My New Website Has a Store!

I have a new website! It has a fresher, cleaner 

look and is easy to use. It allows me 

to participate in online auctions to sell my work

and it has has a store (note card tab). Yay!

I have been wanting to sell affordable prints of my work 

and also make note cards available for purchase. 

The prints are not set up yet but the 

note cards are visible.

Second Place Award - Yay!

Last week I entered the Sandy Arts Guild Annual Show 
with my painting of "Four Apples." I didn't expect to
win anything. I just wanted to exhibit.

Lo and behold - I received the second place award along 

with a cash prize! You never know!!

Here I am pictured below (under the arrow).

I challenge you to enter an art show or competition

just for the fun of it. Really, the question to ask yourself 

is "Why not enter?"

State Fair Winners!

It's that time of year when I head to the Utah State Fair to see giant 

vegetables, consume crazy food and enter the fine arts show.  

Several of my students entered the art exhibit along with Lucia, my 

studio mate.  It was fun to walk into the Fine Arts Building and see 

that we had earned ribbons. 

Lucia won first place in the Professional Division for her painting, 
"Holy Cow."

I won fifth place in the Professional Division for "Seven Heart Rocks."

Pam McCullough won the Shirley Venus Excellence in Art Memorial Award" award for her painting, "Egret" as well as a three month membership to the Intermountain 
Society of Artists (ISA).

Jackie Lalor won an Honorable Mention ribbon for her portrait of a Vietnamese 

woman, "My." She also won Best of Show for her sculpture, "Strong Girl."

It can be a little intimidating to enter a work of art at the Utah 

State Fair but you will never win a ribbon without entering a piece. 

It's worth the risk!

Art Magazine of Utah - 15 Bytes (February/March 2015)

Recently, there was an article published in "15 Bytes," an art magazine here in Utah.The March edition article highlighted several artists in the "Red" show at the Horne Gallery of Fine Art. I was honored to be one of those artists, and my painting of red chilli peppers, "Picante" was the featured painting at the top of the piece!

Once in awhile, exciting stuff happens!

Here is the text from the article:

50 Shades of Red: Horne Fine Art and Sprague Library Exhibits Examine the Color Red
by Ehren Clark (Feb. 27, 2015)

Art critic Clement Greenberg once said that “…for Western art in its Modernist phase ‘purity’ has been a useful idea and ideal, with a kind of logic to it that has worked, and still works, to generate aesthetic value and maintain aesthetic standards as nothing else in our specializing culture has over the last hundred-odd years.” (Arts Magazine, December 1976) Purity, for Greenberg, was about a reduction to the most fundamental aspects of an art — be it the purity of a two-dimensional surface, or to the pure contemplation of color. But in a post-Modern context, the study of color can be taken much farther, as it can be appreciated not only for its formalist realities and purity, which is now a well-established concept of art aesthetics, but from heterogeneous points of view, from different artists, with different modes of expression, to the extent that the very essence and truth of the possibilities and potential of color itself can be considered; which is what two group exhibitions in Salt Lake City this month — Horne Fine Art’s Exploring Red and Sprague Library’s Seeing Red — help us to do.

"Red Apples" and "Farmer's Bouquet" by Susan N Jarvis

 A literal expression is always a safe ground to begin any exploration, and at Horne Fine Art Susan Jarvis gives the viewer this in “Picante,” a canvas that presents a grouping of common, everyday, Harmon’s-City-Creek-readily-available, red picante peppers. In the produce section at Harmon’s, red is imperative for quality — for what is ripe, maybe underripe, or too much so — but in this painting, in an artistic context, the quotidian value of color is superseded by the aesthetic, which here denotes many essential and intrinsic —literal— understandings of red: intensity, fire, heat, passion, zest, vibrancy, flavor, spice…even energy, passion, and lust. In an art context, the value of the quality, so taken as a commonality in everyday vernacular, becomes explosive.




