new venue

Yippee skippy! I have new place to hang my work- by a fluke. I went into a cool store/gallery called Grass Hut across the street from Grendel's Coffeehouse, where my work is now. I'd picked up some show cards there, and asked the owner how one gets to be on the walls there. A week later I came back to refill my business cards at Grendel's, and realzing I'd lost a card for a show I wanted to see, went back to Grass hut. The owner recognized me & said he'd thought of me. A bike shop downdown was looking for an artist to adorn the walls. Wow! I thought the two knew each other friends, but upon introducing myself to Ian at The Recyclery, it turns out that Justin had recently bought a bike from him. Ian was pleased to have someone pop up out of nowhere & volunteer/grab the chance.

Yesterday he'd shown me all the space there was to hang, and today I brought in a cd of photos of cityscapes, landscapes, linocuts & maps of antiquity as samples. He liked them all & told me bring stuff in any time, and he'd help me hang. Woohoo! They'll sell the stuff for me, and all they take is 10%- damn! He alo said that I'm welcome to the scrap metal/parts in the back- all he asks for is a piece of work that comes from it. WOW. What a deal!

I sketched some possibilities for linocuts that I could make prints of, and potentially make cards. I stopped by Art Media & picked up a few pieces I needed, and I'm planning on taking the afternoon to carve some fun new stuff.

linocut

I've learned a lot from the first 2 of 3 classes with Thomas Rude. The first one I did was ok- it was the doodly sort of thing I used to draw 14 years ago. It looks better in pen, I can tell ya that. The second one I decided to cut around the drawing- leaving the design to print in black. I'm really pleased with the way it came out. My first attempt at a cityscape wasn't bad. I need to do some cleanup and tweak my method. Ultimately I'd like to paint a watercolor sky, print a carved city on that, paint the buildings with acrylic, then do the linework. 'Cause the process as it is isn't long enough. yeah.

collectors and galleries!!

I'm so damned excited!!! I just got a confirmation email from the Cascade AIDS Project that my painting was accepted for the Art Evening and Auction! Freakin' YEAY!!! doesn't even cover it! I'm kind of reeling, realizing how many people will see my work. And not just people- like the thousands of New Season's shoppers- COLLECTORS, GALLERIES, WRITERS, OTHER ARTISTS! Collectors and galleries! And because I've donated, I get a ticket to the event! (Probably one for Jim, too.) I'll be there as a donating artist with the likes of Gretchen Gammell, R. Keaney Rathbun, Thomas Rude, and a host of other artists I've admired in galleries for years! I'll be one of them!

Here's this year's blurb: http://www.cascadeaids.org/page.php?id=138
and here are some photos from the 2005 Art for Life event that I volunteered for:
http://www.dimarcoimages.com/artforlife/

keep moving forward

It's been a remarkable art week! Today I stopped in at Tender Loving Empire to say hi & look at what's new, and lo & behold! Someone had bought a cityscape as a Christmas gift, and she handed me a check! Woohoo! Bonus!!

I'd forgotten (even now I don't remember signing up for it) that I'm in The Launchpad Gallery's Love show, until I asked yesterday & got the confirmation email today. Ha! I have some linocuts that are love & hearts, so I think I'll use those as stamps for the background of a collage/painting. Cool! I wanted to make my Friday an ART day, but I'm so good at being distracted by stupid meaningless stuff & wasting the day. But now I have something to make, and in limited time- guaranteed art day- yeehah! And I have to admit that it seems I've come far from showing my work in public for the first time in July of 2007 to selling work in a store, hanging my first solo show, and forgetting that I'm in a group show by February of 2009.

Sunday I hung 20 pieces at Grendel's Coffeehouse. I think it looks pretty sharp- it's amazing what some nice frames can do. First solo show- yeay! I hope I sell some:-) I've priced the little ones at $35- a good price for a framed original piece of art with mondo detail. I hope that it speaks louder than the screaming cacophony of the economy. It can be disappointing to start a career in a big fat recession, but I figure that sales can only go up from here. Any by the time things are turning around, people will have been seeing my stuff for several years, and may have liked it and wanted one for that time. Where did this optimism come from? I suppose it's determination- this is really what I want to do.

I'm psyched to be taking a linocut/printing class from Thomas. I inquired with him some time last year if he'd give me some pointers, and he responded to my Grendel's show announcement with a last minute invite to a small 3-Saturday class he's giving- starting this weekend! YEAY! Thomas is the master of linocuts- his work is precise and has incredible detail. http://www.thomasrude.com/ I'm interested in linocutting b/c it's doodling in 3-D, and I can make multiple prints and have fun with colors. AND use it as a giant stamp in other, larger pieces.

FREAKIN' YEAY!!!!

I submitted a piece to the Cascade AIDS Project Art for Life auction, and haven't heard back yet if it's been accepted. Ooooo- I'm keeping my fingers crossed! That would be a HUGE stage to put my name on. I mean- wow. I hope, I hope, I hope!