Selecting the Art for your Exhibition Proposal
Dec 15, 2009 Promotion and Exhibition
This post is part of my series that covers getting your art into galleries. After you’ve found the right galleries to apply to, you need to put together an exhibition proposal. One essential element of your proposal is the artwork.
Think hard about the art that you include in your proposal. This work should reflect you as an artist and represent your ideas, motivations, and goals.
Make sure the pieces you choose look like they belong together. There should be some common theme that runs through every piece, whether it’s subject matter, materials, colour or process. Decide what you want the focus of your show to be, and select work that supports that theme. Your artist statement should also reflect this theme.
For example, even though I do abstract and realistic work, I wouldn’t submit them together. I would choose what type of work I wanted to exhibit (this would also depend on the gallery I was applying to) and submit the best examples.
Galleries are looking for works that are going to serve a purpsoe hanging on the wall. They want a presentation that will, depending on the gallery, create discussion and interaction or encourage sales. Keep this in mind as you make your selections.
One type of show that I’ve seen work well is having one or two large pieces supported by a series of smaller studies for the painting. If you work in this way, you might think about submitting the prepatory works from a series as well as the “finished piece.”
Try to be objective about the art that you submit. Sometimes, our favorite pieces are not necessarily our best pieces. Ask yourself why you want to include each piece and really consider how it will fit into the show. You want to make sure you select the only the strongest works for gallery consideration.
Depending on the type of work you do, it may also be helpful to send installation shots. This means images of your work hanging on the wall. This can be helpful to curators because they can get a better feel for the size and presentation of the work. The presence of a piece doesn’t always come across in a close-up crop, but can translate better in an installation shot.
Remember that each piece should work on its own, but the selection of art should also work as a group.
The work in your proposal may not always reflect the work you are wanting to exhibit. If you are proposing a show for art that you haven’t yet created, it’s even more important that the pieces in your proposal reflect you as an artist. Select art that shows what you are capable of doing and supports the same theme as the work you plan on doing. Make sure clearly state in your proposal the type of exhibit you want to have and how your portfolio relates to your ideas.
Another thing to consider is how you are going to present your portfolio. Will you send pictures, slides, or digital images? Sometimes this is completely your choice, and sometimes the gallery will request one or the other. Make sure you carefully read the guidelines to find out!
Whatever type of documentation you choose, make sure you get good quality images. The curator is going to need to clearly see your work in good lighting.
The next part of this series will be how to document your art work. Sign up for an email subscription to get the latest articles in your inbox!
Tags: exhibitions, galleries, promotion
6 Tips for a Stress-Free Sketch Book
Dec 13, 2009 Creativity
I recently wrote a guest post for Lori Mcnee’s blog Fine Art Tips. I didn’t want you guys to miss out on it, so here is a condensed version! You can read the entire article at Fine Art Tips for more details.
Most artists recognize the value of a sketch book: it’s a place to practice, a place to experiment, and a place to keep track of your ideas. The problem is that there is only so much time in the day! Regularly using a sketch book can be difficult. It’s something we want to do, something we feel we should be doing, and yet we don’t always have time for it. Hence the stress!
Here are six tips you can use to help make your sketch book time less stressful and more enjoyable.
1. Indulge: Buy an exciting sketch book that will inspire you, or make one of your own.
2. Get Portable: Use a mini sketch book so that you’re ready to draw anywhere.
3. Get Strategic: Place a sketch book in the places where you’re likely to have down time to remind you to use it.
4. Be Open-Minded: Let your sketch book be a receptacle for whatever idea happens to strike you that day.
5. Set Limits: Spark your creativity by setting limits on colour or medium.
6. Cheat: Recognize that the doodles you do throughout the day are also part of your creative process.
These are some of the things that work for me. What strategies do you use to make keeping a sketch book easier?
Tags: sketch books, time management
Experimenting with Deconstruction and Another Portrait
Dec 11, 2009 On my Easel
As usual, I’m working on a couple of projects. A major theme lately has been portraits. I’ve been super busy because of Christmas. I thought I was working on my last commission of the year when I was approached about one more.
