Openshow Reception
This past Saturday, I attended the Openshow gallery talk (awards ceremony) and reception. My painting got a generous critique by the juror who liked my handling of the paint, but it was suggested that it had slight perspective issues. I did see a lot of friends receive awards that I was quite expecting, so that was a treat. There was one aspect of the show that I and a few others found to be a disappointment, that there were pieces we spied on before the selection process that we thought had a lot of promise, yet did not make the show. Some that I saw made me feel like I had no chance and despite the critique I received, I got in. Such as it is with shows. One photographer who won an honorable mention, commented to us in a chat that "shows are a crapshoot." I had to agree, you don't know what the juror will or will not like and you simply take a chance. I took my time and read all the other critiques relating to the pieces that were on display and learned a lot.
A majority of the pieces were conceptual ideas that were very clever. Two years into painting and I am woefully inadequate when it comes to being clever or soulful(?) All the work I have done, none of it bears any sense of thought or concept. When I see a challenge I like, I simply try to paint it. When I wrote my statement on the entryform, I mentioned it was the character and not the aesthetic quality that appealed to me in some way. Perhaps should I ever sell it (and I have a feeling I will find a home for it someday), it will evoke a memory or indulge someone's interest in old fishing craft. Truly that is not such a bad thing. We get busy with our lives and don't often realize the details that are around us...stopping to smell the roses, I guess. Since I started painting, I had to train myself to stop taking things for granted which is terribly easy to do! I had to slow down and look closer at each seasonal change, features of someone's face, or the way light behaves on a surface of, say...a piece of fruit. I get a kick out of it when someone says, "yeah! I seen it look that way before too" or "That reminds me of...". I feel like I can communicate without words when I get those responses. When that doesn't happen, it's up to me to keep learning to communicate what I see with the medium that I'm using. So, it's back to the easel!
A majority of the pieces were conceptual ideas that were very clever. Two years into painting and I am woefully inadequate when it comes to being clever or soulful(?) All the work I have done, none of it bears any sense of thought or concept. When I see a challenge I like, I simply try to paint it. When I wrote my statement on the entryform, I mentioned it was the character and not the aesthetic quality that appealed to me in some way. Perhaps should I ever sell it (and I have a feeling I will find a home for it someday), it will evoke a memory or indulge someone's interest in old fishing craft. Truly that is not such a bad thing. We get busy with our lives and don't often realize the details that are around us...stopping to smell the roses, I guess. Since I started painting, I had to train myself to stop taking things for granted which is terribly easy to do! I had to slow down and look closer at each seasonal change, features of someone's face, or the way light behaves on a surface of, say...a piece of fruit. I get a kick out of it when someone says, "yeah! I seen it look that way before too" or "That reminds me of...". I feel like I can communicate without words when I get those responses. When that doesn't happen, it's up to me to keep learning to communicate what I see with the medium that I'm using. So, it's back to the easel!
posted by Stoy Jones at 8:29 AM
3 Comments:
Stoy, I don't think this is somber at all. There is something about lonely graveyards that give them a quiet beauty and serenity. Interesting night you had at the show, and you are so right about shows not being predictable. Congratulations for being selected. Your work is worth a prize.
Mary, thankyou for the compliments! I'm so glad you find it pleasing. It's my first graveyard painting :) and the feedback is very helpful. Thanks! Old ones are very interesting to visit and wonder what their lives were like long ago. Thanks for the congrats too! Next year I know what to expect and will be prepared to meet the maximum of three entries and see what happens.
This is a super piece. Congratulations on not only being selected but also on being brave enough to enter.
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