An interesting approach in any exploration of a color is a psychological one, to either a quotidian understanding, or to an aesthetic one; but the two cannot be compared in the value of depth reached by the latter. Portraitist Jeffrey Hale’s contribution to Exploring Red is “Huntress,” and the psychological implications are surprising. The huntress peers in from the left side of the panel. Her hair is raven black, as are her brows, and the lining of her eyes. Her hair, which is structural, forms a linear framing to her face rendering a bold and even cold, frontal gaze, accentuated by her neck, which is slightly strained in this “peering in.” The lips, which are a mauve tone of red, are slightly callous in the protrusion of the lower lip: it lends her a distinct air of indifference. What matters most are her eyes, which are as indifferent as her lips suggest, but hardly vacuous, and suggest assertiveness and direct conflict mingled with an accusatory expression of an inner state of personal pain. Almost 50% of the canvas is Bordeaux red—deep and assertive red, an aggressive red, a red that would suggest conflict and accusation if it could, and a red that would, if given human form —the very symbolic expression here — suggest an inner state of personal pain.

In the same space, David Maestas shows us that inner states can be explored without the use of representation, and his use of abstract expression is an exciting place to explore the possibilities of color. In “The Red Dress” — a title not to be taken as a representative comparison but as a jocular reference by the artist — red has a potent and substantive usage. On the very tall, vertical canvas, are three primary vertical zones of color and tone. On the left is pure white with some minimal tonal variation and on the far right is black, again with slight tonal variation. These two binaries seem to be in a state of conflict, one overpowering the other. Yet centrally, between this terrific energy, is a vertical plane of red, taking on, in this particular aesthetic context, entirely new values. This is a very personal red, as is the color of blood, the life substance of all humanity. The color denotes sensitivity, humility, and human suffering and pain, as it is bearing from both sides, at odds impossibly strong, a duality of light and dark. In this context, the color of red takes on epic proportions of humanist value.

One of the most open and liberal expressions of red in these exhibitions is by artist Madison Briggs, in a series of encaustics that shares the same palette. Hers is an interpretative approach, allowing the viewer an equal liberality of license to explore red on their own terms. An interpretative approach may see the exotic nature of red in its brilliance compared to the vibrant orange, or the ethereal quality of red, as a familiar sight in a sunset, but recognized as such when compared with the rich azure blue in these encaustics. In this interpretive manner, the viewer might, through the same process, discover less concrete qualities and recognize various emotive, imaginative, creative, harmonic, even dissonant sensibilities aroused in these small creations, super-charged with potency for alternative sources of inspiration of red.

A last exploration from Exploring Red is Karen Horne’s “Invitation to Dance,” a narrative painting in which the color acts as a key player in the unfolding of the episode, occurring in subtle gestures and nuances, registering sensitively and boldly, simultaneously. In the narrative, the male dancer takes the woman’s hand, inviting her to dance. This is an occurrence that is palpably witnessed, not only by those in the audience, who sit entranced, but by the viewer, who is allured by the intensity of the moment in this subtle provocation. The red in this moment is imperative. It creates the kinetic energy of the female dancer, and creates cohesion to the suspense of the women in the audience, many of whom wear red. In short, red is the galvanizing factor to the narrative itself.

The dramatic power of the color is no less evident at Sprague Library, where Toni Youngblood’s “Red Winter Sky” expresses an immense sense of formal drama. It is shaped architectonically in a wooden tabernacle frame, which complements the intensity of the painting. In it is a linear silhouette of bare tree branches upon which two birds, one higher up, two lower, sit. It is bold and starkly set against a red winter sky. The linearity of black, and the ground of red, which shifts in tones from orange to red, is a formalistic approach, using color for its elemental structural values. If one stops to consider this formal value of red, and considers the modes of expression already mentioned — literal, nonrepresentational, psychological, interpretive or compositional — one finds that each is absolutely applicable to “Red Winter Sky” and the application of either one, several or all of these aesthetic expressive modes of utility of the color red only enhances the aesthetic sensible responsiveness of Youngblood’s painting.

