new backgrounds

These arebrand spankin' new- not even titled/numbered yet. I'm experimenting with backgrounds. This is on gessoboard/hardboard with a cream colored base (instead of white gesso) and the background color painted on, let to dry, then sprayed with water & let drip. I want it to look like the sky is falling.

old stuff, new eyes, new stuff

So I made it into the Art & Labor show- my second juried show acceptance- yeay!
Here's the blurb: http://portlandcityart.org/2009/06/26/art-labor-the-labor-of-art/ There aren't any pics of my stuff, but OH MY GAWD the artists I'm sharing walls with a freakin' incredible. Keeping fingers crossed that something sells... the opening was a lot smaller than I'd expected. BUT KC Cowan was there!! She's half of the Oregon Art Beat crew- EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I spoke with her (she's approachable and very nice), she said she liked my work (EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!) and I gave her my card. If nothing else, KC Cowan has seen my work, likes it, and has met me. Have I mentioned EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!?

I'm painting new ones now (I've ben showing the same damned ones for 2 years). I'm excited to have something new- the backgrounds are very different. I'd show you what I'm doing but our scanner isn't on speaking terms with our computer. I'll have to take photos. I've also had the thought to put more skyscrapers in there- real ones. Or at least inspired by real ones. I've traced some new & funky buildings from all over the world, and want to put my favorites in the background- a little Detroit, a little Tokyo, a little Paris.I'll have the whole world in my paintings. Then I'll do the smaller buildings where people live in the front, as always. This just makes the city bigger, and the gap between the haves & have nots more profound.

yeay!

I received confirmation that the curator received my submission- I'd left it on her porch so as not to disturb her or barge in unannounced. Hee hee! Here's her email:

I found your packet this afternoon.
Thanks for bringing it by. (stealth-submission ... :-)
Your work is a delight.

A delight!! This is good! The curator has told me twice that she likes my work, and that she thinks it fits! Woohoo!

I have the drive

100 miles of it, to be specific. Between being away on a family getaway for a week and the 4th of July being on a Saturday (and the day after we returned), the deadline for applying for a juried show became a bit of a chore. One snag led to another, and here is Sunday and I haven't sent my application. And it was due Friday. So, I made the trip to Salem to hand deliver my submission. BTW- I heart MapQuest.

Why the century drive? (And yes, I did consider biking)
1. The show is about the current hard economic times, is scheduled to run around Labor Day, and is called Art & Labor, and the Labor of Art. Pretty catchy, huh? I sent an example of my work with my request for application info, and the curator's response was yes, I agree that your work is a good fit for the theme, and I look forward to seeing more.
2. She gave me a grace period of "As long as I have it by Monday" deadline extension.

So who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? It's a juried show, and I have a lack of those on my resume, and I received encouraging feedback from the curator. The drive was necessary. A consolation prize is that the mileage is tax deductible.