-shade-wheel-bag-spikes. I purchased it from Hayneedle.com & also a set of sidewalls for a combined total of less than $200.)

I had to do some rearranging in order to put it up. Always best to do a trial run before the event.

=)

I’ve also been thinking about inexpensive but effective display ideas. Come back for a future post to see what I try out.

December Showings

I’m pleased to announce that 2 paintings are be part of exhibitions this winter. First, included in the Light Space Time online art gallery’s 2018 seascapes competition is the painting Ã€ la côte sud d’ ÃŽle Sainte-Marguerite, which was the subject of this post in July and was included in the competition’s Special Merit category for painting and other traditional media. Check it out: https://www.lightspacetime.art/seascapes-2018-art-exhibition-special-merit-painting-other-category.

Second is a new piece painted at the end of November for Trenton Artworks’ annual 10 x 10 Red Dot fundraiser event. (This is my first year participating.) Artists in the area are invited to create art on a 10″ x 10″ picture plane. Each piece sells at the event for $100, with proceeds being split between the artist and Artworks or, if the artist elects, 100% to Artworks. The oil painting I created for this event is called “Promising Day” and is based on photography from my travels in Oregon and Washington state in August. 

The opening reception was this past Saturday, December 8. I attended with fellow Principia art alumna and Tenacre cabinet painter Marissa Bunting. Now a few words about the name of the event: When any art sells, a red dot (sticker) is put next to the painting. Sensible enough. If any happy art collectors wish to take home their prizes before the end of the show, they can; the Artworks staff then hangs red paper plates, which are just bigger red dots, on the wall in place of the art.

Ironically, Marissa also painted coniferous trees against a cloudy blue sky for this event, and her painting also had “day” in the title. And–I kid you not–the show organizers put our paintings next to each other. What can I say? The Force is strong with this one.