Gallery Reception Tomorrow! Yikes! I Mean Yayy!

Cotton Candy Updo, 16x12, Oil on Birch Panel, 2010

I am very busy today with work for an event coming up next weekend, more on that in another post, but I am also beginning to simultaneously stress out AND look forward to the opening reception for my show at The Main Street Gallery tomorrow. I like going to the openings, it's always nice to talk to real live people who are not delivering the mail or packages to our house. heh. And while it is always nice to discuss my work with interested folks, I do tend to stress about all that ahead of time: I have a whole slew of notes to self; to not babble on and on, spray spit while talking, wear comfortable and dressy but not TOO dressy shoes and clothes (black is always the best option there), take a few pictures of the exhibit and also keep an eye on Doug. Still not letting him off the hook for the excessive drinking he did at one of my openings about 4 years ago. He has a strict 2 drink limit for these sorts of events now, hehe.

Anyway, at the risk of inundating all of you who visit my Facebook pages and have surely seen ALL these links many times, I am going to put them up again here for those of you who do not do FB.

So the gallery link is above, and this morning I posted all the images that will be in the show on my public Facebook page. You can view them here and if you are on FB, go ahead and 'like' me if don't already; that is the page where all my art talk and exhibition updates are. There have already been a few newspaper mentions, one here and one here. The second one is a longer article written by a nice fellow who called me the other day. As is often the case when I get holed up here on the farm, I worried that I talked the poor guy's ear off, but he did a wonderful job of accurately conveying what I told him about my work, so I guess I wasn't too boring. He asked good questions too which is always nice.

So I am off to make underpaintings today, have a good weekend all, and if you are in the Ithaca/Syracuse area, it's a short drive to Groton which is right off 11. Just so you know......

Opening at Carrie Haddad Gallery

Well, it's been a over a week since this opening for my show, but I will post about it anyway. Doug's brothers and their families were visiting us last weekend and things were pretty hectic before that (cleaning the house, etc) so yet again, I neglected my poor blog......

I left our visitors and drove the two hours down to Hudson to attend the opening. Alone, I might add. Doug stayed with our guests and since my openings seem to be downright painful to the kids, I went solo this time which, to be honest, sucked! But there was a good turnout and I enjoyed talking to several people, including the other artists. The show looked wonderful, one of my larger paintings was in the front window (despite the fact that I walked back to the car to get my camera, I still didn't get a picture of that, sigh...) and most of my work was featured in the front room.

Also notable about the evening was seeing three of my portrait paintings hanging in the back room. I had shown Carrie several of the portraits to get some feedback and she was VERY enthusiastic about them. She took the pieces that were on panel (the others are on paper and would need to be framed, something I haven't figured out how to handle yet) and said she would hang the others if I got them framed. So that was pretty exciting, and at the opening there were people actually looking at them and talking about them! I tried to get a picture of that, but missed my shot!! Anyway, just happy to have those paintings hanging within the four walls of a gallery. Mostly all I have heard from galleries about them is that they won't sell so this seems like progress. Heh.

A few days after, I came across this review of the show. I actually read this blog on a regular basis and am a follower too, so it was pretty cool to get the mention. I guess it's a positive review although I am not exactly sure about the "quasi-formulaic" part.

And on an unrelated note, I wanted to sincerely thank everyone who left comments on the post where I discussed my marriage. I truly appreciate all the good wishes! I meant to respond to each of you, but I was busy scrubbing baseboards, cleaning bathrooms and reorganizing the pantry and laundry room in preparation for our visitors:)

I am lucky to have so many wonderful readers.

Road trip with My Son

Julien and Sharon Butler

Saturday seemed like a good day for a road trip, so I decided to drag my 14 year old son, Julien, along with me to attend a gallery opening at the John Davis Gallery in Hudson. He was a good sport about it, after all he is already talking about going to art school, and even did his version of dressing up. He also brought along his iPod for us to listen to in the car and he was kind enough to play the music that I like (the music I downloaded and have brainwashed him into liking, I am SO proud!!) and not his so much. However, I was specifically asked NOT to sing, which was amazingly difficult when Creedence Clearwater Revival came up!

