Going to switch my Blog!

I've decided to switch my Blog to my FASO account, where my website and newsletter is!  If you still want to receive email copies of my blog postings, please go to my website at www.jennybriggs.com and click on Jenny Briggs Blog, and subscribe!  You can also subscribe to my newsletter if you like!

Thank you for following me in my art world - I hope you'll follow me over to my new blog!

Happy Thanksgiving, and a Christmas Quilt

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope you all have a nice family to share the day with!  If you're going to be out shopping on the 26th, Judith and I are opening the gallery for the day, so stop by and see us!

I'm working alot on my pieces for the Twelve Days of Christmas show at Kennedy Gallery in December.  My Exhibit will be called "The Christmas Quilt".  Here's a sneak preview for you!

There will be twelve hung all together, all different "blocks", and will look like a real quilt (at least that's the plan!).  So far, so good - I'm liking them, have 6 finished to this point with just a little tweaking to do here and there.  What do you think?  I'm actually doing 15 so I have extras!

Phasing out the 8 x 10's

I've made a decision about my 8 x 10 prints - I've decided to start phasing them out.  I'm putting them on sale for $45 to $60, and even posted three of them on Ebay - to see what happens.  I made a starting price of $45, with a "Buy it Now" price of $60.  That means if you go there, see one you want, place a bid for $45.01, that starts the bidding, and the "Buy it Now" price goes away!  If you want to make sure you get it, you can go ahead and purchase it for the $60.

So, timing being as it is, with Christmas shopping coming up, and the economy being a little slow, I thought it would be good for both my clients and me!

I'm jennybriggsfineart on ebay, so if you want to look them up, check it out!

November 2nd Saturday at Kennedy!

Preview Thursday was really fun at the gallery - not only was it the opening of Judith Monroe's "Artist of the Month" show (she has great new pieces, but the way!), but there was a birthday party being held there at the same time!  There were lots of people there, enjoying each other, as well as the gallery!

Yesterday I worked at my regular job for 5 hours, made a couple of stops on the way home, and then painted for the next 4 hours, had dinner with my husband/bff Bob, then painted for another 3 hours!  It was a very long day, but wonderful - I got much done on my "The Christmas Quilt" series!  I'll give you a little sneak preview in a few days, so stay tuned!

Today is 2nd Saturday!  I'll be painting in a few minutes for at least a couple or three hours, and then start getting ready for the evening.  I'm hoping the trend continues of busier 2nd Saturdays - if you're looking for an early gift, the Kennedy is a great place to shop!  If you haven't been there for a while, we have a new mosaic artist whose work is really gorgeous, and of course, I'm still there, enjoying every minute of it!

Don't forget to check out my website at www.jennybriggs.com!

2nd Saturday at Kennedy Gallery!

I'm busy working on getting ready for 2nd Saturday at Kennedy Gallery Art Center, still hoping to have the daisies painting ready to take in!  I had a little minor surgery (nothing serious, no worries), which did, however, distract me for about 10 days!  Now I've committed to doing a series of 12 new paintings, 12 x 12, for the December show at the gallery, named "Twelve Days of Christmas".  I've decided to call my exhibit "The Christmas Quilt".  Phase 1 is finished, and will dry for a couple of days while I work on the daisies!  Perfect timing!   I'm doing 15 so that I have extras.  I'm doing them all at once, like an assembly line process.  Like a quilt, the use of colors will be repeated throughout.  Each piece will be great alone, as well as the entire series displayed together will look like a complete quilt, quilting stitches and all!

Almost November!

Wow, I can hardly believe it's almost November!  I still have a little work to do on my daisies painting, and hope to have another new one ready for 2nd Saturday.  I got a little side-tracked with other stuff for a couple of weeks, but back on track now.

I'm having fun entering art contests online here and there.  I entered three recently: Raymar's, Fine Art Studio Online, and Oil Painters of America.  So far, the first two have ended and I didn't win anything.  The last one ends on November 10th.  It's fun entering these; I love looking at all the entries, as well as the fact that I'm getting exposure by doing it.

I'm a few days behind at the shop but hope to be caught up by the end of the week.  I'm sure to get time to paint too, so that's very very very cool!

Not switching my blog address

I think I'll just keep using this blog address for my blogging.  It's nice, easy to use, and separate from my website.  I'm still planning to use the website newsletter, though, so please go there to subscribe if you haven't already!

