Golddigger
Posted on | June 12, 2009 | 2 Comments
I was thinking of the title “Gold Ring” for this new painting, but when I started writing this post, the title felt all wrong. I was thinking of my other painting, “Silver Ring,” and then the song, “Make new friends (make new friends …) but keep the oh-uld (… but keep the oh-uld) one is silver (one is sil …) and the other’s (and the oth …) gold …” started to play in my head. (That was a visual representation of “sung in a round,” by the way.) The title suddenly felt too sweet, innocent and boring.
And then it came to me: Golddiggers.
I loved this jeans commercial when I was a kid. “You can go for it you can get into … GOLD-DIG-GERS!” I only ever saw it when I was staying at my grandparents’ house in New Jersey during my brother’s and my annual week or two there in the summer. It was basically heaven on earth: constant attention, unrationed television, little boxes of breakfast cereal, and daily trips to the Demarest swimming pool where we only stopped swimming/Marco Polo-ing/cannonballing long enough to play knock-hockey.
Anyway, I don’t think I ever actually saw a pair of these jeans in person, but I definitely wanted to. And if I were ever lucky enough to own a pair? Look out world.
Golddigger
Artist Statement in 50 words (or less) … go!
Posted on | June 7, 2009 | Comments Off on Artist Statement in 50 words (or less) … go!
So, big news! I was juried into the Tiburon Art Festival. The jury was Kenneth Baker, art critic for the San Francisco Chronicle since 1985, and Kimberly Johansson, a curator and gallerist based in San Francisco, California.
I’m really excited! I’ll post more details as the event gets closer, but mark your calendars and plan to come visit me at my tent the weekend of August 22 and 23.
In addition to taking care of some business aspects of this art-tent-adventure, I need to write a “short artist statement (50 words or less).” If the website looks like the one from last year, it will list the photo of the work I submitted for judging (“Wedding Dress”), my name, my statement, and a link to my website.
Fifty words sounded like a lot until I actually started writing. Then I realized that all 50 words can get used up pretty quickly. On top of that, it’s … challenging … to write enticing copy to promote one’s own work. Anyway. Here’s the current draft. It has more oomph than my first draft, thanks to help from a couple of awesome friends of mine.
San Francisco artist Kelly White uses acrylics and mixed media to create vibrant abstract paintings of the beauty found in the details of life. Her recent work depicts women’s clothing and accessories. From fishnet stockings to motorcycle jackets, Kelly applies an offbeat perspective to capture an item’s essence on canvas.
Exactly 50 words. Phew!
Any additional suggestions for improvement? Please share. I’ve still got some time before it’s due.
To Explain … or Not?
Posted on | June 3, 2009 | Comments Off on To Explain … or Not?
In my post last night, I gave the what-I-was-thinking-of-backstory of “In the Dark.” But I am considering whether to avoid posts like that in the future. I’ve since heard fantastic interpretations of the painting that I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have heard if the people telling me about them had read about the moths. For example, birthday cake and dancing people! Brilliant!
Where abstract art is concerned, does it really matter what the image is “supposed to be?” More than that, I wonder if it would make the discussion more interesting if I didn’t say what it was “supposed to be.” Let’s see …
“In the Dark”
Posted on | June 2, 2009 | Comments Off on “In the Dark”
So about a month ago, in the middle of the night, I was completely convinced that there was a colony of large, glowing moths on the wall. The moths were rustling and vibrating, about to take flight. I knew that once they took off, they would fly right at me and smother me as I remained transfixed by their eerily glowing bodies.
So naturally, I freaked out. And when I forced my eyes open, the glow immediately faded into the darkness of the wall.
Here is what the scene looked like before it faded away. But it was bigger. And scarier. I promise.
"In the Dark"
How To Promote Your Art Online
Posted on | May 30, 2009 | 4 Comments
… and other ways to engage in Shameless Self-Promotion using Social Media.
I attended two(!) networking events this week. The first was a happy hour organized by my financial advisor extraordinare, Michelle Alberda, and held at Marx & Zavattero Gallery. It was the first “Cool People Party of 2009,” and I still have a warm and fuzzy feeling about having appeared on a guest list with such a flattering title. We enjoyed the recently hung show, Lineage by Lisea Lyons, basked in our collective coolness, and traded ideas and business cards. Little did I know that my new (and cool) acquaintance Suzanne Gregg‘s question, “How are you marketing your art?” would set the tone for my art-related activities this week.