Anyway, it was a beautiful, sunny day and on the way down to Hudson I stopped and took a few pictures of some barns, as well as a few interesting signs. Always love passing Hubcap Heaven:

and of course we were SO tempted to stop for some dinner after seeing this sign:

The show was awesome, both the art and the space. I love the carriage house and its rough, industrial space:
So depressing to be on a strict budget! I was dying to buy one of these small paintings by Molly Herman:
There was a lovely courtyard between the two spaces:
I spent some time talking to Sharon Butler of Two Coats of Paint.which I really enjoyed and I also met Martin Bromirski, whose blog I have been reading for years (he has up a post about the opening too, and I am not the least bit offended that he didn't mention me at all, nope, not offended at all;)). Martin and I also went to UArts in Philadelphia, back in the 80's, although we didn't know each other then. We were in different departments and he was also two years behind me. I imagine we shared an elevator at some point or an evening or two at Dirty Frank's, but I don't specifically recall either of those. Heh. Anyway, Martin also brought his mom (who also reads my blog) along to the opening and she and I had several lovely conversations. Nice mom you have, Martin!!

After Julien and I left the gallery, we walked up the street and had pizza at Baba Louie's. My son is at the age where he can eat a crazy amount of food and the waitress was amazed that he easily put away a 14" pizza.:

The drive home was uneventful, although finally I just couldn't help myself and had to sing at the top of my lungs to Paradise By the Dashboard Light, by Meatloaf until in a huff, Julien switched it to something I didn't know. hehe. Good times.

Gallery Reception With Friends

At one of the endlessly long swim meets this last season, I was sitting next to our real life good friend Jeff and we were talking about the gallery receptions that are part of my job as an artist. I told him I had one coming up and invited he and his wife Erika (who is my good girl friend) to come along with us. Soon it morphed into an event, complete with a sitter, hotel reservations and an overnight trip to Williamstown, MA.

The details were complicated; six kids, a mature sitter, kids getting picked up and dropped off, cookies, a trip to the pizzeria and who watches tv where. But it went flawlessly and all the kids seemed to have fun.

The four of us left for Williamstown around noon on Saturday. When we got there Doug dropped off the extra painting at the gallery (I made him go in because one of my numerous superstitions is to not see my shows until the reception starts, something about not jinxing the whole dang thing) and then we decided to have lunch at the sushi place down the street. We lingered over lunch and by the time we left there wasn't enough time to visit any of the local museums before it was time to go to the opening. So we went to check into the hotel, The Orchards Hotel (beautiful place to stay, I highly recommend it), and when I gave the desk clerk my name he laughed and said I must be THE Tracy Helgeson, and pointed at the flier for my show that was not two inches from my elbow! It was funny!

It was pouring rain that evening, but thankfully, my hair was still ok by the time we got to the gallery for the reception. heh. However, I imagine the cold and the rain affected the turnout-it was rather quiet. But every single person who came in was there to meet me and was planning to buy one of my paintings, already had, OR was also an artist. So I enjoyed being able to really talk to everyone, much more relaxing than some of those really crowded receptions. I spent a lot of time talking with a couple, Patrick and Grant who own one of my paintings and were great fun. Patrick had read through my blog here, and it turns out we have much in common including an admiration for Ray LaMontagne. I also talked with a reviewer who I think will be writing about my work and he mentioned Rothko more than a few times. Love that! It's been awhile since I have had a review so am looking forward to that (I think!). Even a few women who work with the hotel we stayed at came by to meet me! So it was all good, and very enjoyable. Oh and two more pieces sold, my two favorites: Long Lines Late in the Day and Back Against the Shadows. The show looked beautiful; as always, they did a wonderful job of hanging my work so that it looked its very best.

After the reception, our foursome went to have dinner at Mezze, a beautiful restaurant a block away from the gallery. We were there for over three hours, and had a wonderful long dinner. The husbands got somewhat drunk and then silly, which was very entertaining. I heard "I love you, man" more than a few times and I am not even kidding! Anyway, it's good that the crazy artist stays sober nowadays and could be the designated driver!

Everyone bounced back pretty well the next morning, we had a nice breakfast at the hotel and then hit the road to get back to our real lives. All in all it was a great time and now I think we must always take friends along with us to my receptions!

PS. I should know better by now, but I put Doug in charge of taking photos at the reception. He promptly forgot to do that, although he did take a cluster of shots, most of which involved my backside, which I will NOT be posting here. hehe. I took a few shots of the show at the end though and am posting those along with one with my new best friends, Patrick and Grant talking with Jillian, who works in the gallery (above). Am still kicking myself, and maybe Doug too for not getting any pictures of my work that was displayed in the front windows. Sheesh!

