meet the artist

On short notice, I will be appearing at Garrison's Cafe in Hammond, LA for an informal "meet the artist" from 5pm to 7pm next Thursday [Sept. 21st]. Several of my large paintings are hanging at Garrison's, and I will be bringing some new paintings for the evening. There have been some interest in my paintings there, so I'm hoping I will be meeting with some interested patrons. I'm excited/nervous - wish me luck!

Spring for Art: the results

Well, it's just one of those things. After borrowing a truck, hauling the paintings, hanging the artwork, fretting over what I should wear [I chose shorts and flip-flops, by the way], after all that, the night was a dud. I would guess around fifteen groups of people came through Coffee Rani last night and of those only five or six groups actually showed any interest in the artwork. Two people commented that this years Spring for Art was poorly advertised and that the side roads were not blocked off as in previous years. So that and the earlier rain and overall humidity of the evening all combined to form a big ball of blah.

On a positive note, all those who came to look at art were enthusiastic about my artwork and only had positive things to say [I immodestly admit]. And I was able to meet a couple of people who had previously seen and liked my work. I handed out a dozen or so business cards, and the owner of Coffee Rani is graciously allowing the artwork to hang for another couple of weeks and offering her wall space for the next Spring for Art in the Fall of the year.

So I'd say it was a solid moral victory . . . which is not quite as good as an actual victory. You take what you can get, right?

Highly recommended if you're in the area:

Coffee Rani
234 N Lee Lane
Covington, LA
(985)893-6158

Spring for Art: the day before

Nothing like an art show to make an artist second-guess his artwork. Now I've reached a certain point in my artistic ability where I am totally comfortable beginning a project with the knowledge that I will finish it and it will be good - I'm never sure how long it will take, but I know it will be good. That said, I have completed a set of twenty-two paintings for this show, and I still don't feel ready. I feel the need to go out and take another peek . . . one last critical eye, perhaps to spot the weakest link: the runt of the group, the straggler that doesn't make the grade. Suddenly nothing seems finished, but I find no logical reason to support the feeling. I have to rely on my earlier judgement, on what I was thinking when I stopped painting, signed it, and called it art.

Anyway, the big show is tomorrow night -- I'll let you know how it goes.