I've been entering online art competitions lately - I really enjoy it.  I've never won anything in them, not even an Honorable Mention.  I've never sold anything from doing it.  I just like sharing my art!  I learned long ago that judges' opinions are only opinions, and that Not Winning doesn't mean Not Good!  I do it for the fun of it.  I like seeing my piece on the "entries" page, like looking at the artwork, like reading the judges' critiques.  I've actually gotten visits on my online gallery from the competition sites, so it's given me exposure on other works as well.  I'm hoping I get visits to my new website too now that I have one!

Making Apple Pie hasn't won anything, but it's become my best-selling print, so it's OK that it doesn't win a prize!  It's one of my favorite paintings; the original is in my kitchen, and it always makes me think of my Mom.

I'll be at Kennedy Gallery tomorrow from 3 - 6; my turn to work for the afternoon.  There's lots of art stuff happening down there tomorrow, Art Festivals and Artoberfest!  I think it'll be fun!

Then, I'll be working an extra day there on the 20th, from 11-6, and will bring a painting in progress to work on for the day.  If you're looking for something to do either day, come by and see me!

Just in case I didn't give you my new website address, here it is:  www.jennybriggsart.fineartstudioonline.com

White Egret

The White Egret is finished; I took it to the gallery yesterday for the 2nd Saturday event.  It was very well received; everyone oohed and aahed - very good for my artist ego!

2nd Saturday was very busy - fun talking to all the art lovers!

Not quitting Facebook

OK, I'm over being mad at facebook!  I figured out how to get my photos back where they belong.  So I'm not going to quit Facebook.  I wonder how many people actually did after this last round of changes.

My Website

I've gotten my new website in pretty good shape now.  The address is www.jennybriggsart.fineartstudioonline.com  if you would like to check it out.  I like it, hope you do too!  

Making Progress!

I'm making progress on my White Egret painting; I'll post photos soon.  I think I might quit using Facebook.  They've really made too many changes.  Now I don't have all those photo albums on there any more!  I have my Yessy Gallery online, and am working on a trial website now.  Facebook has just gotten hard to use!  I don't understand the timeline thing, why some of my stuff isn't visible on my fan page any more.
I haven't decided for sure yet, just mulling....

White Egret almost finished!

The gallery was fun yesterday; spent the day painting, hanging out with Phil (our terrific wood artist), talking with people, helping them pick out and purchase art.  I made quite a bit of progress on my painting; I think one more sitting will do it!

Painting at Kennedy

I'll be painting at Kennedy Gallery today - I actually don't need to be there until 3:00, but don't see the point in just sitting there for three hours, so decided to come early and work on my White Egret painting.  I'm looking forward to it!  I love to paint in public, for some reason.  Maybe it makes me feel like a star!  Oh, that's right I am a star!

Making a Proposal

Making a proposal for artwork is very interesting.  Firstly, being invited to be one of a group of artists to submit artwork proposals is very cool - an honor, actually, especially if the other artists are people who are very talented artists!  It's really good experience and I learned some valuable things from doing it.  As you know, the three paintings of the Great Blue Heron are the ones I used for my proposal.  I'm not nervous about it at all - I did my very best, and that's all I can ask of myself.

It's now out of my hands, and I'll just wait to see what happens.  Of course I hope it works out my way!  At the very least, I've added three new paintings to my gallery!

White Egret in Progress

It's so much fun to paint!  I just love it!  I worked on WHITE EGRET IN THE WETLANDS today - I'll post the photos of the progress.  The first one is the way it looked after the first sitting with it.  The White Egret hadn't arrived yet!  I had taken photos of the ponds with and then photos of the birds, so I'm adding the egret in where I want him - artistic license!  This one seems to be one of those which will require several sittings.  I've had two now, and I'm pretty sure it'll take two more at least.

This is the one I started on the first day of the CAST Tour - my "studio" set up at Kennedy Gallery Art Center.

This is today after working on the painting, and adding the White Egret in.  As a PIP (painting in progress), it's looking nice so far!

Painting with the music playing, quiet otherwise, peaceful.  I hope this is what heaven is like!

A little catching up ~

This week I'm catching up on bookkeeping, laundry and housekeeping! I got a little behind concentrating so much on those last three paintings! I have the two new paintings in progress, both started during the CAST Tour, to be finished soon! That will be five new paintings in a pretty short time - sometimes theygo fast and sometimes I end up working on them several times. They average out to 3 to 4 sittings.

Nice to get caught up on things, ready to get back to my paintings, tho! This is a pic of my set-up for the CAST Tour, with the still-life I started there.

