Two more new shows!

Below the surface
Mixed media on panel, 2012

Today, two new exhibitions that include my work open, on two different continents!

In Edinburgh, Scotland, the Society of Scottish Artists Annual Open Exhibition 2013 contains my painting, 'Below the surface', from my current series Elegy for the end of an empire. The opening reception for the show was last night, which I was unable to attend due to currently being in Arkansas! I'm very much looking forward to heading along to the exhibition when I return to Edinburgh in a few weeks. I hope all of my friends and family at home will take a moment to pop into the show and check it all out – if it is anything like last year's, it should be great.  

You know your problems ain't exactly new
Mixed media on paper, 2011

Meanwhile, on the same side of the Atlantic as I, two paintings from my paper series Post Process are featured in Natural Selection, a five-person group show at the 110 Church gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 110 Church's space looks amazing and I only wish that my budget (and time) in the States would extend to a visit. Sadly, it won't. If by any chance you are in the Philadelphia area, please do stop by and tell me how the exhibition looks (or even grab a few snaps of it, if you're allowed!).

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Society of Scottish Artists Annual Open Exhibition 2013
March 1-26, RSA Upper Galleries, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland

Natural Selection
March 1-29, 110 Church gallery, 110 Church Street, Philadelphia, PA.

On the wall

On the evening of July 10th, the artist's reception for Megan Chapman and my new body of work, A place called home, took place at Springdale's Arts Center of the Ozarks. While the evening was a touch quieter than we had anticipated, we nonetheless had a really lovely night. Around forty to fifty friends, family and patrons came out on a random Tuesday night, to look at our art in person and to talk to us.

We both spent the two hours of the reception in countless conversations, both about life and more specifically about our art. I love sharing my (and our!) work and there is little that can compare to speaking with a patron about a painting I have made, or in this case we have made. It is particularly great when someone gets what we have been trying to do with the work and also when they have their own, equally valid ideas about what we have made.

Our show, named A place called home after the series of paintings, is in the Arts Center of the Ozarks until July 27th. We arranged and hung the show ourselves and are really pleased with how it looks on the wall. This will be the only time that the full series will ever be shown together in public. If you're in Northwest Arkansas, or even eastern Oklahoma or southern Missouri, make sure you don't miss it.

For those of you further afield, you might not be able to see it in person however you can see the full series here.

Not just for one night only

The air was cooler and lovelier than we could have hoped for at five o'clock, when the East Prospect exhibition began last night. The air was also full of the magical sound of Sun Boxes. It was the perfect beginning to what became a wonderful evening.

The front room with works by Megan Chapman,
Jennifer Libby Fay and myself.

In one funky and (what I'm told is a) small house in the historical district in Fayetteville, Megan Chapman, Jennifer Libby Fay and myself hosted an international art exhibition. The show was comprised of more than a hundred pieces of art, including abstract paintings, textile works, photography, illustrations and multimedia works. All of this was fitted into the five rooms on the main floor of the house and was seen by a constant stream of friendly faces. Meanwhile Craig Colorusso was outside, moving his Sun Boxes around the yard to keep them in the patches of sun that passed through the surrounding trees, so that they could sing to the neighbourhood.

It was a fun night, full of conversations that were carried through the house on light summer breezes. As an artist, much of my night was spent talking about my art, which is something I love to do. However, I was also able to talk about other's art and share it with friends and with new acquaintances, which was a thrill.

In the back room with my paintings
and photography by Christian Demare,
Thomas Petillo and Craig Munro.

We had a great time and so, by all appearances, did out guests. It was such a good time, in fact, that we decided we really should repeat the experience. So for those that missed the show, or those who couldn't get enough, East Prospect will be back on Saturday 9th June from 11-4pm. If you're in Northwest Arkansas, you really shouldn't miss it.

Thank you everyone who made it along and everyone that I hope we see tomorrow. You've all been amazing and it has been a joy to feel a part of the community again.


