If you get a chance, stop by The Tomato Head on Market Square in Knoxville, TN, from April 2 to May 6, to see “Foot Traffic”, a new series of xerography work. Learn more about the “Foot Traffic” series.
Foot Traffic Opens.
Tag: Xerox Art
American Vices.
See the work of Artist R.L. Gibson at the “American Vices” exhibit at the Non-Fiction Gallery sponsored by ArtRise Savannah!
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IN THE PRESS: SavannahNow.com
HEARTBREAKER, not heart broken
Many thanks to SavannahNow for including my work in their coverage of “The Gift You Never Wanted” exhibit at the Non-Fiction Gallery in Savannah, GA, sponsored by ArtRise Savannah. Here’s a link to the article. (continues below)
The reception is Friday, December 18th from 6 to 9 pm (1522 Bull Street, Savannah), and the show runs through January 4th. Both “Heartbreaker” & “Cut Throat” are 11″ x 14″ digital-collaged mixed media, rendered as xerography on canvas and are available for sale through the Non-Fiction Gallery. Price available on inquiry.
Learn more about the #DIKY series!
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PRICING your ART.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP
My art community is international, but mostly online. However, most creatives I know really need the company and consult of other creatives on occasion. The Knoxville Arts & Culture Alliance provides that almost-local community for me. (continues below)
I am proud to be able to provide occasional instruction as a part of their on-going Professional Development Seminar series. On May 13th, I enjoyed the company of artists from sculptors & painters to photographers & musicians for a workshop on “How to Price your Art.” This crowd kept me on my toes, and I think we all learned a little something.
Thanks again to the Arts & Culture Alliance of Knoxville!
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Chastity: The Mermaid
SECOND CHANCES
The image of Chastity: The Mermaid from my Psychomachia series has resonated with viewers over & over. It was the first piece of that series to sell, and prints have been a best-sellers. This series reinterprets the Seven Deadly Sins & the Seven Holy Virtues as sideshow “freaks” from the circuses & fairs of yesteryear–nature’s artwork, if you will. (continues below)
I sought to honor the sideshow freak as the masque form of the very best and very worst of humanity, regardless of individual morality. This work is wrapped in a celebration of the possibilities of digital media & rejects the pervasive sort of embarrassment of digital alteration in photography. The use of square canvases in Psychomachia is meant to echo the pixel of which all digital images are comprised.
The collector that purchased this piece has been kind enough over the years to loan it back to me so that it could be shown several more times after the purchase. Due to an odd twist of fate, this piece is available for purchase again.
If you are interested in owning
Chastity: The Mermaid,
please contact me via Facebook or email.
The pieces is currently located in Gatlinburg, TN; however, I am happy to ship the work as well.
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Choices.
BECAUSE YOU ASKED..
So many of you have asked me about my preference in colored gesso. I have pretty standard preferences in gel medium (Liquitex) and acrylic paint (Golden). I find that an art supply is usually popular for a reason. But occasionally, I find favorites by accident. (continues below)
I’ve spent years contemplating the addition of color and texture to my xerography, but all experiments have failed to impress. Xerography, by my method, is tricky and inflexible. Holbein to the rescue. Lots of the big name manufacturers offer white, black & gray gesso. But the 22 colors offered by Holbein make my heart sing (non-affiliate link). Did I mention that the packaging helps you squeeze out every last drop and makes mixing a dream? LOVE. Carmine is my favorite. I’ve added my first coats of gesso in prep for transfer…then paint.
Stay tuned…
♥
Experiments Continue.
MORE COLOR
I have spent a lot of years working with an absence of color. Black & white photography has and continues to be the cornerstone of my work. In 2014, I opened Do I Know You with every piece featuring hand-drawn background patterns to that same b&w photography. But, as I continue to move toward a new series, Better Than Figs, I can seem unable to avoid color. (continues below)
I’ve been experimenting with both color and b&w photography on both white and colored gesso (examples above). I’ve also been testing out other transfer mediums. In the end, colored gesso will likely find a place in my work.
Stay tuned!
How to Price your Artwork
What’s YOUR price?
The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a professional development seminar for artists and other creative people on Wednesday, February 18, from 12:00-1:00 PM at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville. Join us as we welcome R. L. Gibson, artist and Editor of ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, a quirky, art-themed blog offering FREE resources to artists. She will talk about how beginning artists can learn to price their work competitively while helping the more experienced artist avoid the most common pitfalls of emotional pricing.
Having a hard time selling your work?
Let’s figure out why – together.
The presentation is free for members of the Arts & Culture Alliance and $5 for non-members. Please register in advance via PayPal at www.knoxalliance.com/development.html, by phone at 865-523-7543, or by e-mail to sc@knoxalliance.com.
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Lessons continue.
vanished
On December 14, 2014, she finally got some peace. Emma Gibson had just 15 days to go until her 93rd birthday, but she just couldn’t go there. My intimate journey with her began 2 years ago today with a phone call.
When I answered that call that told me my father was in the ICU grappling with what would eventually be revealed as fatal injuries, my first thoughts were not for him but for my grandmother. She had been in nursing care with end-stage dementia for a couple of years at that point. And, while she could still recognize me, she was fading fast.
My journey with her through guardianship, conservatorship, and every imaginable health issue possible inspired me to share my passage from fear to resolution. It all ended in a fairly confident summation in artist-statement-format for my July 4th opening of “Do I Know You?” that ended with “The best we can hope for is a few good photos and a really good story about how we got to the end. Smile. Everyone dies.” I meant it at the moment, but…
Sometimes I am a pompous ass.
She’s dead.
She’s not smiling.
I’m not smiling.
She loved me.
I loved her.
I love her still.
I can’t believe she’s gone.
How shocking that I could be still shocked that her loss hurts this badly. It was expected; I thought I was prepared. I was not. Her lessons for me will continue–despite her absence.
Smile. At least you’re not dead.
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Enough?
SHORT
attention span
I edited my artist resume this week. Yes, I shortened it. My resume was so long, that even I was too bored to get to the end of it. My solution? Chop it off. I took out at least HALF of the shows. I improved documentation & details (dates, websites, jurors, etc.) for the remaining shows & arts admin work.
When I read resumes from artists as a part of juried shows or the Featured Artist contest at AAAD, I find they usually contain every instance that their work has been anywhere. It always screams at me: “I don’t think my resume is good enough, so I am going to overwhelm you with volume.” It doesn’t work. So, I finally took the bold step.
My work is good enough. My experience is good enough. So is yours. We are all where we are based on the work we’ve done. There is no reason to be ashamed of where you are if you’ve worked for it. So quit apologizing, people.
Chop that resume down to size.