Hanging Some Prints

It was time to peddle some prints.

I framed up two prints of my Bridge Sentinel the other day, anxiously anticipating taking them to possibly be displayed in some cafe/galleries in town.

Yesterday I loaded them up and off I went to meet with the owner of the first place, a little coffee shop that displays local artists' work. Seeing as how I've never done this before, I was a little nervous. The owner was very gracious, however, and we were soon chatting about art and what not. I asked her what their policy was for displaying artwork. She replied that they charge 50% as most galleries do, but that she would put mine up for 30% as a trial. ( I had explained that I was an up-and-coming artist and just trying to get my foot in the door, so to speak.) So I went and retrieved one of the framed pieces from my truck and went back inside. She was very appreciative of my work, to say the least! After some oohs and ahhs and showing it to her counter person, she promptly removed a painting from a wall and replaced it with my piece! I played it cool, but inside I was like "cha- CHING!) This was a more positive response than I had hoped for! If everybody who sees it has the same response, I should sell quite a few prints!

The next place I went was a little sandwich shop/gallery. (I think restaurants are great for displaying art. Nothing to do while you eat but look around, right?) Anyway, the owners were out of town, so I'll have to wait till next week to talk to them. I left a card, however, so maybe they'll call me before I go back. We'll see.

Finally, I went to another restaurant that displays some artwork for free. I've been going there over the years and am friendly with the ladies who own it. When I asked to hang a print, they said "Sure!" and took down a small watercolor painting and replaced it with mine. RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WALL! I had the primo spot! I was naturally pleased as punch! I ordered a sweet tea, thanked them and went on my way, more optimistic and motivated than before. Then reality peeked into my head..."Now all you have to do is actually SELL some!"

damned reality voice...

Ruler of the Night Skies WIP

This is what I'm working on at the moment. Ruler of the Night Skies is the most difficult piece I've done to date. It combines stipple (dots) with hatching (lines) to create the texture and patterns of the great horned owl. It also includes graphite work on the full moon using a technique called "circulism" which is simply making tiny circles, building layers until the correct darkness is achieved. The amount of dark background also adds to the difficulty in this piece for the simple fact that it is SO time consuming to get an even tone on an almost black background.

Bridge Sentinel

This is the first piece that I'm making prints from, and it's also my first serious stipple work. It is 11"X14" done on smooth bristol board. It is a rendering of one of the white marble lions that guard our "Bridge of Lions" here, and took about 40 hours to complete.