Archive for April, 2009

Poketo released a couple more tees! One is grey, one is light blue.  Also, I did an interview with them, so surf on over if you want to read some chit chat.  Here is a link: www.poketo.com/blog/2009/04/10/interview-with -artist-bets…

I am in search of a studio assistant to work with me 8-10 hours a week.

Here are some examples of what you might be doing:

Print limited edition prints
Ship print and painting orders
Maintain etsy shop

Maintain mailing lists
Send newsletters and other promotional items
Help design line sheets, correspondence cards, etc.

Assist with wholesale sales efforts

Help organize and set up studio storage and work environment

Help facilitate the creation of new products:
Find vendors, materials, etc
Gather cost estimates and timelines
Work with vendors to create products

Maintain studio project schedule

Help with special projects as needed, i.e. preparing panels for paintings, gocco printing, designing and making booths for sales and trade shows

Document artwork, maintain digital archive.

Other projects as assigned.

Qualifications:

* Organized, focused, detail oriented
* Art and design enthusiast/aspiring or working artist or designer
Motivated, creative and effective problem solver
Entrepreneurial spirit
* Ability to manage projects independently
* Skilled, thorough researcher
* Comfortable and efficient on the web
Professional written and verbal communication skills
Basic photoshop and photography skills. At least enough to scan, color correct and retouch images.
Print design ability a big plus.
Ability to build painting supports is a big plus
* Flexible, positive, and friendly.
Likes cats! We have two co-worker cats.

Please send your resume and cover letter describing your qualifications, aspirations and interests. If you have examples of creative work, please include a link to an online portfolio or up to 3 jpegs.

I’m looking forward to the opening on April 30 of Common Swell, a group show I’m in along with four other lovely and talented artists at Together Gallery’s brand new space at 2916 NE Alberta. I have fond memories of many hours in the print shop with Allyson Mellberg and Catherine Stack when we were in school together at MIAD. I miss the print shop!! We’ll be joined by Jeremy Taylor and Matthew Feyld, both inspirational for me in different ways. 

Curleds (AP/a), six color gocco print by Jeremy Taylor

Allyson and Jeremy often work collaboratively, though not always, on elegant renderings of animals and people suffering from various maladies and growths, in an effort to visualize the deleterious effects of our society’s handling of toxic materials. They use all non toxic materials - natural pigments derived from sources such as walnuts, spinach, and squid ink. They also make soft sculptures and ceramic pieces. 

Allyson Mellberg

Matthew Feyld paints a mean crisp edge! I have been a fan of Matthew’s since my early days on flickr. He is a prolific and gifted painter who has fleshed out a very recognizable stylized form of figurative paintings. They are very graphic, flat shapes with exaggerated proportions. I read his paintings as dramatic depictions of states of mind. I think the earlier ones from a couple years ago dealt more with fear and possibly a touch of shame and embarrassment - men with shirts, but no pants, like those awkward dreams when one suddenly realizes that they forgot to get dressed before going to work. Lately, his paintings seem to have transitioned to a more satisfied but still shocked stage, the figures are more rotund and balance fruit bowls, wear cheery patterned sweaters, and generally look like they are feeling somewhat better.

Matthew Feyld

Catherine has recently launched a new website, which I am so excited about! She finished up grad school in Boston last year I believe and now lives in Brooklyn. I was happy to get to see her, if only for a few minutes, last December when I was there. She has been making lovely etchings and paper sculptures, and has a lovely artist statement to boot: 

Out of Proportion, etching on muslin by Catherine Stack

Stepping Off, 8x10 acrylic gouache on panel by Betsy Walton

Jenny Vorwaller referred me for this show at the Las Vegas City Hall Bridge Gallery (thanks Jenny!). The exhibit was organized by inviting artists from across the country to create a postcard image about the state or city in which they live. Artists were also asked to recommend one or two artists in states other than their own thus making this an exhibit curated by artist across the 50 states.  My drawing ‘Our Lady of the Rain’, above, is in the show. The exhibit is open April 24 - July 2, 2009.

I recently did an interview with Blanket Magazine, an online PDF magazine that covers art and design. Each issue is filled with rich imagery and inspiring interviews, as well as reader submissions. The juicy cover art for this issue is by Will Bryant. I particularly enjoyed the interview with Coralie Bickford-Smith who designs beautiful book covers for Penguin. 