A Little Show

Horizon Lines (Fifteen), 2008, Oil on Panel, 3x5 (that's inches)

Well, as I mentioned in the last post, I have been finishing up work for a local show, which opens tonight. Smithy-Pioneer Gallery, Cooperstown, NY, 5-7pm just in case anyone wants to come by.

When I was first asked to do a solo this summer (in April) I had planned to continue with the small figures that I had done in Vermont last February. I even ordered small panels and everything. But then I got the new studio, and the upheaval of all that plus the other work I had going, made it really difficult to sit down and focus on them. So I decided to pursue another obsession I have had lately: the horizon line. I have been intrigued with a very simple horizontal line and then adding a few details, like telephone lines or a single tree or whatever. Mostly phone poles actually, because I have been a bit obsessed with them too. Have I mentioned before that I have a tendency towards obsessive behavior? Heh.

So I banged out about 37 paintings in the last few weeks, but don't get too crazy when you hear that. Most of the pieces are very small, 6x8, 6x6 and even 3x5 and 4x4, so they didn't take long. I also did several larger ones for some balance. I am very happy with the work and having to work so quickly was a good way to get acclimated to my new work space. Which is great, by the way.

I hung the show on Friday (this gallery is a nonprofit and so is more along the lines of a do-it-yourself kind of place, in fact I have to go make some cookies to bring to the reception) and it looks pretty good. I will take some photos tonight at the opening, I promise! and post them tomorrow.

An Evening in Hudson

Doug and I had a great time at the opening in Hudson on Saturday. First of all the show was hung beautifully and it was hard to believe that I actually made the art that is hanging on the walls. It looks sooooo much better than how I remembered it!

A big thank you to Melissa and Carrie who did an excellent job of hanging the show and of bringing people in. There was a great turnout and I talked to so many interesting people. The first couple that I spent quite a bit of time talking to had bought a small piece at my first show at this same gallery in 2005. They were so nice and we also had a gratifying chat about how my prices (and therefore value) have gone up. He is also a painter and so we talked technique for awhile and the next thing I knew they were buying this painting and we were all posing in front of it for a few pictures!

Then my friend Jane and her husband Paul came in. Paul is also in this show, his work is in the middle section and is just beautiful. I particularly like his still life paintings. Jane and I showed together in 2006 and we have emailed quite a bit since then. She has been really helpful to me as far as career advice goes, plus we have other things in common as well. So nice to be able to chat with her in real life!

I spent some time talking to artist Wes Wheeler who is also represented by Carrie and again, great to talk technique and the business. I also really like his work, although I was at a disadvantage while we talked-I wasn't familiar with it. Now I wish I had seen it beforehand so I could have asked some better questions of him, but I'll just have to do that another time.

Carrie Waldman, whose work was also on display was very nice. We chatted for a bit and I hope we can keep in contact. She is one of those people that I feel like have met before, you know?

Two pieces sold by the end of the evening and I am crossing my fingers for a few more. Mostly so Carrie will keep showing my work ( and maybe keep giving me the front room) AND because I still need some money to pay the floor guy when he comes to sand the floors in my new studio. Heh. Actually I am serious about that.

And the sooner I can move up there the less I will have to deal with cats settling into the back of my panels in between coats of polyurethane.....



More show pictures, obviously we remembered to actually use the camera this time.

Opening Reception in Hudson

Clustered at the Turn, 2008, Oil on Panel, 20x40

OK folks. Here's the official info for the opening gallery reception at Carrie Haddad Gallery. It's this Saturday, May 31, 6-8pm, and the address is 622 Warren Street, Hudson NY. Just two short hours by train from NYC.

And just a note about the images on the gallery's website. I neglected to load my jpegs of the work onto a disc and give it to the gallery when I dropped off the work. I was busy trying to get all the paintings finished and wrapped and I just didn't get to it before I had to leave. Not only that, I photographed the large painting, 40x60, the centerpiece of the show, AND DID NOT LOOK AT THE IMAGE BEFORE I DELIVERED THE PAINTING. Bad, bad girl. The next day I sat down at the computer to photoshop the image, and email it and the rest of the images to the gallery for their website. Of course, the photo was very bad, irretrievable even in photoshop. Large pieces are difficult to photograph anyway, but if I would have looked at the image I could have tried to photograph it again. So I decided to send the other images that were ready but when I checked the website to see if they had posted any of the earlier jpegs I had sent previously, I noticed that all of the paintings for the show were posted. The gallery had photographed and posted them within a day. Agh! At least someone is efficient! The images look OK, but they aren't quite right, there's too much contrast and the colors look harsher than they really are in real life. Probably not so noticeable to anyone but me, but they just don't look quite right. However, the gallery obviously took some time to do this and I will not be asking them to reload a bunch of images all over again, especially not now, right before the opening.