Another piece, more challenging to this theory, is “Don’t Wear White or Else” by Sue Martin. In front of a white background and full green apple are placed a red apple sliced in half and placed frontally so that only a sliver of red shows, and, to the right, another slice of apple that reveals only a thin crescent of red. Again, considering the painterly elements alone, color is used for its elemental structural values of form, and not for conceptual, emotional, spiritual, or any other sensible responsiveness. Yet, given the utility of red, and again, applying one, several or all of the expressive modes, the painting is elevated to levels of sensibility unthinkable to a purely formalist approach.

Color has always been and remains one of the key components of art, especially two-dimensional art, and as these two exhibit show, possibly no other color has the power to act formally, psychologically and emotionally as red. While the hue’s appearance in Sprague Library’s Seeing Red seems to act on a more formal level, as a rhetorical device to hold together a group show of seven disparate artists, Horne Fine Art’s Exploring Red takes a more qualitative approach. The works appear more expressive, taking the subject beyond the realms of physicality, and into territories of true artistic reality.

Seeing Red: Works from the Wasatch Women Artists’ Collective is at the Sprague Branch of the Salt Lake City Library through March 13.
Exploring RED, a group invitational, is at Horne Fine Art through March 14.

Ehren Clark

Ehren Clark studied art history at both the University of Utah and the University of Reading in the UK. He is now a professional writer living in Salt Lake City.
More Posts (19)
Tags: by Ehren Clark, David Maestas, Horne Fine Art, Jeffrey Hale, Karen Horne, Madison Briggs, Sue Martin, Susan Jarvis, Toni Youngblood

Blog Hop - An Online Adventure!

 A couple of weeks ago, a friend and fellow artist, Brienne Brown (a fabulous watercolorist), asked me to be part of an "Art Blog Hop." It sounded like fun! So, here is how it works: Brienne posts on her blog and links to my blog (along with two other artists), introducing us to her readers and followers. Then she answers some questions about her own artwork.

In turn, I get to do the same; answer some hard questions and introduce you to 3 other artists of my choice...linking you to their blogs. This is a way for all of us to meet new artists and expand our art world. So, here it goes:

How does my creative process work?
I prefer painting directly from life because I can observe and appreciate the subtle colors and values of the real world that a camera cannot capture, but sometimes I do use a camera...in the case of pets, little children or bad weather when I am plein air painting. 

Setting up a still life in my studio is a favorite challenge of mine. Sometimes I want to complete the work á la prima by capturing the essence of my subject all in one session. This encourages me to simplify my presentation and learn to paint quickly and intuitively.

Other times, I want to focus on the details, and I strive to include every tiny feature of my subject into the painting. This requires many sessions and a detailed examination of my subject. To me, this can be as rewarding as a science experiment!

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I like to zoom in and capture an intimate view of my subject. Yes, I have painted plenty of traditional views - but the close-ups are my favorite. I would rather paint a single blossom than an entire garden or a pine cone instead of a pine tree. I love to use strong color and employ energetic brushwork. 

On what projects am I working?

I have recently started doing more work with a palette knife because of the boldness and vitality it introduces into a painting. Currently I’m working on a landscape series of local scenes here in Utah.

Why do I create artwork?

I simply cannot stop. It’s my passion. I have always been an artist and will likely go to my grave with a brush in my hand. Besides, on those rare occasions when I must delay my work, my family reminds me that I need to paint (maybe I get grumpy).

Now, the fun part: I’d like to introduce two other artists to you!

My good friend, Colleen Howe Bleinburger is a local artist here in Utah. I met her when I moved into the Rockwood Art Studios in Sugar House (her studio was across the hallway from mine). Her work is full of light and color. She captures the rhythm of nature in a soft and romantic way. Working in both oil and pastel, she renders beautiful paintings of rural farmland and outdoor landscape. She’s also an excellent teacher and blogs about her workshops and current projects. I think you’ll like her work!



