As I embark on the show circuit I did in 2014, I cease to be amazed at the quantity and quality of events that came to be. After nearly 36 art shows I still have lots of energy to move forward in 2015 with even more shows. This life is absolutely addictive and the amazing artists and places we see along the way have been so rewarding. Thank God for life as an art gypsy! My beautiful wife Kris is always at my side making it all happen as she sits humbly in the shadows but we all know that she is my secret weapon! Her keen observations and feedback have catapulted us forward into even more challenging venues with stiffer competition.
The Coastal Virginia Winefest and MOCA January Show
Some of my new work created in January for the MOCA show
January fired up pretty good with the MOCA January show, which was a real surprise. When you do an art show with alcohol involved, you are usually playing second fiddle to that. Chances at sales can be very low, unless you make a huge effort to engage everyone who enters your booth. Several of us did just that and were rewarded with surprisingly good sales! I even sold a large 30" X 40" piece a few days after the show. My client wanted to make sure that it was not just the wine that made the piece look so impressive! I was totally stoked when she was happy upon seeing it in my home studio and took it home right away.
Why would an artist do a show in January that could have poor sales? Think about it for a minute. You can sit at home and have your art not sell there on this cold blustery month; you could go to Florida and hope for sales and pay huge costs for gas, lodging and food; or you could just bring your work to this fun event (which we were going to go to anyway since we love good wine). I am so glad we did!
Hearts A Bustin, No. 2, © 11/23/2014, 18" X 24", Acrylic on canvas
Next I am doing the Virginia Beach Flower and Garden Expo with my garden art. We love gardening and I do as many garden pieces as I do surf art so this will be a great opportunity to share that with the public in a venue that focuses on that subject very specifically. Once again, in this kind of situation, I don't really expect much in the way of sales but the exposure is terrific. We always go to the event anyway and the best part is we will get a reduction on entry because of our participation at the event.
Owl Creek Pelican Series, No. 1, 18" X 24", Acrylic on canvas © 01/27/2015
I am very excited about a series of Pelican Paintings that I am embarking on this year that were inspired by the sensational photography of my friend and collaborating artist, John Wright. This is the first challenging piece that I completed in the series and look forward to doing many more where I push the envelope technically by forcing myself to do a painting with the smallest brushes I can find. There are many other ways to accomplish doing this piece faster with other tools, but I find the challenge of doing it with such a small rigger/script liner to be more exciting. It also gives the canvas an etched appearance which I really like a lot.
Artigas coming up in a couple of weeks!
My next out of state show will be ArtiGras in Jupiter, Florida in Palm Beach County! This was a tough one to get into and we are hoping for great things! Everything I have heard from my fellow artists has been thumbs up!
Be sure to check out my exhibition schedule to see where I am headed next on Kris and Ed's big adventure! It's right on my menu bar on this web site under "Exhibitions".