Art Uncorked and Museum of Bad Art

A Living Social deal that will surely bring out the Picasso in you:


Art Uncorked 2 tickets for $45

"Vortex" unknown artist
found in trash

Today's deal gets you two tickets to an Art Uncorked event for $45 (regularly $90). Even if you've never held a brush before, your inner artist will come out to play at this three-hour class that's one part painting, one part wine-drinking, and all parts fun. Perfect for a girls' night out or a date night, these events are held at restaurants and wine bars throughout the Bay Area (in San Francisco, Berkeley, Mountain View, Fremont, and Burlingame). Though wine isn't included, drink specials are often available for Art Uncorked participants. Your experienced, entertaining instructor will guide you through the featured artistic work of the evening, then answer questions as you create your own masterpiece to take home. Each class includes all the supplies you need, so you can relax and have a great time with new friends and old. Grab a brush and paint some great savings in the foreground of your picture.


There are 8 locations in the Bay Area with 3 in San Francisco.



When i searched for images for this post, i came across the Museum of Bad Art and of course, was interested in their portraiture section.  It is pretty hilarious.  But it begs the question, what makes art bad?

I went through the collection and found a few pieces that didn't deserve the "bad art" label.

"Tables Have Turned"
found in trash
This was a little Ashile Gorky-like.

"Winter Monolith"
purchased from a Boston thrift store

Maybe this one deserves the title but I like the  monochromatic hues.  

"James the Male Model"
purchased at a thrift store

This nude has mood and is kind of interesting.

An NPR article about MOBA can be found here.

Register for SF Artspan Membership

ARTISTS!  Time to register for SF Artspan membership
May 31, 2012: Deadline for DISCOUNTED RATE, early-bird PREMIER ARTIST MEMBERSHIP ($170)
- The price will increase to $185 starting June 1 through June 25 (final deadline)


You will want to join early enough to be a part of the beautiful Open Studio Guide.  The $170 price hasn't changed from last year and the improvements the group has made has been tremendous.  First of all, last year's OS Guide was printed on better quality paper.  The content of the Guide was also useful and had profiles of some of the artists.  Artspan also organizes informative talks and mixers.  However, the best deal and most fun is the party they host right before the first weekend of open studios.  For $35 (last year's price), you get a preview of the work of the members, be a part of the frenzy of an auction, eat and drink with very nice people and hopefully, walk away with a piece of art with part of the proceeds benefiting art in schools.


Register here.

And here is the breakdown of the weekends.  October is going to be busy!

SF Open Studios 2012

October 13 & 14, 11am to 6pm
Fort Mason, Marina, Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, North Beach
Duboce, Hayes Valley, Haight, Upper Market
Ocean Beach, Sunset, Richmond, Diamond Heights, Buena Vista, Twin Peaks, West Portal, Glen Park, Excelsior

October 20 & 21, 11am to 6pm
SOMA, Tenderloin, Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, Bayview

October 27 & 28, 11am to 6pm
Mission, Noe Valley, Bernal Heights, Castro

November 3 & 4, 11am to 6pm
Hunters Point Shipyard & Islais Creek Studios

Solar Eclipse

Stunning images of the eclipse

Art for the New Millionaires

Banksy

Today is the day when many millionaires will be created, the day Facebook goes public.  The last time there was a technology boom in San Francisco, (was it around the late 1990's?), it was awful.  I heard it was great for restaurants but from what i remember, it became difficult to go out for a nice meal.  In fact, it seemed difficult to go out to do anything just because the population swelled during this time.  It was probably great for the local economy although i wonder if it was good for the local artists.  Since I wasn't one then, I can't compare but as I am one now, will i see an uptick in sales? These newly minted millionaires are young, busy and i would imagine haven't been exposed to much art except for graffiti inspired work.   My guess would be they would adore Banksy, Warhol, Keith Haring, and  Basquiat,  but not Joan Mitchell, Brice Marden, Richard Diebenkorn, or Helen Frakenthaler.  They might like Frank Stella, Pousette-Dart, and maybe even Mark Rothko.

Keith Haring

"Knives" Andy Warhol

Basquiat

May I suggest looking into what i consider to be sublime pieces for their home, away from the distractions of work life?  These would be beyond the budget of a mere millionaire however but I will make suggestions on the local art scene in a future blog post.  There is a lot of great and affordable art out there!

Joan Mitchell

Brice Marden

Richard Diebenkorn

Helen Frankenthaler

Frank Stella

Pousette-Dart

Mark Rothko

New American Paintings - Call for Artists

CALL FOR ARTISTS : Pacific Coast

Artists residing in: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington!