Renon Hulet resides here in Salt Lake City. I met her through the Intermountain Society of Artists. Her lively work is evident when you browse her blog. Working in acrylic and oil, she paints landscape, people and architecture in a bright, sassy way. She also throws “Painting Parties” for Corporate Team Building, Girls Night Out, Family Reunions and the like! She also teaches art classes in her studio. check out her blog.

That’s it!  You’ve just been introduced to two wonderful artists! Perhaps this will inspire you to keep painting and growing as an artist!

Celebrating the Jordan River!

The "Get Into The River" event was a lot of fun. It was a beautiful, sunny day 

and a small group of artists were adding to the festivities by plein air painting 

next to the Jordan River in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Fisher Mansion (where I was painting), was the home of Albert Fisher, a German immigrant who owned and operated one of the largest breweries in the U.S. The stately mansion has been the headquarters for several organizations including a convent for Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters and a drug rehab center for men (in the 1970's), It's now being preserved and restored.

Patty Kimball (a fellow painter) Nancy Monteith (Salt Lake City Parks Planner) and Blake Luther (another painter) enjoyed the morning at the Fisher Mansion.

 Each time I paint, I learn something new.  Today's thought was: never paint something that is blowing in the breeze!  Ha-ha...my rose moved continuously.

 My set-up stayed mostly in the shade for the most part.

I used a limited palette (red, yellow & blue) until I started blocking in the leaves.  Then I caved in and used a little viridian (yes, you can call me chicken).

On the whole, everyone had a good time!

Hey, How About A Studio Tour?

First of all, I've decided that the phrase "finished studio" is a misnomer.  

An art studio is never finished! It's in a constant state of change according to the artwork that is hung there, the "found" still life objects that arrive mysteriously and the variable moods and personality of all those who inhabit the place! You might even say that an art studio is a work of art itself!

Since before and after pictures are a favorite of mine, I'll take you on a before and after tour. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Now, to make this studio jump to life, just add some students, invite a few guests, start the music and cook up some tasty treats.  You'll have all the ingredients for a great party!

KSL News highlights Sugar House Art Walk

Instead of waking up to a soothing harp-music alarm this morning, I was jolted awake at 4:30 am by the clamoring of a marimba. I had accidentally selected the wrong ring tone for my alarm. With my heart pounding, I tried to remember who I was and why it was still dark outside...

After slamming down a quick bowl of oatmeal and blackberries, I sped to Sugar House Coffee to meet the KSL news team at 5:15 am for a live interview about the upcoming Sugar House Art Walk. My job was to stand with my canvas and easel and paint an image of the interior of Sugar House Coffee. Simple, right?

I set up my easel, laid out my brushes and began blocking in a rudimentary drawing of the red side table along the north wall of the coffee shop. Jen, the news reporter, came and told me to move down about 10 feet (I moved). 
 

I wiped my canvas clean and began to sketch in the new view of the side table.

15 minutes later she suggested that I back up 5 feet as she began moving the tables to accommodate my new position. 

I wiped my canvas clean and began to sketch in a newer view of the side table.

10 minutes later, Jen moved the other artist (there were two of us) and had him place his paintings on the side table, blocking my view completely.  Ah, well.  I can certainly flex...

I wiped my canvas clean, turned my gaze to the dessert counter and began a new sketch.

A crew of people entered the coffee shop and stood as a group in front of the dessert counter.  Two of them pulled up chairs, opened their laptops and set up camp. I resisted the urge to shout "down in front! This was not going to be easy. 

Wiping the sketch of the dessert counter off my canvas, I finally settled on blocking in a view of the east end of the coffee shop! Voila! Success at last!



