My! We are almost into October already!
I'd posted an update in the News section but thought I would also add a blog entry about the Giclee print venture. Some people have been expressing interest in Giclee prints as an alternative, both to help those who aren't able to swing the cost of an original painting, and to make prints available of those paintings which have sold. The quality of the Giclee is such that it is a great alternative ( both canvas and Cotton Rag Fine Art Paper), and one which I am very comfortable with in maintaining the integrity of the original. The initial problem that I ran into was the limited number of products which could be listed with my current hosting server's online sales service. It became a problem when I went to add the print option. I've had to create an alternative, which you wil find under the 'FOR SALE' tab. There are the 2 options: 1) for the original paintings and 2) the Giclee Prints. It isn't slick like many of the eCommerce layouts out there, but I've endeavored to make it as straight-forward as possible. In the meantime, I continue researching other eCommerce options, ideally which could be added to this website. But it seems as though I would have to transfer and totally rework my site with another server which has a better online shopping format. Transitioning my site is a deal breaker at this time. So much effort and time has gone into the creation of this website (which is the third generation of transitioning from previous servers). There are so many pages, galleries, blogs etc. It's unfortunate that the online shopping component of this current server is inadequate. So, I am hoping that my sales pages are of use to my support base and that the process is straight-forward and clear enough. Do let me know if you find the layout and process confusing and I will make the necessary adjustments immediately. I really like the quality of work produced by CanvasPlus.ca and I've had meetings to finalize arrangements in making these prints possible. Your orders will go through me, and I will confirm the painting image and print size with the printer. And once payments are received, I will work with the printer to have them shipped to you. If you have any questions about the print options before making a decision, you can simply fill out the order form, but indicate your question(s) within the Comments section. The order form is not a final order, and not connected to an immediate payment method. Once I receive your Order Form by email, I will contact you to answer your questions, or to confirm your order, preferred payment method and additional shipping cost. Only once a confirmation is in place, will the payment step begin. The ease of an eTransfer can be done through your own online banking, or the PayPal option allows you to use a credit card or bank account (as per your account). There is also the option of getting a money order. Banking cheques/checks are problematic in that they have service charges and the added delayed time periods, 1) in waiting for it to arrive in snail mail, and 2) the transaction period (and potential exchange rates) until the funds are cleared and deposited in my account. I wouldn't be able to actually place the print order with the printer until after all of that has been done. But if this is the only method which you could do, then again, let me know through the order form, and we'll make it work. I am bringing another five of he paintings to the printer on Friday to have studio shots taken of them. Three are going into the Sidney Fine Arts Show mid-October and they may not come back to me if sold. The other two are for a potential print order. The plan is to digitize the remaining paintings in my possession asap, and gradually find ways to digitize those whose which have sold and are scattered through West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Parksville, Victoria and Sooke. I wasn't able to digitize them prior to exhibitions when they sold. An ongoing problem for an artist, having the cart in front of the donkey, and not having the funds up front to get things done in an orderly manner. Thanks to all of you for your continued support and interest in my work. Andre
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I drove to Sidney today to find out which painting(s) had been selected for the upcoming Sidney Fine Arts Show. It was a beautiful sunny drive on this first Fall day.