(And here are those lovely Sun Boxes)

East Prospect

The good thing about Fayetteville is that it is an easy place to make your own opportunities. There are a lot of creative spirits in this town, which makes for a receptive audience if you have the nerve and will power to try something. By all accounts, last week's experimental theatre piece, Alley 38 by the Artist's Laboratory Theatre, found that audience. Sold out on every night, not only was it a financial success if was also an artistic one. As an audience member/participant on one evening, I had a wonderful experience and look forward to the troupe's future work.

East Prospect exhibition
Thursday 7th June

In less than a week, artists Megan Chapman, Jennifer Libby Fay and myself will be having our own experiment. Since the ignominious demise last year of Fayetteville's most successful commercial gallery, the town has been left with a gaping hole in its cultural scene. For one night only, we have decided to fill that hole. However, we are not filling it in quite the expected manner: rather than staging our show in the usual stark, white-walled box, we have decided to have our exhibition in a residential home!

It seemed, when we first thought of it, a radical plan. Yet the more we thought about it, the more sense it made. All too often in the past we heard visitors complain "It looks so good against the white wall, but my walls are (such and such) colour" or "I don't have the space for art on my walls" and that was the end to their experience of art, art that may well have enriched their lives for years to come. By moving art away for those usual stultifying enclosures, we believe that it will make for a more personal and enjoyable experience. Not only will patrons be able to feel closer to the art but they will also see it in a real life setting.

Added to this, as artists and curators, we have access to a wide range of art and artists. It eventually became clear that not showing Fayetteville the kind of art it has come to expect would be the only wrong thing to do.

Our exhibition, East Prospect, will take place on First Thursday, June 7th and will feature a wide selection of art from national and international artists; artists from Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, England, France and Scotland. On show will be abstract paintings from Megan Chapman, Steven Heaton and myself; fabric art from Jennifer Libby Fay; illustrative art by myself; digital and analogue photography from Thomas Petillo, Christian Demare, Craig Munro, Rob Kedward, Steven Heaton and myself; multi-media art from John Spurgeon and, not least, the fantastic solar-powered installation, Sun Boxes, by Craig Colorusso. All of the work, Sun Boxes aside, will be available to purchase and take home on the night and is priced to suit everyone from the serious art collector to students.

We believe Fayetteville deserves, and needs, to see this art. It has been too long since there was a show of this quality in town. I'm tremendously excited about the exhibition and I can't wait for it to happen. I hope to see you there!

Don't talk about…

The period of time after an exhibition opens can be, for the artist, amongst the hardest. Here now the work of the previous months, or years, is out in public. The artist, feeling the pressure of having their work exposed, will doubtless be asking many questions. Does anyone understand the work? What are their responses to it? Will they share those responses? The biggest question, however, is likely to be 'will it sell?'

It always seems tacky to mention selling one's art. This is an unfortunate preconception, that seems to suggest that to make art to sell is somehow less worthy, that commerce pollutes the ideals of art. Sadly we do not live in a socialist utopia, where artists are maintained by the state as a necessary part and expression of life. Artists, unless they are very lucky, need to sell their work to live.

The patron who is buying art is doing more than taking home something that will hopefully enrich their life, they are buying the artist a future. Each piece an artist makes has been paid for long before a patron is likely to see it – the artist has already invested their time and money in the work. When a patron buys a piece, it allows the artist to continue making new work.

There is also a question of validity here because, for all of the positive responses the work in an exhibition can garner, be it from friends or in media reviews, it is very hard not to use sales as a measure of success. In many ways, this is quite a false measure, for who can tell why a patron does or does not buy art. For example, in the middle of a recession sales of everyone's art are certain to be lower than in more buoyant times. Does this therefore mean that all art made in a recession is less worthy? Patently, this is a foolish statement.

Nonetheless, sales remain an important gauge to an artist. A week after my work went on show, it is something that is hard for me not to ignore. It is ironic that at this time, when I should be sitting back, relaxed and enjoying the paintings that I have worked so hard to produce, I am instead almost more worried now than previously. I know this will pass.

The exhibition runs for just over two more weeks. If you are in Edinburgh, please drop by Union Gallery and have a look. For those further afield, you can see the work here.