This was an opportunity to stand as a proxy for all the Sugar House Artists - a token plein air painter. Once I figured that out, I really enjoyed myself.

It really didn't matter what I painted today. What mattered was that I was participating vicariously for all those closet plein air painters - who might feel inspired to paint when they see this blurb on TV.

Besides, there were some entertaining moments. At one point, Jen tripped over the leg of my easel and muttered "Jesus" under her breath - which caused me to giggle on the air...live.

When the barista handed Jen a freshly blended shot of carrot/apple juice from the coffee shop bar, the reporter took a drink, smiled and said something inane like, "Mmmm, this is very healthy." As soon as the camera turned off, Jen pulled a nasty face and did her version of a hairball hack.

If you would like to view the live video clips of our Sugar House Coffee experience, click here. 

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1105&sid=24735755&title=sugar-house-celebrates-salt-lake-culture-with-art-walk


This truly was an adventure.  I have a new respect for the reporters and their crews. Filming on location is a lot of work. They have to move furniture, plug lights in and adjust microphones and headsets. They make it look easy. Would I like to be a reporter for a living? Nope! I would rather be an artist!

The best part of my morning? I got to paint!

Art Competitions - A Good Measuring Stick!

Even though the process of getting a painting juried into an art show is subjective, it is one way to demonstrate your success as an artist.

Getting your artwork into a show  can help you determine how viewers read your work. If your artwork is accepted then someone thought that it was good enough.

In the past, when my work did not get juried into a show, I usually cried as I drove myself home. The sting of rejection was horrible and I wore my heart upon my sleeve! Now, I don't take it personally. I realize that my artwork can still be of a high quality and not make it into a competition. Whether or not your painting gets in a show depends on many factors. Here are some of the criteria that a juror/judge might use:

• Size. Many venues instruct their judge to jury in specific sizes of paintings. Example: maybe a huge amount of tiny paintings were submitted and the juror can only admit a few of them.
• Medium. Some venues tell the juror to accept an equal amount of watercolor, oil and mixed media. If the "call for entries" has only two watercolor paintings submitted along with 300 oil paintings, you can bet that both of the watercolor paintings will get in.
• Style. Let's say that the show is slated to be a contemporary show and your painting is very traditional. Chances of getting your painting into the show are slim. It helps to check out in advance what type of show is being held.

So, do you want to put your work to the test?  Are you tough? One sure way of becoming tough
(I like to call it confident) is to experience both rejection and acceptance.

Why not go for it and see what happens? There is something magical about seeing your framed work displayed under the lights!

Below is a list of local art shows that are held on a regular basis. If you know about them in advance, you can allow yourself a few months to paint something to enter. Now's your chance! Just call and ask the various organizations to send you a form or download the information online and follow the directions. These are the dates that the "call for entry" is due.  The show dates will be a week or two later.

January        Hogle Zoo Annual Art Show
                     contact Jameson Weston 801-584-1739

January         Eccles Community Art Center  (Ogden)
                      Annual Photography Competition
                      801-392-6935

Jan./Feb.      Bountiful/Davis Art Center (BDAC)
                     Statewide Competition
                     801-292-0367

March           Springville Museum of Art (SMA)
                     Annual Spring Salon

                      West Jordan Schorr Gallery "Spring Fling"
                      contact Linda 801-255-6698

                      Taylorsville City Arts Council  Art Show                    

                      Utah Watercolor Society
                      Spring Show
                      www.utwatercolor.net

June              Wasatch Plein Air Painting (Midway, UT)
                      Usually the last part of June through and including July 4th
                      http://www.midwayartassociation.org/

                      Provo Freedom Festival
                      Fine Art Exhibit  801-818-1776

June              Eccles Community Art Center (Ogden)
                      Statewide Competition

July                Utah Watercolor Society
                      Fall Show
                      utwatercolor.net

August           Utah State Fair
                      www.utahstatefairpark.com
                      538-FAIR  (3247)

November     Springville Museum of Art (SMA)
                      Religious/Spiritual Show
                      www.smofa.org
                      801-489-2727

November     American Association of University Women  (AAUW)
                      Annual Show
                      Due to privacy issues no phone number
                      www.aauwutah.org

Take Three Days - And Improve Your Artwork!

