I’ve been nominated for a Poppy Award in the category of Affordable Art! Come on by and check out the great company I am in and vote for your favorite artist! Polls are open through January 27.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season.

Hello folks! From October 18 - 31, 2009 I will donating a percentage of my etsy sales to Wheels for Henry. Here’s the scoop from the Wheels for Henry blog:

“Chloe Eudaly is the proprietress of Reading Frenzy, a disability advocate, and the proud mom of an amazing kid, Henry, who happens to get around in a wheelchair. They’re more than halfway to funding a used converted van (The van is approx. $45,000) and are now turning to family, friends and the broader community to help raise the rest (We have about $19,500 to go.).

Henry has a great life with his mom, and his dad, who he lives with part-time, and most of his medical needs are covered through insurance and a Medicaid waiver, including the cost of a van conversion. However, first they need a van to convert! It’s been a struggle to keep her business going as Chloe was unable to return to work full-time for several years in order to tend to Henry’s needs, which is why she’s not in a position to finance the van herself.

Chloe currently drives a 20-year-old Toyota Corolla, and has to lift and transfer Henry and his chair in and out of the car, which is becoming more and more challenging as Henry grows. Their lack of adequate transportation is cutting down on what they’re able to accomplish in a day — errands, appointments, recreation and social opportunities — and has kept them from traveling any distance for the past few years (Henry has too much equipment to take for trips in their compact car). Henry is rapidly outgrowing his current wheelchair and when he does the new one won’t fit in their car, so time is off the essence!

If you know Chloe, then you know how hard she works to encourage and support her community in Portland, Oregon. If you’re not from Portland, or are unfamiliar with Chloe’s shop, Reading Frenzy, check out the “About” page on the website.”

You can check the Wheels for Henry blog for a list of participating vendors.

While I was working on these images, I was listening to an audiobook called The Palace of Illusions, a novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. I still have about an hour-ish to go in the story. It is a retelling of the ancient Indian epic Mahabhrata from the point of view of Princess Panchaali.  For whatever reason, hearing something instead of reading it allows me to more fully imagine the story, and this had so many beautiful and fascinating characters and places to imagine. I didn’t know much about the story before it started, and I was glad to find that it was based on an epic story. I have been slowly nurturing an interest in these types of stories over the last few years.

It seems the novel shares some overlap with my general intentions for my work, which is to create a transcendent image that is still rooted in authentic human experience. I will probably spend the rest of my painting days trying to unravel this knot. I find it very difficult to articulate, probably due to the old cliche: a picture is worth a thousand words. And when you have made 300 + paintings, it really starts to add up.

Even though it is hard, I thought I would share a few things about my work. I’m often asked what my paintings are about, or where I get my inspiration, so I figured I would try to get a few thoughts out about this latest group. I hope that they add to the experience of the paintings.

Waterlily echoes, to some degree, the story of Panchaali’s birth. She arrives through fire, not as an infant, but as a young child - I think.  I also see this image as a representation of the heroine being greeted by two archetypal figures - the Crone and the Wise Old Man.

Mrs. Whitegloves was an imaginary figure like the tooth fairy, who was responsible for checking our cabins at summer camp for cleanliness. We would compete with the other cabins to win awards, at least that is what I remember. This image is about our impulse or drive for rejuvenating, refreshing, and purifying both ourselves, and those around us.  This habit pops up in many aspects of our lives, from our most basic personal care all the way through to religious traditions and social conventions. I tend to be a messy person, but I do love a good deep cleaning and organizing every few months.

Inhale/Exhale is inspired by breath meditation. In fact, after looking at it for a while, I am starting to see it as a kind of ‘how-to’ painting. I see the figures in the painting as states of the same individual, which is generally true for a lot of my work.

On the left side, the two figures are a kind of before and after of this character. The before is the blue smaller figure. She is opaque, cool, and small as opposed to the larger, transparent version. She (the after) is holding a large glowing fern frond, a symbol of the warm living energetic state she is in after going through this experience.

On the right side is the ‘how-to’ part, meaning how to achieve the transformation shown on the left. The figure lying on the ground is the initial state of this person. The figure sitting on top represents the observer who is watching the breath. The breath itself is represented by the organ-like shapes with red and blue lobes representing oxygenated and unoxygenated lungs/tissues. I combined the lobes with the branches of a plant. This uses the similarity in physical structure between these forms to underscore the life giving nature of the breath.

Moonlake. I see this image as an exploration of seeking, searching, and feeling around in unfamiliar territory. I am often doing this in and out of the studio. I was excited to explore the possibilities of painting a lake, and trying to show what is underwater and above water somehow, without painting the water itself.

Stay tuned for more! I have another show just around the corner. It opens November 5, at Pony Club here in Portland. I’ll be showing with Aidan Koch.

Tender Loving Empire, Portland, OR

Altamira Gallery, Islip, NY

Skaperverket, Olso, Norway

November 6, 2009 - January 15, 2010
Woodbury Art Museum
Utah Valley University

Jan - March 2010
McCutchan Arts Center
University of Southern Indiana

May – July 2010
A.D. Gallery
University of North Carolina at Pembroke

August 2010
USCB Gallery, South Carolina

October 2010
Chaplin Hall Gallery/Norwich University, Vermont

Come check it out!

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…

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