It was wonderful to be told that all three of the submitted paintings had been accepted into the show. So show fees are paid and the suspense is over. I arrived early enough so that the available time slots for demos were still being pretty open. So I was able to pick a slot in the afternoon of Saturday October 15th, prior to the Meet The Artists Event that same evening. With living in the Ladysmith area, I needed to strategically plan to cover both in one trip. I'll confirm the time slot once I receive confirmation from the organizers of the Show. The 3 paintings from the Journeying With The Totems series, which will be part of the Sidney Fine Arts Show: 'The Blue Totems' / 'Kwatguilt Ancestor Totem' / 'Mosquito Totem' I received an email addressed to all artists who have artwork which has been selected for the upcoming Art Show in October in Sidney BC. But it only says 'We are pleased to tell you that one or more of your entries has been selected'... So the suspense will last a little longer until I get back to Sidney this coming Thursday, Sept. 22nd. It is exciting to know that my artwork will be part of the show, even if it turns out to be only one. I submitted 3 for adjudication. My hope of hopes is that at least 2 have made it in. But the 3 are so different from each other, so I anxiously await the results. Once I find out which is/are in the show on the 22nd, my schedule and return trips to Sidney become: Oct. 11: Deliver selected paintings to the Mary Winspear Centre Oct. 13: Sidney Show Opening Night MARY WINSPEAR CENTRE 2243 Beacon Ave, Sidney BC V8L 1W9, Canada 5:30-7pm: for Patrons 7pm-8pm: Awards Ceremony in the Charlie Theatre 8pm: Gallery opens for reception Oct. 14: To Be Confirmed - doing a demo during the show Oct. 15: Meet the Artists MARY WINSPEAR CENTRE 2243 Beacon Ave, Sidney BC V8L 1W9, Canada 6:30 - 9 pm Oct. 16: If I receive news that my paintings have sold, I don't need to make the last trip to pick up at 5pm. I'll just hang on to the assurance from friends that I won't have to make the trip. :-) SHOW SCHEDULE
Friday, October 14: 9am - 9pm Saturday, October 15: 9am - 9pm Sunday, October 16: 9am-5pm I dropped the 3 paintings to the Winspear Community Cultural Centre in Sidney BC this morning. I decided to submit the first option of 'Blue Totems', 'Kwatgiutl Ancestor' and 'Mosquito'. I felt it gave the jury a good variety to chose from. Now to wait until Wednesday Sept. 14th to find out if any of been selected for the October Show. I'll update with a posting on the news. The Mary Winspear Community Cultural Centre, Sidney, BC I then those a few moments to soak in some sunshine and west coast air near the ferry terminal, before taking the drive back home.
Frog or Mosquito. Mosquito or Frog. Decisions, decisions.
I'm submitting 3 paintings for the Sydney Art Show Adjudication on Sunday, and I'm still flip-flopping on the 3rd. This time, I know that I am not presenting a trio but that only one will likely be selected given the number of submissions that will be received. I am hoping for at least one being selected, two would be wonderful. My first choice and hope is that Blue Totems gets its day, but you never know the decisions a jury will make. If you had any one of these in mind for a purchase, please contact me immediately and I can take it out from the submission and replace it with another. I'm planning on putting together a few videos on the paintings that are for sale, as I appreciate that it is difficult to get a good feel for them online. But until I get a chance to be prepared for those, I've added a side shot of each painting so that you can see each exhibition canvas from the side, and hopefully get a better sense of what they are.
I will be picking 3 from the series to submit for an upcoming Juried Art Show and Sale (submission takes place this Sunday, Sept. 11th). If there is a painting that you have in mind please let me know through the Contact tab so that I can keep that one aside from the submission. The challenges of being in my studio and maintaining a home budget for my son & I. Sales on the art is the only way to stay in the studio, cover the essentials, and make room for the creation of newer pieces.
I've added some Special Discounts for the earlier pieces. Scroll to the For Sale tab above or click on this link for the page: http://www.andreprevost.com/paintings-for-sale.html The discounted paintings have a discount seal and new price listed in red. So what is the fascination with wood? As i am working on the current painting, with lots of time to think during the process, I was thinking about the variety of interests and styles that artists have. I've dabbled in a bit of abstract many years ago, and I understand it in other artists' work, but it isn't my natural 'go to' place. Some people have asked about conventional landscapes, and that also is not my interest, especially the typical trees and sky paintings that are done quickly and with simply brush strokes. But I have seen amazingly bold and colourful landscapes with a modern twist to them, but at this point, I don't feel it is my skill set. Maybe if I reach a point where I am more financially secure, I can take the time to explore. But for now, I need to follow my base and comfort zone.