So let this be a lesson to you all and maybe I will get it this time too. Make it a priority to ALWAYS include the jpegs along with the work when delivering work to a gallery.

But jpeg issues aside, I am very proud of the work I did for this show. The big piece that I mentioned freaking kicks ass, if I do say so myself (actually I wasn't sure how it would look outside my studio, the lighting I had on it was BAD and frankly, I wasn't too sure what the heck it would look like under better lighting) and Doug stopped by the gallery yesterday on his way to the city and he said it looks great. Not surprising since Carrie and Melissa always do an excellent job hanging the shows. This is my third show at Carrie's gallery and is the first time my work has been displayed in the front room so that is way cool.

But before I get too obnoxious with how great I am, I must remind myself that this is the last big exhibition that I have scheduled until next summer. I suppose things will come up, but one never really knows, huh?

I See Dead People

Heavenly, 2008, Oil on Panel, 8x10

Just a quick hello today. I am booked for the rest of the day with meetings, errands, picking up the kids, dropping them off etc. In between those things I have to fit in a quick visit to an opening reception here at the local arts organization where I have a few paintings in a show. I agreed to participate because the title "There is More Under the Water Than Fish" was pretty intriguing and I immediately thought that I could connect this subject with the figures I have been playing around with. Cause, you know, I immediately thought of dead people underwater. Heh. So in the last few weeks I have done four pieces for this show. They were fun but I can't say I am entirely happy with them, because I didn't quite get them to where I had hoped. However, Doug assured me that I would not embarrass myself by displaying them in public. How is that for a ringing endorsement? Well, I did enjoy doing them anyway.

Oh and these particular paintings were difficult to photograph so I feel that I must say yet again that they look so much better in person.

I've Dropped My Purse, 2008, Oil on Panel, 8x10

Another Opening Reception!

The Path In, 2008, Oil on Panel, 8x10

So because I am now officially into middle age, never get enough sleep and am a busy girl, I took a nap on Saturday afternoon in order to be smart and witty and awake for the drive as well as the gallery reception that evening.

It was the perfect nap; the kids didn't bother me (too busy taking advantage of the fact that I allowed them to watch tv all afternoon) my room was warm and comforting and when I woke up I felt really energetic. I could on and on about the nap, because I rarely take them but I'll save you all from that at least.

I picked up my friend, Carina and we were off. We talked for the entire drive, I caught up on all of the local news, most of which I am sadly out of the loop on. I am a good person to gossip with by the way, I tend to immediately forget what I have just learned so I seldom have the opportunity to repeat anything to anyone. We also talked about our kids, her two are the same age as two of mine, and talked art for a bit.

There was a good crowd when we arrived at the gallery and I am happy to say that my work looked so great, I could hardly believe it was mine. Usually by the time I drop off paintings for a show all I can think of is good riddance as I wing them out the car window and speed off before the director can realize how bad everything is. Then when I see everything hung and lit properly, I usually think, wow! I did that? wow! And then I love what I do all over again.

Anyway, I had great conversations with several of the other artists whose work was also on display, including Debi Pendell, Sunghee Park, and Randi Kish, a ceramic artist with no links but who does some real kick ass work.

Just as we were heading out, Takeyce breezed in and introduced herself to me. She had emailed me and said she would try to come by so I am glad I didn't miss her. She was very nice and we chatted for awhile and both Carina and I, at different times complimented her hair, which I suspect made us seem very immature but I don't care. She had great hair! Was I just suppose to ignore that?

We decided to get dinner before heading home and an excellent meal at a place around the corner from the gallery called One Caroline. The food was excellent, locally grown, organic, and pasture fed meat. We went a little crazy with the appetizers because they all looked so good and so it was a good thing that we had ordered half portions for our entrees. There was also live jazz which sounded great, if a bit loud where we were seated.

