Troy Horse

 

Found objects, salvaged electronic components, oil paint, wax medium, polymer clay, antique box. 14.25" h x 10" w x 7" d; horse piece can detach from its box/stand. I really did have fun with this and I think it shows. Found the pulley-wheel about a year ago near the tracks in St. Paul and I am really pleased to have finally put it to use.

Goldfish for Note Cards

These are all "artist trading card" size, 2.5 x 3.5", pen and watercolor. I made them during Art Crawl this weekend. Planning a set of four note/greeting cards from them.

Another of the Crow Series, Sold

292, found sign, salvaged metal, oil paint, wax medium, colored pencil.  8 x 10".

This is the piece I made specifically for the Soap Factory's annual $99 Sale. I had fun with the idea that the crow this time had just flown off, leaving a couple feathers in its wake.

The feathers are cut from salvaged aluminum sheeting, and painted with a wax medium that gives them a realistic-looking texture. I have a great time with these, and will be making more.

Still living less safely: I just finished a submission disk for a show opportunity. I might or might not make the cut, but there's only one way to find out.

Art Crawl Alert! But ... what's Art Crawl?

Click to enlarge the JA Geiger Studio Art Crawl postcard

Saint Paul Art Crawl is a very large twice-yearly open studio event. Basically, a bunch of artists open our studios to the public and put our work on display on the same weekend; it's like an outdoor art fair, but indoors. I'm showing as a guest artist at JA Geiger Studio, where parking is free because we aren't in Lowertown.

An "On the Spot" type portrait. They're approx. 8 x 10" large and ready to fit a standard ready-made 11 x 14" mat and frame; no custom framing required!

Some of us do live demos during Crawl. I do On the Spot Animal Portrait Sketches. Bring me your photo of your dog/cat/horse/bird/lizard/hamster (no, really -- I've drawn hamsters) or whatever you have, and I'll make a sketch in about 20 minutes, while you watch it happen. If you like the results, hand me $20 and take it home. Plan ahead, because it's first come, first served. In Spring, I ran out of time before I ran out of animals!

Consider this your invitation! (Click to enlarge images).

Charlie the Spaniel

Charlie, mixed media on paper, 10 x 8".

Isn't he cuuuute? I love my job.


I'll have animal portrait gift certificates at Art Crawl, by the way. Great for That Person Who Has Everything.

And on that note, I am off to La Patisserie to finish the big canvas. And get one of Deb's amazing little lemon tarts, if she has any left today. Lemon tarts were one of the joys I discovered while studying in Paris, and Deb makes the exact same kind I got there. I have a terrible weakness for them.

Dangerously Close to Done

This is a 48 x 60" canvas in progress at La Patisserie bakery, corner of Snelling and Randolph. If you haven't visited, I recommend it; great made-on-site baked wonders and the friendliest people anywhere.

The top image is where I left off today, and below is how it looked when I started. I won't be back there until Friday morning and should be finished by Friday around 5.

  

Bloomington Theatre & Art Center News

Saturday, this is where I was, at Bloomington Heritage Days with BTAC, doing a drawing demo:

 

The dog's name is Charlie and he belongs to Gail Weber of Twin Cities TOSCA. I'll post photos when the portrait is fully finished.

MY DRAWING WORKSHOP is on Saturday, Oct. 6th, and you can sign up here. One-day workshops are great if your schedule doesn't allow for a regular class. We'll be doing the same dark/light on tan paper method you see in my animal portraits. A very old technique and easier than you'd imagine.

 

I was at the event to publicize the BTAC's art classes. There are a lot of them, and we have excellent instructors!  Go check out the catalog

Motley as a Pup, and the Trouble with Free Art

Motley at Rest, 11 x 11" mixed media on cotton rag paper

So, yeah. It's been a busy, busy few weeks! And now I'm gearing up for Fall Art Crawl at JA Geiger Studio, (note that, as of my writing this, the site hasn't been updated; Fall Crawl is October 12 - 14 and the hours and address are all the same as for Spring).

Meanwhile, there's a discussion I'm following about a well-known musician, Amanda Palmer, who has landed in the middle of a controversy for asking professional musicians to come play in her band, on her tour, for free. Except, she's going to pay the ones in NYC because the show there has to be top-notch.  Some musicians (and visual artists like myself) are deeply bothered by this.

Here's Amanda's blog post defending herself, and another person's take on the situation.

When and why to work for free is a constant question in the lives of professional artists. My experience is that if everything's about the money, about survival, it kills me; and so I do give out of my art to support causes I believe in. I have donated art to:

Enchanted Makeovers
Northern Lights Greyhound Adoption
Arts for ACT
The Bridge for Youth
Home for Life

and there are more, but you get the gist.

But Amanda Palmer is not a charity, and work donated by artists is not "free" for the artists. It is time, materials, and study. It is an opportunity cost.

I've lost track of how many people I have shocked by telling them I had to work for my gift. An innate aptitude for art was only the beginning, and the rest has been decades of study and practice, a constant quest to gain new skills. This shocks people who assume that if you have talent, it all comes easily.

Amanda Palmer, an artist herself, knows how hard it is for artists. She of all people ought to be finding ways to make it better, instead of perpetuating the same old toxic ideas we already have. I totally understand the reasons people will play for her for free, but it breaks my heart that she'd ask them to.

Motley the Yorkie, in his PJs

Motley in his PJs, 11 x 11" mixed media on paper

Yorkies are such little charmers. This one belongs to the owners of the Dream Home for the Fall Parade of Homes here in the Twin Cities. His portrait -- two of them; this is the first -- will be on display there.

Watch it Happen

This is at La Patisserie in St. Paul. A 4 x 5' canvas showing the building as it was in the early 40s. I started it today and this is how far I got; will continue tomorrow afternoon.