CMAppleton

California Watercolor Association Show

This is my painting that was accepted to the CWA show. The photo is a little faded in the upper right corner – I waited for a sunny day so I could get a photo outside but the sun here in the east has been shy of late. (So much easier to take photos of art outside, than trying to set up the myriad of lights inside.)
The show allowed the submittal of two slides and I was only going to submit one but at the last minute I slipped this one in thinking I might as well since they allowed two. (Thus the clever title, "Seated Woman 2"). I don't have slides of everything; this would not have been my selection if I had. After dropping the envelope at the post office I did a brief look through my studio and realized I had no idea where the painting was, I'd never shown it and so it was unframed and hopefully it could be found in one of the thick stacks of paintings and drawings in my messy studio. Thinking it would not be accepted anyway and trusting that being the good pack rat that I am, I never throw anything out, (except there was that one time right after reading that magazine "Simple Living") so I abandoned my search and took off to California for a month.
While gone, I received the acceptance letter and had a moment of panic (remembering the clean-up and throw-out day after reading that damn magazine) but there was nothing to do until I got home. When I finally was able to look, to my relief, I found the painting, but it was tiny, only about 12" X 14" and I had put the size down as a full sheet. Holy crap. But then I realized something was different, this little painting looked exactly the same, but the model was nude. Then I remembered I'd painted the model a second time and I put a thin wash of black over the nude torso. I went deeper into the stack and found it. I had an almost irresistible impulse to pick up the paint brush and touch up a few things, but I restrained myself. When I was waiting for Sara the framer to come to the front of the shop I kept wetting my finger and rubbing things (always a bad idea) and then I grabbed a pencil and made a few marks. Needless to say there are things about the painting that bug me but having submitted a slide that will be published and needed to match the actual painting, I knew I just had to LET GO.
I haven't entered any shows in so long, it was fun having something accepted.

Chelsea Art Gallery District

The Chelsea Art Gallery District is on the West side between about 21st and 24th Streets. You can pretty much spend the entire day walking in and out of galleries, one right after another. There are startups and coops and upscale galleries and everything in between. It is a wonderful place and when you get tired you can get a coffee and rest a while on 9th or 10th and head back for more viewing. There is a big billboard-sized sign (in the photo above) over one of the streets, maybe 24th, that says "Art is like homeopathy, it works for you only if you believe in it." Patrick Mimran. On the other side of this sign (facing the people coming into the area) there is a less optimistic sign that says something like, "If you are expecting to get into a gallery, forget it." More cleverly stated but that's the gist. It's like one side of the sign says "Don't be foolish and come in here" and the other side says "Ok, since you're here, this is how you must think." There are ELEVEN more pictures of art that don't show up here, click on ARCHIVES, July 2006, to see them. Some of them are really interesting, I think.

A good sport.

I liked the way they displayed the sculpture here. The pieces are ceramic sculptures by Charles Long.

These look like Jackson Pollocks shoes. If you've seen films of him working, his shoes looked a little like this only messier, more interesting. That is all I have to say about this piece.

Colorful and fun, pieces of boxes, maybe, connected into shapes that are connected together.

I liked these photographs. I like that the woman is not 18 and gorgeous and sexy and thin. Actually I think she is someone well known since many of the pieces in this photographer's show are of well known people, but I didn't recognize her. She looks like an interesting person whoever she is.

Dan looking at what appear to be balloons with weeds draped over them. I just love these galleries in New York, a surprise around every corner. You may or may not like the work, may not want it in your home, but it is always interesting.

There was a whole series of these photographs. I was surprised how many galleries were showing photographs and how many galleries handled only photographs. It was actually a little disappointing as I would have liked to have seen more painting.