Then it was two more hours in the car, telling each other our biggest secrets (forgot already:)), rain, a tailgater who was clearly annoyed that I was only going 5 miles over the speed limit on a pitch black, winding, deer infested road. Then there was the worst fog I have ever seen. I couldn't even see the lines on the road and drove about 10 miles an hour forever before we got through it.

All in all an excellent evening and I think I may have to seriously consider dumping my husband for these events and going with the girls! Way more fun.

Its Own Art Form

I had planned to post yesterday, but my computer is giving me trouble. It hasn't been starting up very well, although I did manage to get it up yesterday and quickly backed up all of my info before it froze up again. Including the jpegs of all of my work for the last four years! I am such an idiot for not doing that sooner. Anyway, I am able to access my email (and blogger on Doug's computer) and when he gets back in a few days we will try to figure out what to do. I am incredibly stupid when it comes to anything technical involving the computer, so I am not too keen on even calling Apple for help though I might do that though if I find that have a few hours to kill. As much as I love my Mac, I am not too happy with Apple. Their longevity leaves something to be desired, in my experience. I have only had this computer for two years. The last one I had collapsed and died (along with all my info) after only four years.

Sorry, no image today either. It's a long story, and mostly involves me being stupid so I won't go into it here.

So a little bit more about the opening last Saturday. Jo, the gallery owner and director, and her staff, really do an incredible job of organizing their shows, events and openings. They send out postcards, email invites, and I have been receiving many google alerts for articles announcing the show and the opening reception in the local papers. When Doug and arrived to the opening, our coats were whisked away and we were offered food and drink (which was excellent, of course), and since I only drink water, someone rounded up a bottle for me. As you could see in the photographs I posted yesterday, the show was hung beautifully. Everything was balanced, not too crowded (something I tend to do when hanging a show) and Jo chose the perfect variety of sizes and images to put together. The ones she didn't include in the front room, were displayed in the back room and a number of those pieces sold, so clearly none of the work was shortchanged by the staff. My work can be tricky to light, because of the rather shiny surface, but they hung each piece at just the right height and with the correct angle of light on them. And no bulbs were burnt out. I suspect they would have been horrified if there had been a bulb out at an opening, unlike a few other galleries I have showed at in the past. Each piece had a number next to it on the wall, rather than a label with the title, etc., and the corresponding information were in a price list, a few of which were on a table, along with an essay (which I will post later) about me. I was formally introduced to everyone that was interested in meeting me and left to chat with them. Normally I feel sort of of awkward and shy when meeting new people, but somehow I don't feel that way at the openings. I guess talking continually about how I work, how I prepare the painting surface, choose my images and colors, and discussing the area where we live makes me comfortable. It's all about me, baby!

I have put together a few openings myself, and I understand and appreciate how much goes into putting them together. It's a lot of work, an art form really, but should look like it's not. The Harrison Gallery accomplishes that perfectly and I am incredibly giddy pleased about working with them.

Opening Reception

The opening reception at The Harrison Gallery on Saturday night was awesome! There wasn't a huge crowd, but nearly everyone who came was there to meet me. And they all seemingly bought a painting or already owned one or more. One couple bought four! By the end of the evening the sales count was at eleven. Several pieces, including Red Gambrel (above), were sold before the opening. Doug and I were a bit giddy on the way home!

This is all very exciting, of course, but it is also the kind of stuff that messes with my head. Everyone was very complimentary about my work and while such feedback is great, if I start thinking how fab I am, my work really suffers. I will think every mark I make is the best, when in reality they aren't always, and I need to be able to see that.

So I indulged myself a bit last night with a satisfied feeling of pride and accomplishment, plus a little grandiosity thrown in, but today I have to shovel out the chicken crap from the hen house while it is relatively warm and then get right back to painting tomorrow. The Harrison Gallery wants larger scale paintings for their inventory before I leave for Vermont next month!

Woo-hoo!!! (Sorry, just a bit more self-indulgence, couldn't help myself:))

A Miss After All

Winter Light, 2007, Oil on Panel, 9x12

Well, folks, turns out I was too sick after all to make it to my own opening in Pittsburgh, for a show that has been on my calendar for over two years, yes, two years.

I really thought I was better, and had nearly convinced myself of that during the 2 hour drive to the airport and while standing in the security lines. But when Doug and I were in the bookstore, it really hit me-I felt awful. When I moved my eyes everything wiggled and I was pretty sure I had a fever (I did, it was 101.9). So Doug got our bag back, canceled everything and we drove back home.

