Tuesday, May 24, 2011

HELP! Choose Between Submissions for ARTunleashed


So I have been so motivated by the ARTunleashed project (see previous post) that I have made multiple pieces of art. I am trying to garner your opinion, readers, of which one "speaks" to you the most before I enter it.

I will donate the piece of art to benefit First Coast No More Homeless Pets (FCNMHP). I have to submit the work, fully framed and ready to hang (and give up full rights/ownership). It is then exhibited for free (exposure, awesome!) and there will be a silent auction in which someone may decide to buy your work. It is entered into a juried art show, as well, so there is the possibility of some prizes, including cash!

Whatever bid your art gets up to, will then be donated to FCNMHP, which is a great cause. They provide free or low cost spay/neuter programs to help control excess pet population.



I have to admit, I want to submit just to see if my artwork garners some monetary value or not, but hey, if it doesn't, this will be my first gallery experience, and that alone may get the creative juices flowing. The cause is enough to motivate!

Of the two I have done, which one do you think has the most marketability and the highest chance of helping with exposure? I could enter them both, but the cost of framing and prepping them both for show may be cost prohibitive.

I look forward to your suggestion of which to enter! Both are currently unnamed.. (suggestions? I'm terrible at naming artwork, I always want to do something quite common such as "Cat Nap"... <yawn>.

So... Which one? Cat or Dog? Why?

EDIT: I finally submitted the cat picture. I am excited to say that it was part of a bidding war between two patrons. They bid it up to 160.00 before bidding closed. I certainly was excited and a fun night as well as a great cause. This been a great learning experience to help me to decide what a piece is actually "worth" in the future.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

ARTunleashed 2011

Some of the art I am going to be working on will be to benefit First Coast No More Homeless Pets (FCNMHP). How, you ask? By submitting my artwork, framed and ready to hang.

Submit any animal inspired or animal topic piece in any media type for submission to a juried art show and then your piece is auctioned off in a silent auction with the proceeds benefitting the organization.

If you want to join or find out more, check it out http://www.jaxartunleashed.com/

Last year's winning entry (Not my art)

Coming up next.... work in progress. I'll document a piece every 30 minutes as I work on it. You'll be able to see how my brain creates artwork, step by step. Being a left-brained artist is a little different than you may imagine. Think... topography.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

How I Started Using Watercolors

This is where it all started: 


My love for watercolors... I was about 7 months pregnant and only working about 3 days a week. My girlfriend and fellow artist Kati stayed home with her daughter weekdays and helped her husband by working from home (he is a talented graphic designer). I have been afraid of color for the majority of my life. Art teachers forced it on me, a requisite to complete the class.

If it were up to me, I'd be wielding charcoal and mechanical pencil for the rest of my life, and maybe the occasional ballpoint pen. Those made wonderful drawings on lined paper. The best part was the texture of the inside of my notebook cover. The thick, easily dented surface made my ballpoint rich and every line flowed beautifully. Those drawings were a thing of beauty...shame I never saved any of them. The doodles while pondering the history of the world (ok, not really, I hated history, hence the doodling... I was probably pondering what time I could get out of there).

Okay, back on track... I was at my friend, Kati's house and she had a watercolor set. I had bought some watercolor paper and a few basic materials on the way to her house and we had decided we'd just jump into it. Materials I had purchased were entry level, so I didn't feel too scared of wasteful spending.

Kati ends up playing with a monotone piece (hopefully she'll let me share it on here, I did envy it so) and I had this photograph of an old rusty truck I found on a photography site (another passion of mine). I had previously e-mailed the owner that I thought it was gorgeous and would he mind if I did a painting of it? He was absolutely endeared to have the compliment and granted me full go-ahead. I promised to send him a copy when it was done.

So I start using my cheap, convenience store class watercolors and am able to lay in a foundation of color and create this truck painting. Not bad, I'm thinking... but wanting some richness I start laying it on thicker. I notice Kati has this other set and I ask if I can try them. What a difference! These were oily, not chalky like my store-bought counterpart. The depth of color is nothing like I knew one could accomplish with watercolor. What a difference high-quality stuff makes. I might have been turned off to the concept if I hadn't tried these. I finished the truck piece and, even being my first attempt, is still my favorite watercolor.

So the love affair with watercolor has begun. Thought I might call it a love-hate relationship (light areas are not forgiving if you get dark on them; pausing in the middle of working because it is too wet to continue and I need to add another layer but I have to wait (gasp) for it to dry. (I've remedied this by working on two simultaneously) I tend to work in fastidious stretches, with breaks lasting for days, and art supplies left all awry in the process (as much as possible with a 9 month old couch-surfing)

This is my first endeavor into watercolor. My lack of control with the media has become a bit of a feature I love about it. The dripping of the color on my page worked well with the dripping of rust, and the exaggerated color schemes I have started with this piece continue to be the theme of most of my other work (green dog, anyone?).