lessons learned

I was thrilled when at my reception at Athan's, a woman who came said that she was going to buy "Retired Racer" (above). I had my friend John take care of sales and emails. She wrote the email on a list and now when I'm writing to tell her that the show is over and the piece is ready for her, the email bounces back. I have no other way of communicating with this person :(. I have posted on my Facebook page and have contacted other people that I new were at the reception, but no one seems to know who she is. She did take my card and information and I'm really hoping that she gets back in touch with me. I feel so embarassed and unprofessional. This like this shouldn't happen.

Please please please get in touch with me, CarolynWhoBoughtRetiredRacer! I wouldn't want you to think that I swindled you!!!!

It's been a good week :)

 

Ella

8x10 inch watercolor

 

 

I'm feeling very fortunate this week. The exhibit at Athans is getting nothing but praise from visitors and the press! Look here, there's a mention on BostonMagazine.com! *

 

We had a great reception and I'm so happy 2 of my paintings have found homes!  We (John Q and I ) we're talking the night I dropped them off and we decided since my paintings need homes that we should help out the real animals that need homes. We, Unbound Artists, are donating 10% of the sales made at this exhibit. The Ellen Gifford Cat Shelter ** was the obvious choice because they are right in Brighton. The exhibit is up until Labor Day weekend. Athans has a great menu for lunch/dinner and the eclairs are definitely worth the cheat!

Above is a painting that I just finished for my friend Angie. A wonderful woman that I met at Cocheco Animal Shelter benefit. We were both trying to sell our wares and hers was Barkin' Biscuit, homemade natural dog biscuits. At the time she had Bohdi, a gentle giant of a dog, with her. I did end up painting Bohdi not to long after that because Angie was the winner of my gift certificate donation!
Recently, Angie contacted me to paint Ella, a Sato dog from Puerto Rico. Ella is a goofy Rhodesian ridge back mix who only has 3 legs. Apparently as a pup, Ella broke her foot and when Angie took her to the emergency vet and they set the toes incorrectly. Poor Ella was in so much pain, she was so very shy and hid from everyone and everything. Angie and her husband Jon made the decision that to take off the leg was the only solution. Afterwards, it was as if Ella had come out of her shell. Angie said it took less than 2 days for her to fully recover and get accustomed to the missing leg. Angie wanted a full body of Ella, so you could tell that she had only 3 legs. They did the right thing for Ella.

Angie is also an avid gardener and and raises her own chickens for eggs and meat. She and I both agree that the healthiest and the TASTIEST way to eat is local and homegrown. Although I don't bake my own crackers as she does! So we are bartering for $250 worth of organic groceries. When I went up to visit her, and take pictures of Ella, I came home with 2 whole chickens 2 sets of chicken parts (dark and white), a dozen eggs, radishes, zucchini, lettuces, hot peppers, dill relish, summer squash, dilly beans (which were freakin' awesome!) and some jalapeno jelly. I have 2 more trips up!

I love a good barter!

*http://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/blog/2013/08/02/boston-coffeeshop-art-galleries/

** http://www.giffordcatshelter.org/

***http://www.athansbakery.com/

SOLD!

So the last Sunday, we had the Insperable Companions reception and I'm thrilled to let you know that "Luna" and "Retired Racer" were both sold that night and 10% was given to the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton MA. Thank you so much to all who attended this great event! It will be up for viewing until the end of August.

Exhibit at Athan's Bakery in Brighton MA

Inseperable Companions is the name of the SOLO show that will have over 30 pieces of my work on display. Located in Brighton Center, Athan's is a cozy cafe, air conditioned and a great meeting place for those who want to take a moment out of their day for some sweets or coffee. The exhibit runs from now until the end of August with a reception on July 28th from 7-8:30pm. I really hope you can make it down!!!

Riverside Gallery Annual "Pop Up Show"

Easter Chic

5x7 inches

watercolor and Prismacolor pencils

Onyx

5x7 inches

watercolor and Prismacolor pencils

I am excited to announce that these 2 pieces, "Easter Chic" and "Onyx" will be included in the Riverside Gallery's annual Pop Up Show this Sunday, June 23rd. Come in and check out the show from 4-6pm. All works are priced at $100. For more information check out the Riverside Gallery's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/#!/RiversideGallery?fref=ts

Hope to see you there!

