The past four months have been consumed with finishing two enormous paintings measuring 6 feet by 9 feet for my museum show at the Art Gallery of Windsor. At the same time, I’ve been putting the finishing touches on an eight panel installation measuring 24 feet wide. Needless to say things have been pretty intense and my friends have begun calling me a hermit.

It’ a huge relief to know the largest and most challenging paintings are done. It’s now time to concentrate on finishing a series of 8 paintings measuring 3 feet by 3 feet and a series of 24 small monotypes on paper. There’s still lots to do but at least the pressure in my chest has subsided.

Creating a site-specific solo exhibition has been a major undertaking over the past two years, but it’s finally coming down the home stretch. Things are starting to get exciting.

Lots of you have been asking when and where this show will be. Here’s a screen shot of the Art Gallery of Windsor’s online listing. It’s too tiny to read on this page. Just click here and you’ll be taken to the page where you can view it easily.  Scroll down for the Curator Mandy Salter’s comments explaining what my work is about. The Blue painting is called “Blue Horizon” and measures 4 feet by 4 feet.

There will definitely be an opening reception, so STAY TUNED  for your invitation.

Art Gallery of Windsor

Yesterday a friend gave me one of the most unusual books I’ve ever read. It’s called “Inside the Painter’s Studio” by Joe Fig. I can’t put it down !

Joe Fig is a Brooklyn based artist who creates miniature dioramas based on the day-to-day lives of professional painters. Ten years ago he began interviewing and photographing top New York painters in their studios. This book collects 24 amazing artist interviews and intimate photos of their work spaces.

Some of the artists are practically household names such as Ross Bleckner, Chuck Close, Eric Fischl, April Gornick, and Philip Pearlstein. Many others are highly successful, but new to me. It’s been a wonderful revelation with every interview to go online and research each artist’s work.

In every interview he asked the same series of 18 questions. These questions cover fascinating territory such as how do they organize their studios? Do they live where they work? What’s their daily routine? What music do they listen to? What paints and tools do they use? Do they use assistants? How do they come up with titles?

These interviews make you feel like you’ve sat down for a very personal chat right in the artist’s studio. What a rare glimpse into their daily working lives.

What is most apparent is they all work every day, in a highly focused way. You might think the higher profile artists would be out doing more glamorous things all the time. But art doesn’t get made by itself. Many mention they tend to work long days and must force themselves to go out into the world.

Most of them spend the first few hours of the day dealing with the business issues, email and phone calls. Then they get to work painting. This is the same routine I’ve always maintained as well. Once the business stuff is taken care of, I can shift focus and go into the painting mode without any nagging “to do’s”.

The most surprising thing to me was the fact that most do not have assistant around them all the time. They simply have someone come in occasionally to clean up, stretch canvas and pack shipments.

Being an artist, no matter how successful or famous, is ultimately about being alone in honest conversation with your canvas.

It’s been a busy week.

To begin with, I photographed and cataloged a series of 12 small paintings. They’re part of a series of 8″ x 8″ studies in preparation for the massive paintings I need to create for my museum exhibition in 2010-2011. They’re all multiple layers of acrylic on paper mounted on 1/2″ thick wood. I plan to finish as many as I can over the next year using the entire range of hues. There’s a small chamber within the exhibition space which will feature a selection chosen by the curator.

Here are a few of them in the Green / Blue / Violet range.

It was also time to begin preparing for an Encaustic Solo show coming up in October. I stained 18 float frames which I had my carpenter build for me. Once that was done it was time to attach them to 18 encaustic works on wood, each measuring 12″ x 12″. Of course that meant adding hardware and wiring for hanging. Those are now finished, photographed, and ready to go.

I always prefer to get things done in batches and out of the way. The next step for this October show will be to prepare frames for a series of  30 miniature encaustics. These are between 5″ x 5″ and 8″ x 8″ each. I’m not quite sure the best way to present these yet and I’m still looking into different options.