Tweaking

Today I re-worked, AKA "Tweaked" two of the two paintings of the Great Blue Heron.  I think they're improved.

Now, I won't have these at the Capitol Artist's Studio Tour, which as you know is tomorrow and Sunday, but I WILL be working on a new painting!  Come by and see me!

Finished the Blue Herons from the Wetlands!

I finished the last of the three new paintings of blue herons in the wetlands.  Each on is a different look, a different style, and a different feel.  I like that!  They're not on the market yet as I'm using them as samples for an artwork proposal.  Here they are, tho!  In order, the titles are: NO FEAR, MORNING STROLL, & SUNRISE IN THE WETLANDS. 

I'll be at Kennedy Gallery Art Center tonight for our Preview Thursday event; should be fun - it always is! 

Working hard on my large project - three paintings in progress - only one photo turned out and I'm out of good light, so I'll just post the one that came out ok.  This is the blue heron at sunrise in the pond.  I started it today and got quite a bit done on it; it's 24 x 24.  I worked most of the water highlights with a palette knife - it was pretty fun.  I tried the brush and it was just smearing and muddying, so the palette knife was the perfect solution.

I also worked on another new one of the blue heron just as he's starting to fly out of the tree.  He actually dive-bombed into the pond, got a fish, and flew right over my head with it!  I got photos of that too!  Very cool!

So, now there are three in progress, all to be finished this week!  I can do this!  They're going smoothly, and I'll probably only need one more sitting with them.

The Wetlands

I went to the wetlands this morning to take pics - it's gorgeous there; I live very close to a protected area.  I paid close attention this time to how obvious it is that we humans live here too!  I've done several paintings from these wetlands, and have always wanted them to look un-spoiled, wild, and fresh, so I've removed things like houses in the background, fences, sprinkler lines, reflections of telephone poles and electrical lines in the ponds.  I was surprised at how much we impact the area, even though it's protected.  I wonder if we really protect an area by adding sprinkler lines, etc.  Although the area is protected, we have re-routed it to make room for our homes.  And I don't get political!  Just saying....

Anyway, I was looking for a blue heron, and found one.  I took photos; he wasn't in a good position for the painting I want to create, but every photo is a good reference for color, etc.  He flew off, and I tried to get a photo of that, but that didn't turn out well.  I have one of those from a previous photo hunt, tho!  I've came across a squirrel who was nice enough to pose for me.  Lots of smaller birds - scrub jays, red-winged blackbirds, etc.  Most of them are so fast it's hard to get photos!  I was out there from about 6:30 to 8:30 - walked about 5 miles or so - a slow walk so it didn't feel like a trek.  It was very fun, and I'll be going out again tomorrow to a friends ranch which is pretty wild.  The cattle and horses are an added feature out there!  This ranch is where I got my first photos of a blue heron, tho, and I'm hoping to find another one as well as the white egret.  They're so cool, they seem prehistoric to me.

I've taken on a project which will keep me crazy busy for a couple of weeks.  I had planned to try to do another workshop in September, but will have to postpone til October, and even that is tentative.  I hate to disappoint, but can't be helped!

Florals or Not Florals? Hmmm...

I'm kind of re-thinking my plan to do some little florals to have for the Capital Artists Studio Tour in a couple of weeks.  I'm not sure yet.  I had some nice little frames made for the panels I'll be using, and they're really pretty.  Framng is very important; I've decided to put the "Frosting the Cake" painting into a different frame.  It just doesn't show up well in the one it's in.  I'll be waiting for that one to arrive in a few days!

I just don't know for sure what I want to paint on those little panels.  I want to do something different, so tonight I'll be doing some sketching and playing - I'm sure something will come to me!  I say a little prayer, just relax, and let it come to me.

Stay tuned....

Finished both paintings! Whoo-Hoo!

I was able to finish both paintings I had in progress; "Now THAT'S a Cupcake!", an 8 x 10, and the larger one, at 18 x 24, called "Oak From the Window".

Now I get to start new ones!  Like I said on FB, it just doesn't get any better than this!

Capitol Artist's Studio Tour

September is going to be another exciting, fun, art-event-filled month! I'll be part of CAST, which is Capitol Artist's Studio Tour", organized by CCAS (Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento). It's a studio tour, and I'll be set up in my gallery at Kennedy for the tour which is the 10th from 10-4, along with 2nd Saturday, AND the 11th from 12 - 4! It's a big event, over 140 artists in the tour, and I'm honored to be included!

My Own Gallery!