I felt horrible about missing the opening, I worried about how the gallery had put so much time and energy into setting up the show and publicizing it and how it felt like such a faux pas that I had committed. Of course the gallery director was very nice and understanding when Doug called her to explain (I was practically hallucinating by then) but still this is new territory for me and I reserve the right to feel guilty anyway. But by Friday evening I didn't care, I was worried about survival! And at around 7pm on Saturday, during the opening, I was crawling around my bedroom trying to get into bed so that I could assume the fetal position and die. So I guess it was good I didn't go, right?

Anyway, today I am feeling much better. I still have a very irritating cough and not much energy, but I am not seeing things anymore, my temperature has been normal since last night and the part in my hair doesn't hurt as much either (I am not even kidding, the area around the part of my hair was incredibly painful and sensitive. I kept thinking it would go away if I made a new part on the other side but I couldn't bear the thought of doing that either). Doug took care of everything while I was out of it and the kids have been very helpful towards me. I plan to milk that for at least another week or so. The other benefits from this enforced time off was, well having time off, which I suspect I needed (the body is very intuitive) and I lost a few pounds plus was able to kick my sugar habit in one fell swoop.

There is always a bright side.

A Near Miss

Head on View, 2007, Oil on Panel, 8x10

I seldom get sick anymore. The last time I had a fever/flu (I don't do flu shots) was about 12 years ago and it's been almost three years since I have had a cold. So when I began to feel funny a few days ago I didn't pay any attention to it at all, just thinking I was tired. But Wednesday night I started having chills and sweats, coughing and had a low fever.

While trying to sleep that night, I worried about the timing of this. Months ago, I had made all of the travel arrangements for this weekend's trip to Pittsburgh for the solo show opening reception and the way I felt on Wednesday, I was pretty sure that I would not be able to go. The thought of getting on an airplane seemed downright painful.

BUT, on Thursday I didn't feel worse and in fact after taking it easy all day and loading up on tea and Vitamin C, I felt much better last night. So even though I don't feel 100% Doug and I are going to leave this afternoon after all.

When it was looking like I wouldn't be going, I felt really bad about the thought of missing it. I mean, if you're sick you are sick and standing around talking and shaking hands with people isn't a great idea, but I feel a lot of self induced pressure to be at the openings, especially the receptions for a solo show. I feel grateful to the galleries that are giving me these exhibition opportunities and the best way that I can support their efforts, besides supplying fab work, is to be at the openings.

This does raise an interesting issue though. How to handle last minute situations that arise right before an opening or event? When I started all of this I often had "anxiety" dreams, where I would dream that I simply forgot to go to the event. As if! Things do come up though and I guess I have been lucky so far that nothing in my personal life has interfered with the art stuff.

The painting I have posted today is one that will be on display in the show at Boxheart (the opening is this Saturday, November 17, 6-9pm, for those of you who may live in the area) and I wanted to mention that it's an unusual painting for me in the sense that it is a straightforward view of a barn. I have tried these sorts of views and compositions before but they have always failed miserably. They just look extremely flat and static, so I usually add a little tilt or change the angle slightly. For some reason, however, this one just worked, in fact it's one that just painted itself.

Cape Cod Redux

Naturally we got a late start as we left for Cape Cod last Thursday. So what else is new? We stopped in Albany to pick up some very important accessories for Mr. Wilson and then to pick up a rental car. Neither of our cars have working air conditioning, which is mostly tolerable around town, but for a 5 hour highway drive on a hot summer day, it totally sucks. Then we had to stop at the Harrison Gallery in Williamstown, MA to drop off some new paintings. A stop for lunch, and assorted bathroom breaks and we ended up getting to the Cape Thursday evening. We stopped at the gallery to meet up with the owner, Glenn, and then we all went on to his beautiful house, where we were going to be staying, daughter, puppy and all.

Friday morning was overcast and didn't seem like a very appealing beach day, so we decided to go do some shopping. I wanted to find a shirt for the opening and, of course, my daughter wanted some new clothes and a few sparkly things. We took Mr. Wilson with us and quickly found out that everyone loves a puppy. In fact, we must have discussed Mr. Wilson, his age, his breed, his size and how cute he was with complete strangers at least 5000 times in three days. I can't believe I have missed out on the whole lap dog social world all of this time.

