I SPY....

 

My painting at the Mpls Institute of Arts...this is a shot I found on twitpic (http://twitpic.com/124l1b) of the Foot In the Door exhibit being hung. It's a little easier to spy my painting if the pic is larger...it's in the lower center, just over the carts...the one with the reddish-orange flower. Now I'm even more excited to see the show!

Here's another shot as they continue to hang over 4000 pieces of artwork.  

http://twitpic.com/129xxg

 But before the artwork could be hung, lots of folks had to stand in line...

 http://twitpic.com/11xdu1

  

http://twitpic.com/11xfqw

My Foot is in the Door!

 

This morning I set off for the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to register/drop off my Red Poppies painting for the Foot in the Door Exhibit. The Institute is my favorite art museum in town. It is one of my favorite places to spend an afternoon. This special exhibit takes place every 10 years and is open to any Minnesota artist. The biggest restriction is that the piece must fit inside a 12x12 box. 

The last time this show took place some 1700 pieces of art were exhibited. I think it might be even larger this time--they are estimating upwards of 3000 works. I decided to paint a simple piece, but something bold in color. For all I know, my piece may be hung 6 feet over everyone's head! The canvas is 12x12--painted sides, no frame (so it would fit inside the box).

Hubby went with me to register the piece. We got there early, before the line got long. We had a lovely conversation with 2 other artists waiting in line. It all went very smoothly. I got a purple "artist" ribbon to wear at the opening reception to be held on February 18th. I can't wait!

The show runs till the middle of June. I think I will be stopping by the Institute alot in the coming months. I'll let you know how the big opening goes!  

(just found this pic from MIA on twitpic...of my painting being photographed! This is a behind-the-scene shot that I wasn't able to witness. How cool is that!)

Oh ya, I almost forgot...I will have my Jax Studio open Friday night from 6-9 p.m. for February's First Friday...information on the sidebar. Stop by and see what I've been working on!

Red Poppies

After a busy day Friday running around, I have not gone anywhere in the car all weekend. Unusual for me. Usually I'm running errands or taking my kids somewhere, but this weekend I was grounded. That was o.k. by me.

I got to spend time in the studio Saturday and Sunday. Again, I switched gears and worked on some new paintings. This time I had a very good reason.

In two weeks, the Mpls Institute of Arts is accepting submissions for their once-every-decade "Foot In the Door" exhibit. Any Minnesota artist may submit a piece of art, as long as it fits in a 12x12 box and you bring it to the museum during the specified days. I have gone to this exhibit one time, but never submitted. I remember seeing the exhibit 20 years ago when my kids were young. It's a very interesting exhibit--work is hung from the floor to ceiling!

Well, this year I am planning to submit a painting. I have known about the exhibit for months...it's been in the back of my mind...you would think I'd have a painting done by now, but...like a lot of artists, I work better under pressure...right?

Part of it is that I don't frequently paint 12x12...but for this opportunity I will. I've thought alot about what it is want to paint for this show...it's hard, because you want something to grab people's attention. And I thought it best not to paint something with lots of detail, because this painting could literally be hanging 12 feet over people's heads!

So finally this weekend I started working on these red poppies. I may still do something else, but I liked how this went this weekend.

 

 

Actually, I worked on two 12x12's (pictured above), along with these smaller ones (8x8's, 6x8's).

 

I didn't finish these, but made good progress. I think the red/orange flowers (with a pink undertone) look very vibrant against the charcoal background. These are painted on gallery canvases--with sides that measure 1 3/8". I continued the charcoal gray on the sides--so there is no need to frame. Even if I don't pick one of these 12x12's for the Foot in the Door show, I'm excited to see what they will look like when done. 

Some days it's just good to paint something you love...and I loved painting these!