This morning I was really pleased to have collectors from Dallas, visit my studio. I met them at my recent show at Alan Barnes Fine Art.  At the Opening they bought the 20″ x 20″ painting featured on the cover of my catalog. They’re visiting Detroit for a wedding this weekend and took the time to cross the border to come see me. I was thrilled to be able to show them around.

Wow ! I just can’t believe it’s been 6 whole weeks since I’ve blogged. My most humble apologies to all of you who read this. You know how it it is. Life gets busy, and Blogging is one of those things on the to-do list that always seems like it can wait another day.

The past month has been intense in the studio. Yet when I look around, I almost wonder what I’ve accomplished. Most of my time has been spent doing prep work for my museum show next year. It’s involved going through my sketchbooks and doing small 8″ x 8″ color studies for the larger canvases. Now I’m itching to start painting large again.

This past week was quite fun. I had a studio visit by someone referred to me by our local Arts Council. They ended up buying a large 48″ x 48″ canvases called Green Horizon, which I only finished painting a few months ago. I went to the collector’s home to hang it for them and it looks stunning in their family room with the light shining in through the large window. They told me the painting makes them feel very tranquil.

Green Horizon C-0902, 48" x 48" Copyright 2009

On Wednesday I was invited to an awesome luncheon at the beautiful home of one of my collectors. There were only 8 of us which included the Director of a public museum, 2 museum curators of contemporary art, and other museum staff. Before an exquisite catered lunch we were treated to a tour of this collectors’  museum quality print collection of 10 Warhol Soup Cans,  6 Sol LeWitts, 15 Ad Reinhardts, 2 Jasper Johns, a Robert Motherwell, Roy Lichentstein and Jim Dine  to name only a few. Our jaws were nearly on the floor. There were so many beautiful works that it all went by in a blur.

In the midst of that fabulous iconic blue chip art were two of my paintings. As an artist it was a strange experience. Both very humbling and surreal to be hanging with all these legends of modern art.

In Canada they call public museums Galleries for some reason. Perhaps it’s a holdover from the British system, but it does cause confusion at times because commercial spaces are called galleries also.

The exhibition dates for my first solo museum show at the Art Gallery of Windsor have been finalized at last.  December 4, 2010 - Feb 6, 2011

You might think that’s awfully far ahead. Although it may seem that way, believe it or not,  I need to begin preparing now.

The Curator of Contemporary Art,  James Patten has asked me to paint an entirely new body of work for this exhibition. The space is gorgeous but cavernous with several smaller nooks for more intimate work. At about 2000 square feet with ceilings of about 18 feet, it’s daunting task.

The paintings on the top photo, which are not mine by the way, are actually about 10 feet x 12 feet. They’re just swallowed up by the space. For the exhibition to have any impact at all requires massive paintings. Massive paintings require a lot of pre-planning, and major work to create.

Shipping is also a huge issue when you’ve got paintings that large. This week, I’ve been researching specially built stretchers which can be assembled and disassembled easily. I found a quality supplier right in my own Canadian backyard about 200 miles from my studio which supplies artists all over the world, called Upper Canada Stretchers.

This will allow me to remove  finished paintings, roll them, and ship along with the disassemble stretcher. Then the whole thing gets reassembled at the other end. Pure genious !

Last week, an artist friend of mine told me a sad story.
This artist felt very fortunate to have a consistent group of collectors who always bought at her monthly Open Studios. To document her work she was in the habit of simply taking a quick snapshot with her phone. She couldn’t see the point of spending a lot of time taking quality photographs and creating digital images in various formats since she doesn’t submit to galleries or competitions. Snapshots were good enough for her needs.

Well two weeks ago this sad artist realized how wrong she had been.
Late in the afternoon on a Monday she got a call from an interior designer who had an unexpected, important meeting with the owner of a hotel the next morning. He wanted to look at photos of various artists’ work and make his choices before he headed out of town. The art budget was $20,000.