I've wanted my own gallery for a long time and now I have it!  I love it!  It's small, cozy, friendly, inviting, and mine!  I'll attach a photo!  2nd Saturday was slower than last month, but as always, it's fun to talk with art lovers and other artists!  I really love that!

Next month the building will have AC, thank God!  The Rainbow Chamber of Commerce is having a special event at the gallery Tuesday night, so I'll be there for that - sounds like fun - lots of people will be there.

Nanette Oleson is the guest artist out in the front part of Kennedy Gallery; her work is fabulous!  She obviously loves painting, and uses lots of color and colors bounce all over the place in her work, and you know I love that!  Her brushstrokes are semi-thick impasto and look like they were really fun to do.  She makes me want to do more alla prima and plein air work!  Her work is really worth coming in to see.

My gallery for this month is pretty varied in style.  I wanted to show that variety of subjects and styles that I do!  I know some artists become well-known for a specific style, or specific subject-matter in their work.  I just haven't been able to get that focused on one aspect of art.  I just get bored with that.  I want to paint whatever I'm in the mood to paint, so I guess I'll just keep doing that until I feel like changing.

Bigger Space at the Gallery!

Very excited to have decided to move to a larger space in the gallery!  Come see me there, either Thursday or Saturday, if you can!  I'm having so much fun planning the lay-out!

I had hoped to have the two new pieces ready for Preview Thursday tomorrow, but alas, time has been scarce!  I'm hoping at least one of them by Saturday!  Can't promise, though!

Oak in the Morning Sun 2

I had almost three hours to play today, so I got alot done on Oak in the Morning Sun.  I WANT to finish it for Preview Thursday, but I'm not sure...we'll see how it goes!  So far so good!  I'm liking the feel of it!  Tomorrow is my birthday, so I get to do whatever I want!  I think I'll paint!

Oak in the Morning Sun

I'm once again looking forward to Preview Thursday and 2nd Saturday!  I just love it!  I hope to be able to finish the two paintings I'm working on - the one of the cupcake, and the new one I just started this afternoon of the Oak in the Morning Sun.  Work is taking up lots of my time these days, which in some ways is good, but cuts into my painting time!  That's not good.  However, I'm not yet to the point where my art sales are enough that Bob can retire, then becoming my driver/cabana-boy, which he has been made aware is my plan for his retirement!  LOL!

Anyway, here's the initial sketch of Oak in the Morning Sun:

I had started another painting on this canvas and didn't like it, so I wiped off the paint, which left a nice grey ground.  I usually like to use a brighter ground, but I like this so far!  Against grey, brights look very bright, and there's lots of sunlight colors on the oak that I hope to bring to the fore!  I was tempted to go ahead and start putting paint on, but I knew I would run out of time and light, so it'll have to wait.  I'm planning to have it finished in time for Preview Thursday!

Sweet Charlotte going home!

Sweet Charlotte is finished!  I did the final tweaking today.  I'll actually miss this one; it really is sweet!  I'll try to get a photo of the painting being delivered to the owner.  Charlotte is her granddaughter.

Musings about Abstracts

My friend Michael Kennedy has painted a really gorgeous painting; it's an abstract piece, very colorful - I'm attracted to the shapes and colors in it, and can actually SEE something there!  I'm not wild about abstract art - I personally prefer paintings that are "of something" and tell a story, but that's just me!  Considering the prices that some abstract art brings, it's obvious that some people really value and love it!  I think I'm warming up to it though!

When I first started painting, it was very important to me that my work was very tight and photo-realistic.  I stressed over it, actually!  My attitude, as well as my art, has relaxed somewhat; now I want my paintings to BE "painterly", and figure if you want photo-realism, you might as well just take a photo and be done with it.  It's more fun to concentrate on telling the story or creating the image I have in my head than it is to concentrate on getting it exactly perfect!  After all, it's a PAINTING!  It's a rendering, sometimes from life and sometimes from a photo, for me, anyway.  I enjoy both.

On the other extreme, there are people like my son, who feel that the best paintings ARE photo-realistic, very tight and life-like.  I was awed by some paintings like that at the deYoung Museum, upstairs.  Some of the images are so life-like, it looks like you could pluck an item off the canvas!  Certainly, there is much skill in that as well!  As a member of the Oil Painters of America, I enter some of their shows (so far none accepted), and now have entered the online competition for associated members like me.  I go there and look at the entries - quite a few of them are photo-realism, and very beautiful.  Some of those works are so stunningly awesome, I wonder how I could ever even come close....