Just a couple of things to mention...

First, I would like to thank Paul B of Sterling MA who bought this woodcock painting that I did. Sterling is very close to where I like to hike on the weekends, so I brought the painting to him instead of mailing it. It was really nice to meet a collector and his family. And was kind enough to give me some plants from his greenhouse! Thanks Paul!

Which brings me to my situation. Paul found this image as a print first on eBay. He then contacted me about the original. However, eBay is charging me up the yingyang to keep this store open and I feel, despite this recent sale, this store isn't working for me anymore. So this is a post announcing the close of the Ebay store. And that if you are looking at a print to buy, then you should first contact me! or go to FineArtAmerica.com

Secondly, I am offering a special to the end of May. If you donate price of a portrait to the Onefundboston.org, email me the PayPal receipt, I will do a portrait for you of the appropriate size. For example, if you donate $250 (the price of an 8x10) email me the PayPal receipt and the photos of your pet and I will create beautiful art in a 8x10 size. Offer expires May 31st at midnight 2013. http://www.onefundboston.org

thanks!

Boston...

The sun rises over Boston

(view from my porch)

Really still trying to wrap my head what went on this past week. If you know Boston, you know sports... It's kind of shoved down your throat whether you're into it or not. But that's okay... because really, routing for the home team is a lot of fun. Which is what Patriots Day really has become. Yes, we still have the reenactment of the Battle of Lexington... in fact there's always 2 guys dressed in the 3 corner hats riding down Massachusetts Avenue on horseback. The games, both Red Sox and Bruins, were scheduled. And of course, the Marathon.

Monday:

I had tickets to that Bruins game. I was sitting at my desk (it's optional here to take the day off or not) and at around 3:30 - 4 a hoard of coworkers went by my desk to the conference room where the TV is. I followed them. NECN coverage, photographs from the scene. My coworker: "Holy shit, that's blood."

My neighbor ran the marathon. I was texting her begging her to respond to me. She did, about 30-40 minutes later. She later told me she was crossed the finish line 15 minutes before it happened and was eating a sandwich with her boyfriend at a local restaurant. I was calling the Garden, (I must admit here that I was a little in denial, "it can't be that bad.") to see what was up with the game. Got a recording that it wasnt' cancelled. Called Tracy who was at home (and was planning on going to the game with me)

T: No I think it's cancelled. Where are you?

C: still at work. Are you sure?

T: Chrissy, there saying there may be more bombs on the T

C; No way.

T: WAY!

C; I'll call again.

T: Ok, on Twitter. Bruins page says its cancelled.

call back

C: Yep its cancelled...

After that conversation I just went home. Walked, mind you. I don't think I had it in me to ride the train. Jason was fishing (he had the day off). When I called him, we talked a little about what happened. He then told me it was his mum's birthday and would be going out to dinner with his family. I had to wait til 11pm to get a hug. What a horrible day.

Tuesday:

Business as usual in Boston/Cambridge.... kind of. People a little on edge. Everyone asking each other, "are you okay?"

Wednesday:

I'm not a big TV watcher. I look at the Internet a lot and will admit, a bit addicted to Facebook. Really, I don't think its good, but that's a story for another day. Instead, I listen to NPR in the morning. And it was Wednesday morning, when they played a recording of when the bombs went off. That's when it hit me:

the panic. You could hear it in the screams. fucking awful.

I also did yoga on Wednesday after work. I really believe that this alleviated my body of all the stress and tension that I had been feeling, not even realizing, these past few days. On my walk home, I noticed a small pink stuffed animal lying face down in the gutter. Oh, this just breaks my heart. Why? Because all I can think of is that small child that dropped it and is now having a meltdown because she lost her 'bubby' on the way home. I picked it up, brushed off the dirt and put it in one of the flower/plant displays that adorn our city on the 'islands' of sidewalk. And then just absolutely broke down. Sobbing. All the rest of the way home. That poor family. Those poor people. Why does this have to happen? Why here? Why do we do it to other people? What's going to happen.... now? Jason came home and saw me upset. I told him the whole story and he hugged me tight. sigh.

