Art on Main Event

This weekend is the Art on Main event in downtown Stillwater Minnesota. All the galleries on Main Street will be participating. It's kicking off this evening with the Meet the Artist Reception at 5 (and goes until 9). Come on out for some wine, food and art talk! I'll be at the Art Guild Gallery so please come on out. :)

Art Reception

This weekend is the Art on Main event in downtown Stillwater Minnesota. Last night was the Meet the Artist Reception. The weather was nice, but there wasn't a huge turn out. But we had quite a few sales and we all had a great time.

Me and Randy Raduenz, one of the gallery owners.

 Me and Becky Benson.

 Jim, Randy, Toni and Nancy looking through an old photo album full of earlier photos of the gallery. It sure has grown!

Toni and Nancy, two lovely ladies!

Updated Gallery Wall

I spent my Sunday volunteering at the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery and putting up "new" work. I try to update my wall every few months, but I actually haven't done it since January. I had an animal theme going, and actually sold a couple of pieces. This time I thought I would bring in some of my earlier, more loose watercolor paintings. I don't paint like that anymore, but I thought someone might really like them. They certainly brought in a lot of color, so I think they'll be perfect for summer.

Meanwhile, all the animal paintings that I brought home with me are now relisted in my Etsy shop. Some of them are, "Hiding Spot," "January Snow," "A Pugs Life," and "Can You See Me?"

I hope you had a great weekend!

My First Art Show!

"Cosmos" 5 by 7, Watercolor Painting

Available Here

I booked my first show yesterday! It will take place in the River Room of the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery in Stillwater Minnesota. I will be doing it along with one of the owners, Randy. I had originally thought about doing it myself but the space is pretty large and I wasn't sure I would be able to fill it. Perhaps next year I could take on a solo show! So anyway the show will take place for the month of December, this year. I have lots of time to prepare, but a lot of work to do!

One of my goals for this year is to do more things like this. I'm relatively shy and don't like talking about myself a whole lot, but I know in order for my business to grow I have to step out of my comfort zone a bit. This is the first step!

I took a bunch of new work to the gallery yesterday and brought some back as well. One of the pieces I brought back is "Cosmos," shown above. Check out my Etsy shop for some more new stuff!

Hope you're having a great week!

Gallery Move

My old wall at the gallery.

My new wall.

I think I may have mentioned in a previous post that I was going to be moving to a bigger wall at the gallery. Well, I did this last week. You can see how small my previous wall was. Now having moved to one that is twice the size, I am able to hang more paintings, as well as have my quilt rack and taller print rack. And I'm happy to announce that after moving to this larger space, I made my first sale! :)

We had a "meet the artist" reception this past Friday and I think the timing was bad because that evening a winter storm started. Us artists far outnumbered the customers, but it was still a lot of fun.

Gallery Website

Just a little announcement, I am now up on the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery website! Click here to see my profile. If you didn't see my post yesterday there are a few things going on at the gallery this week. The holiday trunk show begins tomorrow, and runs the entire month of December. Stop by the show to see a variety of marked down art of all kinds. Also, this weekend is the Art on Main event. The Meet the Artist reception is Friday from 4 until 9, and the event is also Saturday 11-5.

I am so busy this week getting everything ready for these events at the gallery that I haven't had any time to paint. I hope to be painting again by the weekend. Oh, I almost forgot... I'm moving to a bigger wall in the gallery tomorrow, and I've been spending my morning framing some new paintings. I've had to take a couple more off Etsy, and now I feel like I don't have anything on there (as far as paintings go).

Just a little side note - If you've been following my blog you may recall a post a did called "Operation New Printer." Ha-ha... A couple months ago I discovered this swanky printer that I really wanted to get, but couldn't afford at the time. Well... I bought it today! It's time for an upgrade. I'm so excited to be able to make my own giclee prints. I'll let you know how they turn out. :)

Have a nice afternoon!

Gallery

The time has come and my paintings are up in the gallery! I still can't quite believe it! My Fiance went with me yesterday morning and we got it all set up (he's much better with a ladder and tape measure than I am).

I have just a small wall, about 10 feet by 2 feet, but it fits my little paintings perfectly. I have been offered something quite a bit larger, but for now, I'm going to keep this little space. I also have a little basket of my quilted table runners besides my wall.

My paintings, "Boat Reflection," "Full Bodied," "Heavymetal," and "Tabby Cat."

Here is "Summer Cherries" and "Shell on the Shore." I also have several prints available. I was unable to fit my last painting on the wall, so it ended up on my print rack. It is "Multilayered." Also, my painting "An Apple a Day" will soon be displayed in the front window of the gallery.

For those of you who don't know, the gallery is the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery located in historical downtown Stillwater, Minnesota. There are many galleries downtown and they attract art collectors from all over the world.

Since I moved out here, Stillwater and this gallery, have been my favorite places to visit. To now be a part of it myself is a dream come true. :)

I hope you all had a great weekend!

An Apple a Day

"An Apple a Day" 8 by 10, Pastel Painting

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away," right? I guess I wouldn't know because I don't eat too many apples :). This painting is a little larger than the ones I normally do, it's an 8 by 10. My representation at the gallery begins next Monday and they want to put a painting of mine in the front window. I thought I should have something a little larger than 5 by 7, so here it is. I think this will be perfect.

This painting was completed with a combination of soft pastels and pastel pencils and the surface is Pastelbord.

I hope you all had a relaxing weekend! :)

Making Prints

This is what my desk looks like right now. I’ve been a busy bee making prints this morning. In exactly a month from today, my representation begins at the gallery, and I still have lots to do in preparation. While making these prints I’ve come to the conclusion that I really need a new printer. I currently have a Canon printer, which prints incredible photos, however the types of paper that I’m able to print on, is limited. So, I’ve begun “Operation New Printer.” :) I know the one that I want and it’s ridiculously expensive, but I think it will be a great investment.

I only have 2 more days off before new classes begin in school, and I’d love to have some more time off. We only get a week and a half off between quarters, and no summer break. But I’m very lucky that I don’t have to work and go to school at the same time. Although, I treat my painting and quilting like a job! :) I spend a lot more time painting and quilting than I do with school, and I’m still managing to maintain a 3.9 GPA. Not bad! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!