I subscribe to several blogs myself--my niece's and an artist whose work I admire. So I figured why not give this blogging thing a try. My life is not that interesting, but so many people blog every day and I guess it doesn't matter whether they are interesting or not. It seems to be a popular thing to do.
So I've spent some time adding things to this site that reflect my own interests--namely art, animals and writing. I hope someone out there finds them interesting.
Today I went gallery hopping with a couple of fellow artists from the co-op I belong to. Our purpose was to see how these galleries/co-ops display the artwork of their members. The co-op I belong to has been in existence for five years now--and we have gone through a variety of growing pains. Our biggest issue is getting people in our community interested in our art--more specifically, we would like more people to BUY our art. The town I live in is small, and let's face it: times are tough right now. People who come to the gallery are usually "just looking" and/or are killing time while they wait for a friend whom they are meeting for lunch at the restaurant next door. Most of the comments I hear from people visiting the gallery are that we are too expensive, or they "like the art but it doesn't match their furniture" or they like it but don't have room for it, etc. etc. Frankly, our artwork is priced a lot lower than most art in the surrounding area (Louisville and Lexington), but I guess that doesn't matter. People aren't going to spend money on original artwork when they are paying $5.00 for a gallon of gas.
Anyway, we visited a couple of galleries in Louisville and discovered that they're really not all that different from us--and their prices are definitely a lot higher. Visually, they're set up pretty much the same as we are. They just get more attention because they are located in the "art" districts while we are pretty much the only "real" gallery in Shelbyville--and since we are a small town the art seekers tend to overlook us.
So what did I take from this? Basically that all artists are the same in that they want people to like their work, maybe buy their work, and mostly they want validation for what they do. It would be great to be one of those few artists whose work is in high demand, but that's just not going to happen here in little ol' Shelbyville--but at least I have a place to show my work, and I have, on occasion, even sold a few. Guess I shouldn't complain.
So I've spent some time adding things to this site that reflect my own interests--namely art, animals and writing. I hope someone out there finds them interesting.
Today I went gallery hopping with a couple of fellow artists from the co-op I belong to. Our purpose was to see how these galleries/co-ops display the artwork of their members. The co-op I belong to has been in existence for five years now--and we have gone through a variety of growing pains. Our biggest issue is getting people in our community interested in our art--more specifically, we would like more people to BUY our art. The town I live in is small, and let's face it: times are tough right now. People who come to the gallery are usually "just looking" and/or are killing time while they wait for a friend whom they are meeting for lunch at the restaurant next door. Most of the comments I hear from people visiting the gallery are that we are too expensive, or they "like the art but it doesn't match their furniture" or they like it but don't have room for it, etc. etc. Frankly, our artwork is priced a lot lower than most art in the surrounding area (Louisville and Lexington), but I guess that doesn't matter. People aren't going to spend money on original artwork when they are paying $5.00 for a gallon of gas.
Anyway, we visited a couple of galleries in Louisville and discovered that they're really not all that different from us--and their prices are definitely a lot higher. Visually, they're set up pretty much the same as we are. They just get more attention because they are located in the "art" districts while we are pretty much the only "real" gallery in Shelbyville--and since we are a small town the art seekers tend to overlook us.
So what did I take from this? Basically that all artists are the same in that they want people to like their work, maybe buy their work, and mostly they want validation for what they do. It would be great to be one of those few artists whose work is in high demand, but that's just not going to happen here in little ol' Shelbyville--but at least I have a place to show my work, and I have, on occasion, even sold a few. Guess I shouldn't complain.
Meanwhile, this is one of two commissioned pencil portraits I recently finished.And this is the second one. It's been awhile since I did any pencil drawing. I'd forgotten how much I used to enjoy drawing.
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