Unfortunately, this artist wasn’t ready. She couldn’t possibly meet the needs and deadline of the designer or the client. She lost out on what would most likely have been a huge sale. She’s been kicking herself ever since.

Artists ! Don’t let this happen to you.  Make sure you’re ready for any unexpected opportunity.

➢    For photographs and print media opportunities, have a color-corrected large digital image in TIFF format ready for every artwork you ever hope to sell.

➢    For email requests and submissions on disc, have each image ready as a small JPG image file.

➢    For online submissions and free promo sites, be sure to compress your images especially for the web, so no one can copy or steal them.

➢    Create a naming / folder / filing system on your computer so you can find any image quickly.

If you’re an artist and are confused about how to create these files, don’t worry, I was too. 7 years ago, I spent a year researching the easiest, least expensive methods of documenting artwork.

Check out my  e-Book for a step-by step guide Stand out in a Crowd with Dazzling Photos.

Well after much editing and fine-tuning, my E-Book for professional artists is finally launched  !!!!!!

Stand out in a Crowd with Dazzling Photos

It’s being published online by SmArtist. In it I share step-by step instructions and tips for artists to put their best foot forward through their portfolios and websites. 

Click This Link Below For More Information & Purchase Details

Stand out in a Crowd with Dazzling Photos

Three extra reports provide even more information!

Special Report #1: Your Guide to Digital Image Formats

Special Report #2: How to Organize Digital Image Art Files

Special Report #3: How to Archive Digital Images of your Art

Time is such a slippery, nebulous entity. For some it drags on minute by endless minute and for others it flashes by in a blur. For me, time tends to whiz by with the velocity of a runaway train.

Staying focused on the moment we’re in right now is always a challenge, isn’t it? Our minds are either dwelling on something in the past or focused on the something that may or may not happen in the future.

2008 has been a very unsettling year for most people. Yet there is also a sense of hope and faith that the chaos we are experiencing will reorganize the world into a better place. As individuals, all we can do is live our own lives as fully as possible, minute by minute - one day at a time.

For me the New Year is a always a meaningful time. I like to sit with a cup of tea and review my journey of the past year. What did I accomplish? What mistakes did I make and what did I learn from them? Where am I going next year and how am I going to get there?

I also like do a complete clean-up in my studio for a fresh start right after New Year. This is a photo of my encaustic wax work area after spending several hours cleaning and organizing the creative mess.

The month of December was unbelievably full of To Do Lists. In spite of that, I did manage to stay super-focused and inspired during long days in the studio. The work seemed to flow naturally and I actually finished a series of 20 small encaustic collage studies. Can’t wait to get back tomorrow and get to work.

Life has gone by in a blur of activity lately. But thankfully this week, my schedule is going to be dedicated to studio work. When the weather is cold like it’s been the past several days (icy, windy 22°F) there’s nothing I love better than to hunker down in the studio with a warm cup of coffee and get to work.

I’ve been wanting to do some small experimental pieces with encaustic wax collage. Last week I prepared about 25 hardboard supports with encaustic gesso in various small sizes. I also began painting reams of transluscent Japanese papers. The studio floor has literally been covered wall to wall with these gorgeous jewel-like colors that just make my spirits soar.

Now that I’ve got a large assortment prepared, I’m ready to roll. The pot of wax on my hotplate is heating up as this is being written and I can’t wait to dive in.

For the past several weeks in the studio, I’ve been concentrating on finishing a series of 12″ x 12″ encaustic wax pieces. I finished 6 in total and here are a few of them.

Mostly this time I experimented with carving through several layers of various pigments to see what would be uncovered. Instead of adding color as I do with painting, with encaustic, I remove it. This process of thinking in reverse makes for interesting brain gymnastics.

Blue Colorscape Encaustic

Green-Blue-Red Encaustic Colorscape