The following evening, I attended (at the invitation of my networking partner-in-crime) a workshop called Using Social Media To Grow, Market and Sell Your Fashion Line. It was put on by Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center and Willo O’Brien.
- Social Media Matters. Maintain a consistent-looking presence on Facebook (profile and business fan page), Twitter, and Flickr. Update those channels often. Use Facebook to create event pages and invite your “fans.”
- Blog, blog, blog! Write your own blog, comment on others’, and participate on discussion boards. This helps increase your on-line presence and helps you meet other people who do what you’re doing. Use key words in your blog entry and link to other sites. Tumblr is an easy way to blog if you’re not much for writing. WordPress is a great platform if you are into writing.
- Share your process. “How To” tutorials on your blog or site can be very popular and drive additional traffic to your site See, e.g., title of this blog entry.
- Name-drop yourself. Get people to read your blog and visit your website by reminding them about it. All. The. Time. Include it in the footer of your emails, send updates on Twitter and post updates in Facebook. (Remember to use key words in your tweet!) Tr.im is a nifty service that will provided a tweetably short URL and allow you to track how many people actually use the link.
- Engage in only authentic communication. In other words, people can tell when you’re not being honest, are only using them, or are simply just not listening to them.
- Give good buzz, get good buzz. Contact bloggers and sites that seem to fit your work and your audience to see if they will feature you. Post positive reviews of companies or sites that you do business with or want to do business with.
- Sign up here! Add a button on your website so you can compile a list of people who are interested in receiving updates about your work.
- Ask questions. Ask your on-line communities what they think about new work or for ideas for new work.
- Get by with a little help from your friends. Ask your friends, family, and new people you meet about places or individuals who might be interested in your work.
All right . . . I’m ready for my close up.
Posted on | May 24, 2009 | Comments Off on All right . . . I’m ready for my close up.
(Wasn’t Sunset Boulevard a great movie?)
Do pictures of an artist help or hurt promotion of her art? I’m betting the answer is, like the answer to so many questions, “It depends.” But my friend (who, incidentally, can sell practically anything to anyone, but specializes in selling high quality legal advice) advised that “adding pictures of this emerging artist’s face certainly wouldn’t hurt.”
So I recruited Marc, who made good friends yesterday evening with my digital SLR, some borrowed lenses, and a flash-plus-Sto-Fen (LOVE the Sto-Fen!). I tried my best not to smile, which meant only about 50% of the pictures were smile-y, which is not a bad statistic for me.
I think we’re going to put a few thumbnails on the “Info” page of the site, just above the text. Check back soon to see which ones made the cut. In the meantime, here are some that didn’t:
Art on Record . . . on Velcro!
Posted on | May 12, 2009 | Comments Off on Art on Record . . . on Velcro!
Look! Here they are, all five together on the wall!
My Velcroed Vinyl
This image comes from the collection of photos at APW Gallery.
I want one!
Posted on | May 5, 2009 | Comments Off on I want one!
This painting was a lot of fun. A lovely friend asked me awhile ago to paint her something for her apartment. She didn’t care how big it was, but she wanted it to be abstract. What a perfect request! You’d think that with such wide-open options, I’d have it done in no time. But no. It took me quite awhile to get it together.
I finished her painting over the weekend and put the hardware on it last night. She tells me she loves it. I believe her. But I must confess that if she was not a big fan of this one, I would have been happy to have it hanging around our place.
The photo below is pretty true to the painting, except that the parts that look sort of medium-yellow are actually gold. So you may have to squint and imagine a bit of shine on those parts. (Now you see it, right?) The center of the painting is fabric. In fact, I found this fabric shortly after finding the yellow fabric I used for “Yellow Slicker” and I used it similarly. This stuff seems to do well with paint. I realize this characteristic is probably not one that the textile folks considered, but I definitely appreciate it.
Green, 36" x 36", mixed media
Art on Record, Vol. 2
Posted on | May 2, 2009 | Comments Off on Art on Record, Vol. 2
The Art on Record show opened yesterday evening at APW Gallery in New York. I wasn’t there, so I am eager to see the pictures of the event on the gallery’s website.
Busy, busy.
Posted on | April 26, 2009 | Comments Off on Busy, busy.
So I just finished an additional 8(!) paintings to add to the dresses, stockings, accessories and so on. I am a little bit painted-out.
I think my favorite one from this round might be Fancy Hat. I own this hat, but I have never worn it. I kind of doubt I ever will. I really like looking at the ribbons, flowers and feathers and that’s what I focused on in this painting.
Fancy Hat