It’s a last minute request, and a big one. I am doing a large portrait of an entire family, twelve people in total. I’m still not sure how big the drawing will be, it all depends on the size of the faces. I meet with the client tomorrow to discuss details. It’s kind of a special request that I might not have taken otherwise. Assuming I can get started tomorrow, I’m going to have to draw at least one face a day to finish it before Christmas. Not impossible, but it means I’m going to have to manage my time very well!
In the meantime, this is the drawing that I need to finish before I start my big project. This drawing is for my boss, Dana. She previously commissioned a portrait of her partner running a marathon. These are her kids and this will be a Christmas gift for her mother!
I’ve had a little bit of time to work on some abstract pieces lately too. One idea I’m really excited about is the idea of deconstructing wooden furniture and turning it into an art object. What interests me about this is the idea that the arrangement of pieces is what makes an object what it is. By taking it apart and rearranging it, it stops being an object, even though all the pieces are still present.
My other venture has been the deconstruction of my paintings on canvas (as in the first picture). These works had kind of stalled and had started feeling un-interesting to me. The act and process of painting them was a very valuable experience for me, but as art the paintings weren’t doing much. I started by cutting a canvas into twenty-five squares and re-arranging them. The act of gluing down and ripping up stretched the canvas, creating an interesting texture. I’m still not sure where I’m going with this, but it’s always liberating to destroy your own work!
Maximize Your Drawing Time with a Mini Sketch Book
Dec 8, 2009 Art General, Creativity
One of the biggest challenges for artists is time. There is never enough of it! When you have a day job, a family, homework, chores and other obligations, it can be hard to fit creativity into the schedule. One way I’ve found to cope with this is with a miniature sketch book.
A mini sketchbook is portable, so you can take it anywhere. You can practice your shading, cross-hatching, contour drawings, gestural drawings and whatever else you can think of! Drawing from life is one of the best ways to develop your eye and this is an easy way to do it.
I found my little guy in the clearance bin at Chapters. It’s only a few inches in either direction and is absolutely perfect for those rare moments of down time. I keep it in my purse and can whip it out whenever I have a minute. The pages inside are a cheap newsprint, but that doesn’t matter. The point is, I have an accessible drawing surface whenever I have the time to use it!
Keep it in your purse, your briefcase, your laptop bag, your glove compartment, whatever works for you! When you have a minute, you’ll be prepared!
Here are some examples of the sketches in my mini-book:
This cross-hatch drawing was done at work on my lunch break.
I did this gestural sketch while stuck at a red light.
This is a blind contour drawing I did at the doctor's office.
Tags: Creativity, drawing tips, sketch books
How to Make a Tortillon in 5 Easy Steps
Dec 6, 2009 Drawing
1. Get a piece of paper. Any kind of paper will work, including computer paper. Experiment with different kinds and see if there’s one you like best!
2. Cut the paper in half diagonally, about an inch from each corner. You now have the makings for two tortillons.
3. Starting at the short edge, roll the paper up as tightly as you can. This might be a bit tricky at first, but you’ll soon get the hang of it!
4. Use something long and thin to poke into the end of your tortillon. The wrong end of a skinny paint brush works well! Push the tube out to create the point.
5. Use a small piece of tape to secure the end and voila! Your very own homemade tortillon!
I used to do this all the time when I first started drawing. I had to practice a few times before I could remember the exact technique, but it’s not at all difficult.
A blending stick is just a tightly rolled piece of paper. Tortillons are not exactly expensive, but making your own can save a bit of money. It can also save your butt if you desperately need a clean one and you can’t go buy one!
If you’ve just read this and you’re thinking, “What the heck is a tortillon?” a tortillon is a tool that you use when shading pencil drawings. It can also be called a blending stick or blending stump. Have a look at my drawing tools page for more details!
Tags: blending, getting started, tools, Tutorials
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