Thursday:

Better, but not yet perfect. But hell, I was really looking forward to Jason's gig at OBriens later that night. I really thought everyone could use a drink and some hard rock and heavy metal at this point. And it was fun. A lot of fun. Then at about 12am people hearing and talking about a shooting over at MIT about a mile away. People standing around, "what is this world coming to?" I had no idea that it was related to Monday's bombing. It got eerily quite except for the cop cars FLYING up Cambridge Street. Shit was going down.

Friday:

Phone was ringing at 6:30am. I was thinking "who the hell is calling here" and by the time I got up to answer it, the caller had hung up. Oh, bastards. And yes, I was very hungover. It wasn't til later that I realized that phone call was a "Reverse 911" call telling us to stay in. Went back to bed for those precious 20 minutes before having to get up and get ready for work. Again, turned the radio on to NPR.

Lockdown.

Holy Shit.

AND apparently my cell was on vibrate, so I didn't get the gazillion texts/calls from my mother. Woops. But I did call her at that point and told her that I was fine. I woke Jason up. And it was kind of surreal, this whole lock down thing. What was going to happen? I put Luna's harness on in case we wanted to get out, Fast. Lord knows I didn't want to have to deal with a cat carrier. And then we just waited. And waited. I painted a little... did some laundry. I felt like this guy could be anywhere... was he in my basement? But no, he was in Watertown. Hiding. Bleeding. In a boat that was in a yard for the winter season. And they got him.

I believe that the things that happened this past week is a real reflection on humankind. Both bad and good.  Monday was horrific, Tuesday was edgy. Will things be back to "normal"? No, never. I will never look at Copley the same way again. I'll always think of the people down there on the finish line who were witness to this madness. I'm glad to be a part of this town, for all of it's Massholes and Wicked Pissahs. That's what they mean by Boston Strong.



Art Receptions

Party Pug

4x6 inches

watercolor

Have you ever gone to an art reception? What is that you expect from them?

There's been a couple of articles on FASO lately about being yourself and such. One example is the art reception. They go on to talk about being true to yourself. Such as, if you're one who shows her work, very sociable and open to talk to people and yet when everyone is gone, you say to yourself, "God I hate these things." then you're not being your true person, just someone others may want to see. On the other hand, if you're one of those people who cringe at the thought of talking to someone who asks you questions about your art, yet you still answer them as openly honest as you can be, you are still being true to yourself.

When I had an art reception, the guy who put it together said that it was going to be an artist talk as well. The artist being me. Well, I wasn't NOT prepared for that. I don't mind talking about my art work, it was standing up in front of those people.. that's what freaked me out. Hence the reason for a vodka tonic before I went into the reception. But as it turns out, it really wasn't so much of a talk as I made it more intimate by going up to people, introducing myself (to those who didn't know me already) and asking them, "what is it that made you come out tonight?" Is this a true reflection of me? I believe so. Especially the vodka part.

I was at a reception over at Mt. Ida college in Newton a couple of weeks ago. It was a group show, so there were a number of artists there and each had about 5-10 minutes to talk about their art work. I loved one artist in particular who did prints that were very nautical in a way... the colors that he used and did it with a variety of things that he found walking the beach. All these questions came up in my mind: When were you in Ireland? Do you still have these pieces of material that you used? what it the process of this piece.......

But when the talks were over, they artists, especially the one I wanted to talk further to, were too engaged in the circle of friends that came to support them. I guess this is a good thing, it's nice to have support from friends and family (my mom, dad and aunt come frequently to my receptions) so I'm not going to frown upon that. But is it the responsibility of the artist to make him/herself accessible to further questions? I think so, but maybe he thought he had already talked enough. Well, I guess it really doesn't matter now because I really don't remember his name.

So when you go to an artist's reception, what are you looking for? Do you want to meet the artist? Would you rather have them talk to the group or one on one? Do you go just for the refreshments? Would you rather not talk to the artist at all because you want your own interpretation? Is there really a right/wrong way?

So that being said, Unbound Visual Art group is having a show at the Harvard Learning Annex at the corner of Western Ave and N Harvard Street in Allston, Thursday May9th. I'll be there to answer all the questions you may have about the pieces that I have up.

Hope to see you there!

Unbound Visual Artists group presents Joan Mullen

If you're looking for something to do this weekend, come and check out Joan Mullen's exhibit at the Faneuil Library in Oak Square, Brighton.

