Rise and Art

If you follow me on instagram, you’ll notice a theme in today’s story and post. I talked a bit about Rise and Art - a program that provides grants to emerging female artists. I was thrilled to be able to be a part of this collective (through work donation and as a juror for the grant) as I know firsthand how difficult it can be to wade through the masses online to find your audience.

I am so honored and excited to be able to give back.

Founded by Karen Ruane, 50% of the sales of Rise and Art noted work goes to the funding of these grants, awarded to female artists in the US with less than 1000 followers on instagram.

Look for the R + A badge on my paintings to see the work that will go to fund one of these grants, or stop by the page to see work from other female artists.

Are you an emerging, female artist in the US with less than 1000 followers? Click here to apply for the grant!

Compositions and Cutting up Work

I've got a lot of work laying around. Color studies, experiments, paper-tests... these all add up to stacks of work that aren't suitable for sale, but are too interesting to just throw away. 

So I cut it up.

I begin by finding areas that call to me, that seem like there might be more to their story if they could stand alone and then cut them out. I don't really pay attention to size or orientation, just allowing that small moment to exist without the trappings of the rest of the painting. (I've cut some 18 x 24s down to 2 inches in my pursuit!)

Once I have my pieces, I like to examine each one - flipping them over and spinning them until that moment becomes a new composition. I'm looking for something I haven't done before, something that begs to be explored, something different. Occasionally I'll tape them up on the wall, here I can flip and manipulate with my mind on other work -- which usually allows the better compositions to percolate to the top of my consciousness.

Armed with a fistful of new compositions, I take these to my sketchbook to explore further. Some end up paintings, some end up taped into the folds to play with another day, but all of them teach me something about how and why I do the work I do.

What do you do with old/experimental work? Do you cut it up too or use it for other purposes?

Happy 2018!

Happy 2018 friends.

Just wanted to check-in briefly here to officially reopen my commission page for 2018, talk about a few changes you might see in this space. (And to say “hello!”It’s been awhile!) Hope you all had a warm holiday season and a great start to the new year!

On the subject of commissions; my studio is back up and running in this beautiful new space, recharged and revitalized from the time off. To get started on a project, you can either email me here, or fill out the form here. Projects are being scheduled for February-April currently, so let me know if you have a rush deadline.

Regarding changes; I’m in the middle of a site overhaul. (Finally!) Tending to my web presence hasn’t been top of my list for the last few months, with shows and holidays orders demanding most of my time. Now that I’ve got a pretty good handle on my winter schedule I’ve been able to devote some time to update my available work and redesign the flow of my site. I’m hoping to having it completed soon - sign up for my newsletter to get word of the official relaunch.

In other news, my Instagram following just passed 30k - a very nice little surprise to start off the year. What began as a personal, journaled approach to my art practice has morphed into a space I couldn’t have imagined. I’ve made lifelong friends, been a part of some truly fantastic projects and have found a wonderful community of artists and collectors to connect with. If you follow me over there, thanks so much for coming along for the ride - it’s been such a pleasure to share my process with you <3

Cheers to 2018!