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Play It Up. This morning I was going through my usual routine of looking at art blog postings. Many of them are about art marketing. Of course, the bottom line for each of the marketing blogs is how to sell one’s work. The articles discuss websites, networking, approaching galleries, and the “pitch.” This morning I learned that I am supposed to make you, the potential buyer, comfortable with my work. I should ease my way in and have you hold my work in your hands. And, according to one of the posts, I should focus on your need for my art.
Well, I’ve decided it’s like cooking. Read all the recipes, get the idea, and close the books. So here it is…I would like you to buy my paintings if they speak to you. And you now have a new opportunity to have a conversation with a large body of my figurative work.
I am exhibiting at the Colony Theatre in Burbank during the run of the West Coast Premiere of Handle with Care, which previews November 5, opens November 8, and ends on December 14. The exhibit director asked that the title of my show reflect the theme of the play. The subtitle of the play reads “a beauty, a bubbie, and a box.” That would be a challenge. However, a fuller description played right into my hands: “…bizarre circumstances bring together …”etc. etc. I immediately chose my exhibit title…Chance Encounters.
Part of my preparation for any exhibit is to write an artist statement. Here’s a sneak peak at my statement to enhance your “conversation” with my paintings.
These oil paintings are images of people moving, resting, and colliding. However, they are not cityscapes. I have minimized backgrounds in order to draw attention to everyday humanity. I believe that amidst the chaos, we have chance encounters, form genuine attachments, and experience authentic moments. I hope that the paintings in this exhibit, Chance Encounters, resonate with you.
Go see the play and visit my paintings. I have not raised my prices for this exhibit. And that’s my pitch. I think I played it up.
Exhibit of Expressionism. About a month ago, I visited the exhibit Expressionism in Germany and France: From Van Gogh to Kandinsky. The exhibit has scholarly significance in that it demonstrates that Expressionism was not simply a German approach but, rather, influenced by French post-impressionism. Thus, Expressionism, was a European phenomenon. Now, you know everything I know. Possibly more.
In other words, I did not go to this exhibit with the intention of absorbing significant factual information regarding this period. And, I was successful in that regard. My real satisfaction was in my enjoyment of the paintings. For unaccountable reasons, I felt surrounded by art that moved me. Although I was allowed to photograph only selected paintings, I came home with a significant number of images of figures and faces that pleased me.
Kandinsky
Kirchner
Kirchner
Pechstein and VanDogen
I am now looking at these photos before me much as I imagine a detective looks at photographic evidence of a crime…to find meaning, a pattern, a story. It want to solve the mystery of my attraction. I know that I love color, but not glaring color, and these paintings fill the bill. They are unidealized depictions of ordinary people in their real lives. These paintings are original, unique expressions of personhood. Ironically, as much as I want to distance my self from academic insights, I believe that the definition of Expressionism sums it up. These paintings reflect the emotional feelings and interpretations of the artist rather than an attempt to accurately render the subject.
Although I do not render my human subjects photographically, my main goal is to capture the unique real life characteristics and expression of the subject. I am not an expressionist. Yet, you have probably noticed that I amp up the color in my portraits. I want my faces and figures to be charged and full of life. And, finally, I always hope that my personal energy and enthusiasm for the subject is evident. A bit of expressionism.