Faneuil Library Art Gallery (Brighton)


Unbound Visual Arts, Inc. and the Faneuil Library are pleased to present the art exhibition Joan Mullen “Abstraction: Sculptural Installation” that explores the experimental qualities of abstract organic form. The public opening reception is Saturday March 30 from 11:00 am -1:00 pm
The exhibition concludes on May 11, 2013
Faneuil Library Art Gallery, 419 Faneuil Street (Oak Square), Brighton, MA
Open Mon, Wed, and Thurs: 10 am - 6:00 pm, Tues: Noon – 8pm, Fri: 9 am – 5 pm and Sat: 9 am – 2 pm
617-782-6705

Unbound Visual Arts, Inc. (www.UnboundVisualArts.org) is a non-profit organization recently incorporated with a mission to enliven and inspire the creative economy of Allston, Brighton and the surrounding area with affordable unbound contemporary visual art for all through exhibitions, sales and educational programs. A Board of Directors and Council of Advisors manage it. Its members include artists, art supporters, businesses, organizations, curators, art collectors and anyone that recognizes the importance of the visual arts in their personal or professional lives. Unbound also develops and nurtures partnerships and collaborations with other organizations and businesses to promote and achieve its educational purpose. Its contemporary artist members create fine art paintings, photographs, sculptures and assemblages.  Unbound’s Facebook site is www.Facebook.com/UnboundVisualArts and its Twitter site is www.Twitter.com/UnboundArts

Independence

So there have been a couple of things that I have witnessed that makes me so thankful that I am an artist but a solo one. I'm not going to go into what I had witnessed, other than a big blame game. But as an independent artist, you have only yourself to blame if your art isn't doing what you want it to do. 

Party Pug

watercolor

4x6 inches

For example, if I'm not making the deadlines on gallery or show exhibitions, I can't sit there and say that it was so and so's fault because they "promised" me that they would get the application in on time. I can't blame it on anyone else if I haven't painted in a week or so because it really is up to me to make the time to sit and paint. And I certainly can't blame the economy or lack of for a lack of sales.

Luna in Oil

16x20"

oil on canvas

Again, bringing this up, because I have seen a lot of groups fall apart because they can't put there egos aside, or will sit and blame another person in the group. To me, that's a poor way to be creative. Sure, we all have distractions and responsibilities to one another as well as to ourselves. But once you start piling blame up on one individual it's just a set up for disaster.

It's best to stop blaming and start solving.

Snow dog

Some one asked me once to not only post my paintings, but post the photos that I work the commissions from. So here's Dublin, the Snow dog!

Dublin

5x7 inches watercolor

Dublin's photo

the client had given me about 10 photos to choose from. After talking with the friend of Dublin's owner, he told me that a) this doggie is no longer with us and b) that he just loved being outside and was a big goofball. Typical golden, right? So I had to do the one with him in the snow. I didn't want to go overboard with the lattice on the porch, so I made it more of a pattern in the painting. And I didn't retort back to my pencils (trying to keep it strictly watercolor) so I had to break out the white watercolor to get the snow on the fur. There were many photos, like I said, and this photo with him in the snow didn't really capture his true golden color. This can show you how important to get more than one or two photos for reference!!!

I hope she loves it!

Before and After

 Not going to apologize for not posting for a while. Things have been crazy lately. Going forward, I'm going to try posting once a week again.

I always have posted my paintings to my Facebook page The Pedigree Artist, Christine Winship, but some one recently asked for me to put up the photos that I've used in order to see what the difference was. So: this is the photo of my last commission:

Bed Buddies Photo

and here's the painting:

This painting was for the winner of my gift certificate for the PBRC (Pit Bull Rescue Center). They have an auction on Ebay every year and I've been donating to this cause for the last 4 years or so.

There are some things that as an artist we feel is necessary to change and some that is necessary to keep. Hence the reason why to get a painting done, right? I felt in this one, that the black on the blanket would loose the effect of fabric, so I omitted it. Then there's the dog's themselves. Some one who came over my house saw the painting first and when I showed her the photo, she said, "I didn't even SEE the little dog in the back. You make him stand out that much more." And the black n' white dog seems to be "floating" a little out of the painting. I think this adds to the dream likeness of this painting.... them being in bed and all :)