Juror: Monica Ramirez-MontagutSenior Curator, San Jose Museum of Art

Online Deadline: June 30th, 2012 (Midnight EST)

To Apply online you will need to prepare four jpegs of your work (no larger than 1200 pixels at their greatest dimension) and a credit card for the entry fee of $50.

Click the link below to register and submit your entries to the
Pacific Coast competition:


The entry fee has increased!  I suppose I will try yet again - perhaps this juror will like my color fields?  Or, should I send images from my trees posing series?

Heather

Whew!  I haven't been faithful to this blog for the past few weeks due to an  intensive  few weeks of school.  I've been taking sewing classes at City College of San Francisco with the goal of being able to make clothes for my body that isn't as able to buy off the rack at stores as much.  In addition, I have hated some of the fashions that were available and thankfully, the "bling" look is disappearing.  My schedule has been to paint during the day, go home, eat dinner, and head to my sewing studio at home until bedtime.  Even then, i needed to take an extra day and all weekend to work on projects.  I have so much respect for clothes construction now and also respect for the amount of time required to make a garment that fits.  Like so many construction projects, the preparation is an essential part of any successful outcome.  In garment construction, that would be the fit on the body.  I took a fitting course taught by Lynda Maynard, a fabulous instructor and it was like the Rosetta Stone of sewing for me.  Sewing a muslin test garment and then having her and my classmates fit it on me was a revelation.  Sewing is definitely about problem solving and puzzles so I am thoroughly enjoying the process.

But my days are about continuing with my portrait project.  Below is "Heather" which was completed last month.  Also 7 in X 5 in, oil on canvas board.

I have 3 portraits in progress right now and I am not sure if i like working like this, going from face to face to face.  The ultimate goal is to have 10 portraits done in time for Open Studios in October.
Which brings me to another reason I am learning to sew:  i need another revenue stream in order to fund my studio.  Since I am focusing on portraits this year, and since they will be given as gifts, AND, after paying the rent for next month, I will have nothing left in my art account,  therefore, I need to have an alternative to selling paintings.  I haven't been as aggressive in seeking out new venues for showing my work but frankly, if they existed, i would have applied.  I have kept in contact with a couple of curators but it is tough out there for everyone.  So, in the meantime, I continue to further my practice with my portrait project.  I did a quick and dirty portrait of myself to be sent to New York to be in the "Self Portrait Project" sponsored by Art House Coop.

Oil on canvas, 4 in X 4 in which was a challenge painting so small.

I love portraits and I love cheese - here, painter Mike Geno combines these two things.  His work was featured in the the food section of the New York Times last week.  I love that I can see his brushwork.  And I love that this was included in the food section.

In a little over a month, I will be at this exhibition.  The plan is to go to Cleveland to see "Rembrandt in America" and then to drive to Cincinnati to catch the Henry Tanner show.

 

Edwige Fouvray at Dolby Chadwick

After visiting SFMOMA to see the Mark Bradford exhibition last Friday, I had some spare time before visiting my orthopedic surgeon regarding a torn mensicus.  Mark Bradford's work affected me in such a way that I felt tender and somehow, pure and I didn't want to see art that would alter that feeling.  I chose to visit Dolby Chadwick after seeing an image of the work of artist Edwige Fouvray in the SF Chronicle and I wasn't disappointed.

 The paintings remind me of the aspects I love most about drawing and they are the beauty of the line and the smudges that inherently occur during the process. Her paintings have that and subtle colors.

 The work looks interesting from the distance as well as up close.  I had the brochure and noticed that the reproduction of this paintings looked pretty good but it was nothing compared to the real thing.  Which is why looking at paintings or drawings on a computer screen is worthless when it comes to wonderfully complex works of art.

 Dolby Chadwick is one of my favorite galleries - they do a great job of displaying paintings and they show some of my favorite artists.

Show runs through April 28, 2012.

Weather - San Francisco Style

The weather has been very strange the last few months in that my studio hasn't really experienced a cold that in the past, has required me to wear several layers, gloves and a wooly hat.  My studio is poorly insulated and even with a heater, it never warms up.  The worst has been rain splashing through the cracks of my windows that damaged source material.  Other times, it gets downright hot where i need to have the fan blowing.  And, i still need the heater for those dark days and nights when i work late. Most recently, we had a spectacular showing of lightning and thunder last week. 

photo by Phil McGrew

photo by Damon Tighe

photo by Chris Blain

Mark Bradford at SFMOMA

Enter and Exit the New Negro

It doesn't happen very often when I go to an exhibition that so inspires me that i feel an urgency to get back to the studio to work on my own pieces.   I know immediately that I will need to visit this exhibition at least one more time before it ends. It is not about copying what the artist is doing - it is more about the sense of the intensity, thought, hard work,  and sacrifice that went into the pieces that were created.  I am talking about the current exhibition at SFMOMA of the work of Mark Bradford, on now through June 17, 2012. (SF Chronicle's Kenneth Baker's article found here.) His work is complex and requires much time to think about but what is always the most important thing for me is that the pieces be successful visually without knowing any backstory.  Bradford's pieces were sublime and immediately stimulated my imagination.