Let me clue you in on a little secret. Most people are afraid to attend an art workshop. A great way to jump-start your art is to sign up for a weekend class! After all, most of us want to improve ourselves or our lives in some way.  Attending a workshop can introduce new ideas that will bring a fresh look to your work.

Start by selecting an art workshop that is held in an inspiring place. 

Last week I chose a workshop called "Weekend With The Masters," which was held in Rancho Bernardo, California. The surroundings at Rancho Bernardo were lovely! There were small brown rabbits hopping across the grounds and the sound of falling water from several fountains echoed softly through the gardens. 

The setting made me want to sit down and paint!

Along with the beautiful setting, your choice of artistic friends at a workshop is important. I like to select companions who will be an inspiration for me. 

As a matter of fact, during the grueling parts of our workshop, when it would have been easier to quit and walk away, my artist friends were reassuring and encouraging. Later, when they had stressful moments, I was able to provide them with constructive feedback and great support. 

In spite of all the fun times available at an art workshop - it is not for sissies! 

Eating is an important part of a workshop. 

At "Weekend With the Masters," we used meal time as a forum to discuss the new art techniques and philosophies that  we were learning. Whether you rough it on a mountain top with granola bars or dip your fork into the fixings from a luxurious buffet - good food at a workshop equals happy painting!

Although we ate like kings, we burned lots of calories! The paths that wound between the classrooms were long and often hilly. We worked out in the gym and swam laps in the swimming pool. It was immensely helpful to decompress after standing over our easels for six or seven hours. 

Check out the information about your workshop online before you go. There should be adequate facilities and helpful tips to make sure your experience is a good one. 

Our classrooms were spacious and the workshop sponsor, American Artist Magazine, provided the easels for us. The instructors were prepared with models, still life objects, props and lights. There was even an "in-house" store where we could purchase supplies and materials.

One evening we listened to a panel of world-class artists discuss their personal philosophies about painting their passion versus painting what sells:

• Should an artist paint the harsh reality or should you only paint what is beautiful? 
• What is beautiful? 
• Should subjects in paintings be edited so that they are more likely to sell? 
• Should artists paint what gallery owners want them to paint?

Left to right: Toni Pro, Jeremy Lipking, David Leffel and Daniel E. Greene.

Below, David Laffel instructed us on painting a head shot from a live model.

David Laffel's one-hour block-in.

Sherrie McGraw taught a fabulous class on figure painting.

Sherrie McGraw paints the model.

Sherrie McGraw's two-hour painting.

Rose Frantzen painting "The Prophet."

Rose Frantzen's two-hour painting of "The Prophet."

On the last day of our workshop, our group traveled about 30 minutes to Balboa Park in downtown SanDiego. Everywhere I looked there were beautiful scenes that begged to be painted! 

Jennifer McChristian taught a plein air class in Balboa Park that was truly remarkable!  She had us paint small black and white value studies of different scenes using only four values. We had to eliminate the details of the scene and mass the shapes into single values.  

 

 

Jennifer's exercise helped me to realize that I usually paint too many details into my paintings. The simple black and white studies revealed ways in which I could strengthen my composition and understand how to better see the landscape in terms of simpler form and broader color masses. 

This one exercise was worth the entire workshop.

Why not add a little something to your art repertoire?

Find an art workshop that appeals to you. Focus on something you enjoy - like plein air painting or abstract still life. Perhaps you want to strengthen a weak area such as portraiture or figure drawing. Look in popular art magazines or go online to see what is available. Ask local instructors for information about workshops in your area.  Go for it!

You are just a few days away from improving your skills!