Well, the show is up and hanging, with paintings like the one shown here, Going Up Country, at the West End Gallery and will do so through the end of August. The next items on my agenda are a few small events but things that matter to me.
For instance, tomorrow I head out to Erie, PA, to see my friends, Kathy and Joe DeAngelo, at the Kada Gallery to drop off a few new pieces and to just touch base, to talk about where the work is headed and to see how their clients are viewing the work lately. It’s always helpful to get this type of feedback because every gallery is a little different in its preferences for the work it sells. It’s important to make sure that the work you give them is the sort of work to which they are most attracted and feel best about when talking about the work. The enthusiasm the gallery staff has for your work comes across when they are dealing with their clients and that’s vital because so many people need support and validation for their choices, especially with art which is so subjective.
Kathy DeAngelo is definitely enthusiastic. She has carried my work from the very earliest days, building a very nice following for my work in a relatively small market, and has always offered tremendous encouragement. She wants to know as much as possible about the work I bring to her- the motivation behind it, what I see in it and so on. It helps her in passing along info along to her clients and gives the work a better sense of fullness. I know that she will always represent my paintings in the best possible manner.
During my drive out to Erie I will spend my time starting to think about my upcoming Gallery Talk at the West End next Thursday, August 6. This is an annual event there and one that is often a lot of fun. For the new attendees, I always offer a quick overview of how I came to be a painter and how the work has evolved over the years and for those who have been there in the past I try to share something new. For instance, the story behind a painting that may not be obvious when looking at it.
So, during the quiet ride out to Erie (and, believe me, going through western NY on Rte. 86 is a quiet ride with very little traffic) I will let my mind drift over different subjects that I might want to speak about. Hopefully, it will be something that has at least a little interest to my friends at the talk next Thursday.
Redtree Times 