Still, painting is the thing I love to do, and will for all my life continue to do!  I do it for the fun of it, after all!  I sell once in a while, and that makes my heart soar, because I know my art is being treasured and enjoyed.  That's part of what makes it fun!

Very busy day, but SO FUN!

I finished "Debbie's Daisies" today - a very special piece!

Debbie's Daisies

It dawned on me the other night; I also remembered something Mary said at the end of the workshop about my progressive glasses!  I forgot to change to my non-progressive glasses for the demo, so it could have been brighter.  I brightened the highlights in four spots on the painting, and NOW it's finished, and framed!

Cup Alla Prima

Then, I started the Cupcake painting!  I actually started it twice; the first canvas had some kind of weird flaw in it so I tossed it out and started over.  I got the first layer of paint on; it was a special, very decadent, many-caloried, gooey kind of cupcake!




Cupcake


After that, I went to Kennedy Gallery and worked there for a while.  It was pretty slow, but there is always the art to study; being around old art as well as new art is pretty cool!

Sweet Charlotte

Sweet Charlotte is almost finished; just some small tweaking to do, some highlighting, and it's finished!  Her Grandmother is going to love it!

Between working 5 hours at the shop and 4 and a half hours at my studio, I'm sitting here with my feet up instead of going to the meeting at the gallery.  Sometimes I just plan get tired!

Debbie's Three Daisies

Had fun working on Debbie's Three Daisies today - nearly finished, just need to tweak a little in a couple of places  - probably Friday or Saturday when it's at least tacky-dry-ish.  I put alot of paint on it today, and the white takes longest to dry.  I like it so far; it's another little 8 x 8 piece.  I found that I enjoyed doing the small ones; they're just as cool as the larger ones, but small!  I can keep the prices low enough that most people can afford them too and I like that!  You can purchase an original oil painting from me for only $125 - not bad, huh?

The number of steps involved is the same as a large one; I just use less paint and smaller brushes!  Let me know what you think!

Workshop was so FUN!

My workshop was fabulous!  Carol, Elsyne, Karen, Kip, and Mary - a great group, all brave souls, so open to hearing what I wanted to share, and to trying some new things!  It was so much fun for me, too, that I will be doing it again!

My workshop Saturday

My workshop is Saturday!  I'm excited about it - getting everything ready now!  Painting, talking about painting, sharing about painting - it just doesn't get any better than that!

Much Better!

2nd Saturday at Kennedy Gallery was much better than last Thursday!  It was still pretty warm, but very lovely, nice, fun and exciting evening!  The crowd was heavy, but not too heavy.  The people were serious about art and/or find a piece of art for their home - so fun to talk to people like that!  By the end of the evening I was really getting hoarse!

My painting, "One More Shell" sold - it went to a good home, exactly where it was meant to be!  In case you're wondering, I do still have Limited Edition Prints of that one!

I'll be delivering 19 pieces to Lake Forest Cafe to be decorating the walls there for 2 months!  I'm honored and pleased about that!  My home studio/gallery is depleted to almost none, between here and the Kennedy Gallery!  Darn, I guess that must mean I need to paint some more!!!  LOL

One More Shell

Must be the heat!

The reception was really dead; I think it's the heat.  The first real heat wave, although today was in the mid 90's people still aren't used to it yet.  It's supposed to be about the same for 2nd Saturday, but I'm hoping attendance will be better!  Yet, even though not many people came through, I had a good time.  I always do!  Now it's onward and upward to the next one!

There's 2nd Saturday, and hanging my work in the Lake Forest Cafe on Sunday afternoon, which will be gracing their walls for 2 months!  That's cool!

Also, dropping off a couple of pieces at the Firehouse Store on Sutter Street in Folsom too!  I like being in more than one place.

I found out today that one of my pieces; a print of Spirit, Reflected, is now in Denver, so I can add Colorado to my list of states and places where my art is!  That's cool, too!

Finished Frosting The Cake!

Whew!  I didn't think I was going to make it!  I worked on this for about 6 hours today!  I'm considering it finished; it says what I want it to say.  I'm not saying I'm perfectly happy with it; I never am!  I love the hands doing things theme!  Our hands have alot to do with making memories!  Hands are not the easiest thing to paint.  That's one of the reasons I love doing them; it's a challenge, and I'll never get it perfectly!  One of the paintings I saw at the deYoung Museum was a "masterpiece" of a woman sitting in a chair reading a book.  It was a side view.  I could tell the painter had trouble with the arm.  I could literally imagine him saying, "Well, that's as good as it's going to get; I'm considering it done!"  It made me feel SO good to imagine that!