I understand wood. I understand what I'm seeing. I've also been asked if I've ever considered doing a painting of a newly carved totem. My answer is simply 'No'. There is no point in it for me. A great photograph of a new totem would suffice, catching all that beautiful freshly carved and painted wood. I come in once Mother Nature has had time to do her thing, performing her own evolving artistic creation. I get how the patinas work, and how the forms interact with the light, the sun, and the weather. For me, that is the evolving beauty and strength of wood, carved or otherwise. The painting I'm currently working on is challenging in that it isn't carved. Other then having been stripped of its bark to become pier poles coated with tar, it is still in its natural shape, with all it wood grains, cracking and splintering. My task with this painting is not to record them with absolute accuracy (cracks, splintering etc.), but to be faithful to what the eye sees, and the impact of the composition. I don't need to paint in every wood grain and every fleck of wood in order to capture what struck me about them in the first place. I am responding to the ah-ha moment when I came across these poles that had drifted onto the shore. I was moved by all the colours; the dark blues of the remaining tar, the rusts of the hardware still on the piles, and the powerful composition of everything together. I knew that I had to take as many photos of them 'now' as there was no guarantee that they would still be there another time, or whether the cluster would not have changed. I don't have any immediate plans for another painting of these poles as I do need to further develop the totem studies series 'Journeying With The Totems'. But then, nothing is carved in stone (or should that be wood). One plans, but remains open to the reality that it may all change around the corner. But I have a library of pics of these pier poles which I can crop at will. There is one other picture that I really love, but it has a number of rusted metal cables wrapped around the poles, that have the same twisted shape as with large rope. It would be very intricate work to painting all the 'ribs' which are also ribbed with the finer strands that make up the 'rope'. So I'll think on it. I've been minus my laptop since last weekend, while it was in the shop getting the keyboard replaced. Not a straight-forward process for the MacBook Pro as it requires the replacement of the whole keyboard top panel (and not cheap). But I am happy to finally have it back, and being able to once again access my website editor. The high temperatures have been a challenge in my mobile home, which bakes in the full afternoon sun. The 30+C temperatures haven't helped. After suffering through the first heat wave this summer, I was fortunate enough to find a second portable air conditioner for a great price, just in time for this second heat wave. Both my son and I won't be heartbroken to have the Fall weather arrive. With the heat wave, I've had to keep all blinds closed, so painting in my studio space has been a challenge. I tried getting a few Halogen bulbs but was really unhappy with the yellowness of the light, the glare, and the heat which they gave off. I have a stand on either side as my ceiling is lower. Today, after doing a bit of online reading on studio lighting, and the newer LED options, I picked up 2 - 90W (5000k) Bright White LED bulbs (floods). But they are very expensive. The colour temperature is just right and they give off very little heat. They are also bright enough that I don't need to have them focused right on the canvas and minimize glare. The colours on the canvas are true. One drawback (which isn't as bad as with other bulb types) is a bit of hand shadowing while you work. But while I was at the hardware store, I also saw these new flat LED ceiling panels of varying sizes, that mount directly onto your ceiling. That would be perfect given my ceiling height and would give a great overhead wash of light, which would be most helpful with the coming short winter rainy days. The ones I saw were a Cool White which is too blue in temperature, but I saw online that you can also get them in a Natural White. But with the cost, and the reality of my budget, I've had to add them to my wish list for now. A few people were concerned that I was moving away from the totem series, as I am currently working on a different subject from one of my recent photo shoots at one of the beach parks. The image drew me and as an artist, it is always good to tackle something new, recharge, and learn from the experience. I have a number of totem images waiting in the wings once I have this one completed, and the series will continue.
The Sooke Fine Arts Show was a successful venture for me, and the process will begin once again in September, when it comes time to bring in 3 paintings for submission and adjudication in Sidney for the October Art Show. It too is a large show with a great many submissions by hundreds of artist. I can only hope that my paintings will fare well in the adjudication. I took the last trip yesterday to pick up the remaining prints from the Sooke Fine Arts Show Gift Shop. There were 3 remaining unframed prints (these being inside a flip-through bin). The others had been displayed.
The remaining unframed prints are: - Kwaigiutl Ancestor - Raven - Raven Eagle Shield After tabulating the overall print costs and revenues, I've broken even. But I knew this going in this testing of a print option for the Journeying With The Totems series, because of the gift shop's price limit. I could have made a few dollars if all the unframed prints had sold. But so long as i could break even, it was better to get the series into more homes. The fact that all the canvas prints did sell is an indication that they may be the best print option, as they are as close as you can get to the look of the originals. I've added a page for the print options. I've added the image of the Blue Totems painting as I will be getting a studio photo taken of it once I receive the funds from the painting sales. If anyone is interested in a print of one of the other paintings in the series, indicate which one on the form on that page. Note: There are 2 paintings that I won't be able to do a print of: 'Bear Pole Totem' and 'Beaver Totem With Moss'. I wasn't able to get proper jpegs of adequate resolution before they were sent to their new homes. http://www.andreprevost.com/limited-edition-giclee-prints.html |
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