Burn Baby Burn

Strawberry

Monster

Mississippi Gottdam

PAL

I try not to read much about a show and I generally don't like to read any of the exhibition explanations before i look at the pieces so that I can interact with each piece without any influence.  I want it to be a purely visually experience.

Bread and Circuses

When I finally get to reading the exhibition text, and if i can understand it, it enhances the experience.




























He is represented by Sikkema Jenkins Co. in  NYC.

Kinkade Dies at 54

Much has been said about Thomas Kinkade and around these parts, none of it complimentary.  I cannot fault him for making the kinds of paintings that he made - an idyllic scene, often with Christian symbols or messages and always with his characteristic "light".  I did not like his commodification of art and the fact that one in twenty Americans own some sort of Kinkade (paintings, coffee mugs etc...) indicates to me that we need more art education.  Did his "collectors" purchase other paintings to enhance their collection or was it the one piece that hung above the mantle?  I understand that there are people who buy art as an investment and perhaps, they may even like looking at the piece.  Time will tell whether a Kinkade will appreciate in value, although currently, there is a rush to buy his work.  I can't imagine that i will travel to see his retrospective in a few decades.  To be sure, he knew how to handle a brush and maniuplate paint.  But there is much more to a painting than that.   Conceptually, he wasn't very interesting to me but I recognize that his work spoke to people.  Which brings me to my original point, that our arts education is lacking in this country.The more art you look at and think about, the more you will broaden your tastes.  As a society, we can converse on the latest TV show or movie but when it comes to art, we lack the background and interest.

When i buy a painting, drawing, photograph or print, it is important for me to see the hand of the artist.    It is important for me to know that the artist really explored the oeurve and when I see the body of work, I want to see mastery of the subject.  I am not interested in a mass produced object, we have enough of that when it comes to clothes or food.   Kinkade's work was mass produced and while he did create a consistent body of work, it would have been interesting to see him explore his faith and his idyllic world further.  I wonder if his work which became more about manufacturing than about creativity, sent him to an early grave.

Call for Entry - ArtSpan Cover

ArtSpan is holding an open call for Artwork submissions inspired by San Francisco’s citizens, icons, history, and love of art. The winning Artwork will be used for the 2012 SF Open Studios Campaign, including cover Artwork for the Guide (a full-color, 144-page catalog with 20,000 print run), as well as promotional advertising in various publications, outdoor advertising, print and online broadcasts, and other promotional vehicles.

April 25, 2012, 11:59 pm PST: APPLICATION DEADLINE
May 7, 2012: Finalist Notification
May 16, 2012: Cover Artist Notification
mid-September 2012: Guide Release

ELIGIBILITY: 
• Open to artists residing in San Francisco or Bay Area.
• All entries must be original and executed within the past 3 years. 
• Collaborations are accepted. 
• Work must not have been used for print material purposes (other than to promote the work of artist). 
• If selected, Artwork must be available for viewing during the SF Open Studios Exhibition in October-November 2012 at SOMArts Cultural Center

Online Entry Form

40 Watts - Illuminating Herstory

Last Friday was the opening of the "40 Watts Illuminating Herstory" show at the Pacific Art League's Norton Gallery.  The show put on by the Northern California Women's Caucus for Art and is part of the 40th Anniversary celebration drew an attentive crowd.  As in the past, there were great food and wine donations and in this case, all the art had to be 10 in X 10 in or smaller.  I happened to have a piece that fit that criteria.

Norton Gallery

My piece, titled "Venus of the Super Bowl is on the right side.   I love this piece which was done while studying at the San Francisco Art Institute, is more meaningful if the description was placed next to it.  I think it is an interesting piece on its own, with a weirdness that might captivate the viewer. 

But, here is the description:

This piece is a tribute to Janet Jackson and the furor caused by her wardrobe malfuction in 2004.   Here, it is the Venus of Willendorf who is wearing the Janet Jackson costume with the one breast exposed.  I want to bring attention that twenty thousand years ago, someone honored a woman (or women) with this nude statue of a large breasted woman that we call the Venus of Willendorf.  Today, we vilify someone who accidentally exposes a partial breast.  

The show runs through April 27th.

Norton Gallery

668 Ramona Street

Palo Alto, CA.  M-F 10 am - 5 pm

Sat 10 am- 4 pm

Venus of the Superbowl

Venus of Willendorf