Frosting The Cake

I'll be taking this into the gallery tomorrow, must put a "Wet Paint" sign on it!

"Going For The Look" and "Variety is the Spice" combined show theme!

My show at Kennedy Gallery will be sort of a combined show; Celebrating the release of the original paintings in the "Going For The Look", as well as "Variety is the Spice", celebrating the variety of subjects and styles that I've had the pleasure of playing with in my work!  It's not really work, though; it's my very favorite thing to do!  Most of you have seen the red shoe, which has become my logo; here's another one in the series.  There are 7 in the series (then of course, there's the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" series of the little shoe paintings!)

Come see Thursday night at Kennedy Gallery, 1114 - 20th St. in Sacramento,  6 - 9!



Untamed

This is a painting I'll be bringing into the gallery for the first time - been saving it for the show!  Both of these original oil paintings will be there, as will I!

One More Shell

As you can probably tell, I'm pretty excited about being featured at Kennedy Gallery!

It's my turn!

I'll be the featured artist at Kennedy Gallery from July 5 thru August 6th!  I'm excited about it.  This is one that I'll be bringing; a 16 x 20 print of Wine and Grapes.  It's really pretty, a print from my first still-life - from life!

My works will also be decorating the walls at the Lake Forest Cafe in Folsom from July 12 thru Sept. 3!  Pretty exciting to be there, too!  It's a very nice little restaurant, only open for breakfast and lunch - fabulous, well-known, popular place to go!

Frosting the Cake PIP

Here it is, as promised and as requested, the photo of Frosting the Cake, painting in progress (PIP).  It's so fun to work on paintings in public!  I get so many comments!  Those comments help confirm that I'm on the right track in my goal with the painting!

Working the Gallery

I worked the gallery today; as always, I had fun.  I really enjoy talking with people who come in to look!  I worked on my painting, "Frosting the Cake", and that's something I really love to do!  I made some progress - didn't get a photo so I'll have to post one later.

The Three of Us

The original painting of "The Three of Us" was sold yesterday, but not to worry!  Cali Color is my print-maker, and they do a fabulous job!  The prints look very much like the originals!

July is coming up so fast!  I'm still hoping to have a couple of new pieces for my exhibit at Kennedy Gallery, since I'm the featured artist for July.  I'll be working on "Frosting the Cake" today before I go to the gallery to take my turn working there from 3 - 6.

Frosting the Cake

After work, I came straight home and painting on the new painting, entitled Frosting the Cake.  It took a while to get the initial layer of paint on - kept having to re-work parts!  First I had the hand too big, then the cake was too small - now it's looking pretty good, still in progress, obviously, but here it is.  It's 11 X 14 and I'm painting on linen canvas, which has become my favorite surface.  This one is stretched canvas, and I recently purchased a set of three linen canvas panels.  I also really like the firm surface.

3 Stages at Folsom Lake College Show

Dennis Cleary graciously shared his photo of me with my painting. The reception was very nice; Folsom has many very talented artists! Each of us could enter one piece, so the show includes quite a variety of styles and media. It was fun chatting with the other artists that I haven't seen for a while, too!

Sweet Charlotte

I worked on Sweet Charlotte today; the owner has waited so patiently!  It's coming along.  I feel that my weakest point in my painting is perspective, so I like it when I'm challenged with perspective.  The little pretend sink has lots of lines and angles - making it look "right", well, I'm working on it...by the time it's finished it'll be believable and I will have the learned from doing it!

3 Stages Show Reception

Tomorrow night is the reception for the 3 Stages Art Show at 10 College Parkway in Folsom, from 6 - 8.  Come join me if you want to see some terrific art by the members of  Folsom Arts Association.  I have one painting in the show.  I'm looking forward to seeing the show, old friends, and all the art lovers sure to be attending!  I chose to enter a painting of the building on the corner of Sutter Street and Riley;  I named it "Old Town Tower"; it was THE gas station many years ago!  I figured it was appropriate to enter a painting of Folsom.  It's a small piece, just 11 X 14, so it's a very affordable original oil painting, at $380!

New Exhibit at the Kennedy Gallery

I really love my new chairs and table set!

Marketing and the bookkeeping

Today I'm working on the books and the marketing - a time-consuming-but-necessary facet of my art world!  My online gallery at http://www.yessy.com/JennyBriggsArt is now up to date with all the pricing corrected, etc.