Thought I would share the text of our Q & A here as well:

I live in Portland, Oregon. I graduated from art college nine years ago. I majored in printmaking at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. I’ve been a working artist for about two and a half years. 

I am a curious person and my interests are broad, but lately I have been focused on learning more about spiritual traditions. This investigation has been going on for the last couple of years, and it has been a big influence on my work. 

I also like math, science and being in nature. 

The tough part is working even when I feel flat or totally uninspired. Feeling bored can be a great opportunity to become inspired, if I can find a salve of new information that can drive my next move in a painting. This information could be anything, something that I see in the world somewhere that just clicks somehow, or an idea that just pops into my mind, from who knows where. 

I think inspiration comes from being engaged with the materials and being present during the time I am working. Its always about trying to get in touch with the ‘new’ idea, the idea that feels strange or unfamiliar. That can be a really inspiring moment, and a great opportunity to change the direction of a painting. Its like an internal wellspring, that I can never really see or touch all at once, it just sends out little showers of ideas now and then. I don’t think I’ll ever get to see where the spring is or what it looks like. I do think I know what it feels like however. It is the most amazing feeling of total engagement and surprise. 

I am motivated and thrilled by works of art in all media that radiate the precision energy, laserlike focus, and skill that all need to come together to make a beautiful object and/or transcendent experience possible. I feel driven by the possibility of feeling resonance with other people and works of art. It feels like being a part of an unfolding consciousness and creation of our own experience. 

Well crafted (conceptually and technically) works seem to raise the quality of my experience of the world. It refines and shapes the way I understand the world. I think that creative works help us to be more sensitive to life. 

It depends on the project, but it usually starts with a thought that I need to get to work. Then I make a cup of tea, and queue up a couple hours of music or podcast material to listen to. I go through a process of setting up, getting the materials ready and maybe straightening my desk. I choose the sizes I will be working on if I am making paintings.  

Then I start painting. The first stages are usually priming with a tinted primer. This  is a fun stage, I am just trying to find a color that feels right. Its all layers after that. Sometimes I have had an idea that came to me for an image, or an element, and so I set to work to try to get it down on the panel. Sometimes I gather reference images from google images of a particular element I want to work with. Recently I was looking for images of fungi.

I do have several sketchbooks which I use to jot ideas down or to think through options for compositions or gallery installation plans. I am making a paper sculpture right now, so I used the sketchbook a lot to try to figure out how I wanted to make it. 

I have developed an affinity for certain symbols, figurative and formal elements which I use to try to describe the complexity, mystery, and seeking nature of our experience. I seem to keep returning to some, but they also shift and change over time. 

Have you created any pieces that you can’t part with?

Generally, I like to share my work. I guess I do have a drawer of projects I feel are unresolved, which may never see life outside the drawer. I also have a few things that I made for myself.

I was inspired to try after having given it a great deal of thought and having seen the example of successful artists around me. This was in 2006. I went to college for art because I felt a funny feeling about it - it seemed so mysterious and intriguing, and I didn’t really have any clear thoughts about the future. 

Since I made the leap, to my surprise and continual amazement, my work has been warmly received and supported, enabling me to keep working. I didn’t fully realize that it was possible to make a living from my art until it started happening during the last 18 months or so. I had fully internalized the idea that making a living as an artist was impossibly difficult and miraculous, and probably would not happen for me. But, as I began to see my peers succeed, this idea started to fade, and I got enough confidence to take the risk. 

Oh, there are many, and there are many rewards. For me, organizing and prioritizing all the responsibilities is difficult. I think it is also key to be able to be effective at accomplishing the day to day work, yet still be able to step back and view the big picture, like where do I want to take my work, what do I want to be doing in the next 5 years, etc. 

I generally like the business side, but it is a challenge to balance the creative and administrative tasks. I have a hard time doing both types of work in the same day.  The administrative to do list seems to be growing just as much as the creative to-do list. 

How do you promote your artwork?

I post images of most of my work, including some work in progress and sketchbook things on Flickr. I also have a portfolio site, an etsy shop, and a blog.   I also show my work frequently, which helps bring my work to new communities. 

The internet community has been huge for me. There are a few kind and generous people who have really embraced my work and mentioned it in their blogs, which has snowballed into some traditional press, illustration jobs, and other opportunities. 

What kind of artists do you admire?

Gardening, swimming, The New York Times, my cats, and cooking.