But I didn't want to compete with him at the opening (just kidding, we just didn't want to worry about him for the evening) and so we left him all set up in his crate at Glenn and Sharon's house.

The opening was excellent in so many ways. First of all, my work looked really good! I was dead sick of it by the time I shipped it out but I liked it again, looking all nice and colorful, hanging on the gallery wall. The show was hung beautifully and there was great food and wine. I broke my rule about not eating at my own openings, and of course the minute I shoved a mini quiche into my mouth someone came up to me to talk. I made a joke and all was well, but sheesh! I have that rule for a reason! I did stay away from the meatballs with sauce at least, mostly because I was wearing a white shirt and we all know the meatball would have fallen off the toothpick and bounced off the "ledge" leaving a good old highly embarrassing permanent stain. Anyway. I wouldn't say this opening was crowded, like it was last year, but there were a steady stream of visitors through the whole evening and I was able to speak to nearly everyone, which was really nice. And many of the people that came were people that I had met a few times before and/or who have previously bought some of my work (yes, I think I can now say that I have collectors! wow! how did that happen?!). And many of the visitors were other artists who show at the gallery. I love love love that so many of the other artists come to the openings at Salt Meadow Gallery. It happens to a lesser extent at the other galleries I show at, but definitely more at this one. There is just something really special about this group of people. Very supportive and encouraging.

And I was able to spend a lot of time chatting with one of my blog readers, Stephanie and her friends Jennifer and Donna, who came by last year also. Stephanie and Jennifer also account for two sales that night, as they each bought a painting. Thanks, you two!

After the opening we took Glenn and Sharon out for dinner, where my daughter proceeded to get completely wound up (thanks Glenn) and way too crazy for a meal in public. Finally she calmed down, but only after I made her cry by telling her that she couldn't talk (or sing) again until after we left the restaurant. She bounced back after we got home though and was even allowed a piece of her birthday cake left from the previous day. The evening ended with me just feeling like a regular old mom again rather than a way cool artist chick.

On Saturday we slept in! It was so quiet at their house that I actually slept really well (I am a light sleeper) both nights. Even though we live in the country there is all kinds of racket, bullfrogs, birds, the rooster, etc, so the quiet there was very soothing. We packed up and then before we left the Cape we stopped to visit with a couple that own four of my paintings including one of my favorites. Our daughter did some swimming in their pool, Doug made sure Mr. Wilson wouldn't drown (Mr. Wilson kept jumping into the pool) and I had the opportunity to chat with the couple and to look at their extensive art collection.

The drive home went smoothly, we traded in cool comfort for a crappy, hot old gas guzzler in Albany, got a nice welcome from Penny, our homebody dog, paid the sitter and were in bed by 11pm.

A good few days I'd say.

Reception Recap

Pink Tree Up Front, 2007, Oil on Panel, 16x20

So Saturday was a drop dead gorgeous day. It was difficult to ignore all we had to do in our gardens (weeding! tilling! planting!) and go to the opening reception at Enderlin. However, it's part of the job description and I was looking forward to meeting a few folks.

Right away when we got there I had a nice chat with Brian, who now owns two of my paintings. He reads the blog and has left comments as well. So it was very nice to meet him and as I had suspected, he is a very nice guy.

Roshan, the gallery director, did a beautiful job of hanging the show and I was very pleased with how it looked. She also did something that was new to me. She hung the barns on one side of the space and the landscapes on the other side. I really liked this and thought it was a very effective way to organize the work.

There were quite a few people there and it was a steady stream of visitors throughout the afternoon. Not really crowded, but there were always at least a few people to talk with. Around 4:30, however, it was really quiet and Doug and I were thinking we'd leave a few minutes early. But before we managed to get it together, whammo, all of a sudden there was a whole new roomful of people and it was actually a bit crowded for awhile! We spend quite a bit of time talking to Mike and Bill, who had also previously bought one of my paintings. And it turns out that Doug's and Mike's paths had unknowingly crossed several times over the years, the most recent one being a client whose kitchen had been designed by Mike and who had also bought a fossil mural from Doug. I always love finding those connections.

We left around 6pm and drove to Delhi to have dinner at the Quarter Moon Cafe, a lovely little restaurant with excellent food. Then home, then early to bed because we both planned to get up early and get to work in the gardens!