Yesterday was really fun, I really enjoyed spending time down on Sutter Street in Folsom!  Gloria and I had fun talking to people who were coming by to see us.  Then at Kennedy Gallery for the evening; it started out kind of slow, but we had a steady flow of art-lovers coming through!  My new table and chairs set looks fabulous in my space; I forgot my camera there, so I'll have to post that pic later.  I like that I can sit down and rest once in a while, and LOVE that I can sit down with a client and give them my full attention!

I now have 5 students signed up for my workshop - room for 5 more - I think it'll fill up.

It was a long day, but a good one!

2nd Saturday in Folsom and then Sacramento

First, just a little side note; a friend pointed out to me Thursday night that my pricing was inconsistent.  She was right; I hadn't realized I had gotten it so wierd!  Anyway, I corrected the problem, and while I was at it, I lowered some of my prices as well!  The original paintings of the first shoe series are now priced at $375 each, and the new little 8 X 8 paintings of the second shoe series are now priced at $125!

Tomorrow is 2nd Saturday, for which, if you've been following my blog, you know that I'll be at Gem N I Gallery in Folsom (815 Sutter Street), from 11 - 2:30, and then at the Kennedy Gallery Art Center from about 4 - 9.  I'm really looking forward to it spending time in Folsom - I found some really great pieces of furniture on Sutter Street for my wall at Kennedy Gallery and some cool clothes too!; there were lots of people in town, too!  Now that the renovations are completed, it's really nice!

The Kennedy Gallery is also looking great with all the resident artists taking their spaces back; it seems like a fresh new gallery!

My Wall at Kennedy Gallery

I have my wall back at Kennedy Gallery!  I took out all those nails, spackled, painted, and hung my art back on my wall!  It looks great - I'll post photos, but they're not very good ones.  I took them with my phone; didn't have my camera.  I'll repost the photos Friday, as long as I remember my camera Thursday!

I divided my wall in two; one side dedicated to the shoe paintings, all originals now!  It really looks nice!  The other half is other work that I do.  I don't know if it looks like two seperate artists or not - I wonder if my brushstrokes are recognizable now so you can tell when you see a painting that's mine.

The Shoe Lady

OK, so I guess I AM the Shoe Lady!  I have said I don't want to BE the Shoe Lady.  But in fact I AM the Shoe Lady!  I've decided that's ok, since they do make people smile, which is my main goal for my art.  I'm still going to focus on PAINTED MEMORIES now, but I enjoyed painting the shoes - it WAS fun!   Between the first set of 11 X 14's, and the 8 X 8 pieces for the 20-20 show, I've done 33 paintings of shoes.  I think that's enough for now!  Moving on is ok, it's the way to grow and learn! 

I've decided to release the originals of the first series of shoes, called "Going For The Look", in which there were 7 paintings, all 11 X 14.  I found matching frames, and painted the trim area to match the shoe, so they make a great set.  I'll be bringing them to Kennedy Gallery tomorrow for the June exhibit there.  They are now priced at $695 each.

My Workshop in July

I'm registering people for my workshop July 16th.  It's going to be really fun; I'll be discussing "The Color of the Air (setting the mood), Color-Mixing, and Color-Bouncing (reflected color).  I'll be including a small demo, talking about my way of color-mixing, showing how to bounce color around on a painting, and then guiding students through their own small painting.  I'm really looking forward to it!  Not that I think I'm a master painter, by any means!  However, I DO know more than some, and am excited about sharing with those who want to learn.  I plan to use my former teacher, Rick Leandro, as my pattern; he was so willing to share any and all of his knowledge!

Closing Reception for 20-20 Show!

This Friday night from 4-7, we'll be having our closing reception at the Kennedy Gallery!  There are still many paintings left to be had; all artists did extra paintings to replace ones that have sold.  You'll have no problem finding something for yourself or for a gift; small, delightful pieces of ORIGINAL art, all priced below $200!  Come celebrate the art and the artists with us!  Here's one of my pieces that you might have missed at the opening reception.

Gem N I Jewelry Gallery Today

I wrapped my art in plastic to protect it from the rain and took it to Gem N I Jewelry Gallery today, and worked with Gloria getting it organized and hung.  They look great in her space; I love the warm wood walls!  Gloria is so hospitable and helpful, too; I enjoyed working with her.  She makes jewelry, repairs jewelry, strings pearls, replaces gemstones, re-sizes rings, etc!  Her store has a great variety of things in it, from jewelry to scarves and hats, glass art, paintings, and more!  It's got a warm, welcoming feeling to it too, probably because of Gloria herself.

