This upcoming Wednesday, May 1st, from 6:00pm-8:30pm is Downtown Pleasanton's First Wednesday Street Party. I will be the featured artist from Studio 7 for ArtBlock (at the corner of Main St. and Angela St). It should be beautiful weather...so come on down and say "hi" and peruse (...or buy...ahem) some local art. :)
Recent Awards
My husband is so sweet to watch our little boy (already a year old next week!) for a few hours every weekday morning so that I can work in the studio and continue with my art career. Um...also...it helps me keep my sanity. And ONE of those days a week I dedicate to searching for galleries, submitting to shows, and basically keeping up with the business side of things. Not my favorite thing to do, but a necessity as an independent artist who wants to get paid occasionally. The nice thing about submitting to shows is winning awards! Here are some recent ones:
Honorable Mention - Pleasanton Art League Show
Maylapsy, 12x24, acrylic on panel
1st Place, Acrylic - Livermore Art Association Spring Show
Bappledips, 36x36, acrylic on panel
Now, those were local shows...and though it's nice to be recognized locally, but the next award really made my week. I happened to win 2nd place out of 970 entries from around the world. NINE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY. Sweet! And they even have their own YouTube Channel...
2nd Place, Overall Winning Artist - Light Space and Time Gallery
Tixobleeps, 16x16, acrylic on panel
Live Demo March 23rd
For those of you who want to see painting in ACTION, I will be at Studio Seven Arts this Saturday, March 23rd from 10am-2pm. The Pleasanton Farmer's Market will be going on as well, so buy some nuts and berries and then stop by the gallery and see me! :)
Bapazoops, 12x12, acrylic on panel
Pleasanton Art League Open Show
I will be displaying a few abstract paintings at the Pleasanton Art League Open Show next Saturday, March 9th. Other local talented artists will be showing as well! Reception and awards 1:30pm-3:30pm at the Alviso Adobe, 3465 Old Foothill Road, Pleasanton, CA. Hope to see you there! :)
Vozy, 12x24, acrylic on canvas
Logo Commission
I was recently asked to create a large scale (48x48) painting of a logo for a new company. The logo was simple, yet I wanted to make the painting interesting despite the simplistic composition constraints. This was the original logo:
Nice. Clean. Symmetrical. So I decided to get "painterly" with it--jazz it up a bit with some sparkly glitter and splashes of color. Here is how the finished product ended up:
Firehouse Arts Center Display
Firehouse Arts Center, Pleasanton, CA
From February 19 - March 26 a selection of my large abstract paintings will be on display at the beautiful Firehouse Arts Center lobby in downtown Pleasanton. The lobby is open to the public Wednesday-Friday 12-5pm, Saturday 11am-3pm, and during all show times. The lobby display will be in conjunction with the Harrington Gallery show:
CALIFORNIA: EARTH, AIR, WATER, FIRE, LIFE
Exhibit Dates: March 2 - April 6
Artists Reception, open to the public: Wednesday, March 6, 7:00-9:00 pm
My Rules.
My rules are pretty simple. I have just two of them.
I've realized that if I stick to "my rules" good work will happen.
1. Don't Be Lazy. To do this I need to schedule my creative time. If I just wait for "inspiration to strike", either I won't be prepared or I will be out of practice. I make my studio time a priority during the week even if it's only a few hours at a time. Heck, with a nine month old baby boy who's getting really good at butt-scooting around the house...I really can only squeeze in an hour here and there. So there it is. Make the time. Don't be lazy.
2. Don't Be Afraid. This is especially true in my abstract painting. In the midst of creation I need to be free to change the composition entirely, or to try a new technique or color scheme. It is the only way to keep things exciting. And if there is a beautiful mark that needs to be covered up in order for the piece to work as a whole...so be it. Don't be afraid to change it. Don't be afraid to do something crazy. Don't be afraid to ditch a project for awhile if it isn't working. Just don't be afraid. Simple as that.
And when I think about it...these are good rules for life as well. LIFE. But that is a topic of another post...
New Works at Studio Seven
So...for the lovely month of February, Studio Seven will be displaying my new abstract paintings on their main wall. Did I tell you how much I love Studio Seven? Well...I do. It's true. They have such an eclectic mix of artwork on display...but ALL of it is stunning (and I'm a hard sell). If you are in the Pleasanton Downtown area, they are on the corner of Main Street and Angela. Say howdy to Dirk, Jan, Kim and James. If I weren't so busy, I'd love to party with them more. :)
P.S. They also were awarded "Best Art Gallery in the East Bay" by Diablo Magazine for 2012 and 2011. How cool is that??
Studio Seven Arts in Downtown Pleasanton, 400 Main Street.
Welcome!
Me, 7 months pregnant, doing the "Vanna White" at last years Conversations in Color solo show.
So. It is time. Let the games begin!
I've been working on updating my website to be a bit more user friendly, and along with the revamp I've decided to add a fancy blog. That's right. I said it. FANCY! I'm hoping to keep you all updated with current art events, post fresh new works, and even give you a peek every now and then into my strange warped brain. I know you are as excited as I am. :)
Feel free to comment on the new layout of the website. If anything doesn't seem to be working right please let me know! And dude, try it on your phone...
Love ya,
Courtney