More on that tomorrow.

Opening at Enderlin Gallery

Wooded Lot, 2007, Oil on Panel, 18x24

So unless you only come here to look at the pictures or you tend to drift off while skimming through my long winded posts, you probably have gathered that I have a show that opens tomorrow.

I am looking forward to the opening although I may be a bit rusty at the social/let's talk about Tracy thing. The last opening I had was in January (with the exception of a local group show) which seems like ancient history already. But I rather like the openings and am getting used to the pressure of the receptions for the solo shows where I am the only draw. That sure can go either way and trust me, I have experienced both. Nothing like standing around an almost empty gallery with a table full of food and hearing an echo when I speak.

However, I don't really think that this one will be like that. I have had a show there before and have come to know a few people in the area. Several people have emailed me to say that they are looking forward to meeting me and hits to my blog are up, as a result of google searches for me and/or Enderlin Gallery (well, in addition to the usual hamster bleeding/lumps/funeral searches, of course).

So if you are anywhere near Roxbury, NY on Saturday from 2-5pm, please stop by the Enderlin Gallery and have a chat with Doug and I. If not, I will fill you in on the details, ad nauseum, next week.

Evolution and Circularity

Miller's Pond in Winter, 2005, Oil on Panel, 8x8







When I was an art student in Minneapolis and then later in Philadelphia, the instructors often urged and sometimes required us to attend opening receptions at the school's gallery or out in the city's galleries. We'd go, usually in packs, dressed in black, with purple or red or blue hair and body piercings, and smelling of patchouli and probably pot. We'd make a beeline for the free food, ignore the artist (we were way to cool to actually discuss art with the artist), look briefly at the art, and have a fierce discussion about it's relevancy. Then we'd leave and go get drunk/and or stoned at someone's apartment or at a bar. After I had finished school and met Doug in 1988, he and I often went to openings at various galleries in Philly. We usually went with his father who was an artist and graphic designer and he usually knew the artist and many people at the event so we'd spend hours talking and socializing with them. We'd have dinner first, skip the free food and drink wine. Then we'd go home, discuss the show and well, we were newly in love, so I'll just leave it at that...Later on we lived in Utah for a number of years and by that time we were parents. We were deeply involved in the local art scene and still enjoyed attending show openings. We knew everyone and they were a lot of fun. However, since we didn't use sitters much when our kids were babies, we usually carried them along. You just haven't lived until you've tried to discuss the meaning of art with spit up on your shoulder and leaking breasts. We'd be home by 9pm and in bed sleeping by 10pm.

Fast forward a few years and we have a whole new thing going on! We have been lucky enough to find a fabulous sitter, Mary Jo and her miniature schnauzer, Pepper Ann. She is a teacher and a chef and always brings projects for the kids. The kids love her and we are so happy to be able to go away once in awhile. So now that I am showing my work, Doug and I have been able to take short trips to attend my gallery openings. Often we stay overnight, we had a nice stay in Cape Cod last fall and another nice trip to Northampton, MA in December. It's interesting to be on the other side of an opening. I don't drink alcohol anymore so I have a glass of ice water, I don't eat in case I get anything stuck in my teeth or spray food while talking, and I make sure that I have breath mints in my purse. Some things haven't changed-I do still usually wear black, my hair is still red, though a bit toned down, and I still have my nose ring. Doug gets into all kinds of interesting conversations with people about the current quality of art in today's world, while I am usually answering questions like how long does it take to do a painting and where do I get my ideas. What's really fascinating now though, is that at my openings, I see myself at every opening I have ever been to, I am there in the college kids who won't look at me, the earnest young artists and art lovers who want to talk about painting all night and the frazzled parents trying have a night out.

So, tomorrow, Mary Jo is coming and we are off to the Enderlin Gallery in Roxbury, NY. I have a few pieces in a group show called "Snowscapes". I am new to this gallery, the director called me after having seen my work in a show at the Roxbury Arts Group. They have been really enthusiastic about my paintings, and I will be in several exhibitions there this year. I am looking forward to this opening-Roxbury has a really hopping little art scene and there are always very interesting people at the openings. "Miller's Pond in Winter" is in this show-it is a loose interpretation of the pond on our property.

By the way, the opening reception is at the Enderlin Gallery (enderlingallery.com), Main Street, Roxbury, NY, Saturday, February 18, 2-5pm.