Sweet Charlotte

So, my model, who is also my sister, was here tonight, we frosted a cake together.  It was very fun; we laughed alot.  I love spending time with her.  I took photos of her frosting the cake, really.  Memories of our Mom when were kids.  This will be the next painting, other than the custom piece I started just before the 20-20 project.  I can work on them at the same time; I'm usually working on at least three.

I'm not really sure I want to call my "Memory" paintings a "series".  It's the direction I'm taking my work, my art, my art world.  I think my custom piece, named "Sweet Charlotte" is sweet, truly.  Talk about a memory to treasure!  Heres a photo of her in progress.

Gem N I Jewelry Gallery

Wednesday I'll be taking some art down to Sutter Street; Gem N I Jewelry Gallery, at 815 Sutter Street, will be hosting me for the Folsom 2nd Saturday Art Walk in June, and she has a perfect place to put my art that is already in need of filling!  My paintings and prints will be in the hallway.  I'm looking forward to seeing Gloria again, and love that she called to invite me!  It's been a while since my shoe pieces from the "Going For The Look" series have been in Folsom - I think I'll bring a set, along with some other nice pieces, like a print of Making Apple Pie, Wine and Grapes, The Queen of the Bouquet, and who knows what else!  I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, so I'll just bring a bunch of art!

The Shoes

Then again, I guess I shouldn't cringe when I'm called The Shoe Lady.  After all, if my goal of giving pleasure with my art is to be believed and the shoes make people smile, (which they do!), I HAVE attained my goal!  But that doesn't mean that I want to paint only shoes!  It was actually a gallery-owner's idea that I paint the shoes as a series.  The MEMORIES series is MY idea.  Maybe that's the difference.  This is what makes ME smile, as I said before.

Painting Memories

I think I'm at a crossroads in my art.  So far, I've been kind of all over the place in my subject matter, styles; I guess I've been experimenting for 15 years.  I used to just want to paint whatever I was in the mood for, and once I began selling my work, I thought that having the variety would be a good thing.  In some ways, it's been good.  I've gotten pretty good at making nice paintings.  I'm not a master, by any means, but I do all right. 

Still, when I look at what really successful artists do, and hear what some say, I know I'm at the point where I need to decide what I like to paint the most.  I've been asked that by quite a few people, and my answer was that I didn't know.  That's true; I didn't know. 

I've been thinking about that a lot lately.  The shoes are cool and fun, but I really don't want to be known just as "the shoe lady".  I sort of cringe a little when someone calls me that.  I try to do a good job on the shoes; they ARE fun to do!  My goal with them has been to try to give each one it's own story, to make the viewer be reminded of something, or imagine something.  I try to make them "fine art".  Still they're sort of between fine art and pop art (fine pop), and that's the nature of the subject-matter.

When I painted "The 1959 Gibson L5, in Repose" and "Making Apple Pie", my hope was to create the feeling you get when you remember something in your life that made you feel good.  I've finally figured it outt!  THAT'S WHAT I LIKE PAINTING THE MOST!   I felt good while was creating them, because they made ME smile!   So, I've decide to concentrate on painting memories - either my memories (such as "Making Apple Pie"), or a story told to me (such as "The Gibson L5....).

"The Gibson L5 in Repose" was originally going to be in a musical instrument series that I had planned to name "Art and Soul", but I've decided to change my plan.  It's now in my new series, that I'm calling "Memories" or something like that; I'll have to think on that a little more to decide for sure.  So, here are the first two in the series, just in case you haven't seen them before.  I'll be starting the next one in the series this week; I have the idea in my head, and my model coming over Tuesday.

I'm pretty excited about it - the decision has been made; I have a goal and a plan;I have so many ideas in my head I'm going to have to start making notes!  I'm going to work very hard to make these paintings not just "pretty good", but REALLY good.  Practice and more practice, that's what it will take; I know that.  What a horrible thing, practicing my painting!  LOL!  This is going to be great fun!  That's one of the things I love about painting; I will NEVER be as good as I want to be, so it is a life-time challenge!

What do you think?  I encourage comments!

20-20 Show Closing Reception

There will be a closing reception for the 20-20 Show; we're hoping to get most of the artists back to the gallery for the event.  It will be Friday, June 3rd, from 4-7.  Come celebrate our art with us!  All of the artists deserve kudos for being willing to take on the challenge of doing so many pieces with so little time!  It takes dedication and commitment to do a project like this!

By the way, here's one you haven't seen yet!