Harvest Festival
This is a 4 foot square sign, photographed in cramped quarters after I finished painting it. It will be displayed much nicer than this at the festival! And, I know the lettering is weak – I am barely a painter, and definitely not trained as a sign painter! Okay, that’s it with the excuses; on to the rest of the blog.
If you own your own business, you are probably fried on getting asked for freebies for raffles, auctions, door prizes, etc. Me too. (more on that later). However, I ALWAYS give to my church, and the annual Harvest Festival is Saturday, November 8. This is a nice evening, not a fund-raiser but a nice time with games for children (and horseshoes for adults) and a place to gather, visit and eat some soup. This is my gift to the Harvest Festival this year:
(Someday I will learn about not photographing wet paintings in the bright sunlight when it makes that wet shine in a corner!)
Okay, about those freebies: I think it is Jack White, my “guru” in painting and the business of art, who advocates that all those non-profits BUY art from us. The non-profits can benefit tax-wise from spending money, and the artists can sell to them at a discount to help. The artists benefit because they are not depleting their hard-built inventory for free. We artists can only write off the cost of the materials, or take it out of our inventory for taxes but CAN NOT DEDUCT THE RETAIL VALUE OF THE ART! (Can you hear me??) One year I gave away more than I sold. That was a good year for the non-profits, but a painful one for me. So, I am trying to be smarter about it all, without causing a kerfuffle among the many very good non-profit organizations who ask (and ask and ask).
That Ag Art Show
Today I visited Celebrate Agriculture With The Arts in Madera. (that’s a long ways away from Three Rivers!!) This is the show in which my ice cream cone called Worth It won a second place ribbon in the category of Dairy. Art shows and judging are a mysterious process. I found my piece and wondered where the rest of the Dairy entries were. Turns out mine is THE ONLY PIECE in the category!! And, I got second place! Is that not the most embarrassing thing in the artworld? Nope, 3rd or none would be the most embarrassing. Sheesh! I asked the director of the gallery, and she said that the judge simply said, “I think this piece should be larger”. The director interpreted that to mean that I hadn’t done enough work to deserve a first! Before I could get huffy (what? me huffy??), she told me that the judge went home and died. He judged the show and died! Knowing this, I wasn’t too puzzled by the fact that I got third in Farm Equipment and Machinery when there was a Very Very Beautiful piece hanging above mine that got nothing! Poor old guy, he was tired. So, here is something new to look at. The only judging it will receive will be whether or not someone chooses to part with cash to buy it. That’s the real test!
8×10 – oil on wrapped canvas – $80
Holding back
No pictures this time, just a confession, sort of. I don’t always show you everything I have painted. Why not? Because surprises can be fun. Because something is coming on Saturday, November 22, and it is a surprise! And that’s all I’m gonna say about that. For now, anyway. (More will be revealed in the fullness of time!)
And the winners are. . .
Worth It – oil – 2nd place in Dairy 
Staying Power – pencil – 3rd place in Farm Machinery and Structures
In case you might have forgotten, the show is Celebrate Agriculture With The Arts. It is the Madera County Arts Council annual juried and judged event, at their Circle Gallery. The opening reception and awards presentation is Thursday, September 18, and the show will hang from then until November 7. The pieces that placed will then travel to other locations, including the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California (nee “The Farm Show”).
Of course there are other winners, but unless we attend the show, we won’t know who received awards for which pieces! It is a wonderful show, one I learn from each year that I participate and visit.
Event information
Here is the promised information about the event where my mural will be viewed as it was intended. Hope you can be there, and if we haven’t met, please introduce yourself!
Tulare County Historical Society 12 th Annual BBQ & Fundraiser
Saturday, September 27th
11:30 AM- 2:00 PM
Tulare County Museum Grounds in Mooney Grove Park, Visalia
Adults: $20
Children 12 & under: $8.00
Children 5 & under: Free
The ticket price includes admission to Mooney Grove Park and the Tulare County Museum, delicious BBQ and live & silent auction.
Make checks payable to TCHS to:
TCHS 2008 BBQ
P.O. Box 295
Visalia, CA 93279
Tickets also available at the event.
All proceeds benefit the Tulare County Museum improvements.
Auction items include:
Dinner for 8 by Serafine Italian Catering
1 day Jeep trip for 4 to any place in Tulare County
Helicopter ride for 2 to the Woodlake Airport & breakfast
2 nights at the Wyndham Palm Springs Hotel
New Farmall “M” pedal riding tractor & trailer
Bear Cat Chipper-Shredder
Extreme ATV Tour in Sequoia Crest Redwoods
Firewood
Your opinions wanted
There is an art competition each year called “Celebrate Agriculture with the Arts”. This is a beautiful show with several categories that relate to agriculture: Dairy, Citrus, Irrigation, Cotton, etc. . . Artists can enter 2 categories, and this year I have 2 ideas for the same category. This is a no-no, because one would be competing with oneself if the same category were entered twice.
This is where you come in! Here are 2 different pieces of art for Farm Equipment And Structures. Since my choosing which piece might be akin to selecting my favorite cat (I love them all to distraction!), I am requesting help from you, my blog readers, in the hopes that you will be more objective than I am able to be.
These are not in order of my preference. Forsooth, if I had a preference, I wouldn’t be asking (begging and pleading and groveling) for your help! And there is no need for anyone to say, “I don’t know anything about art; I only know what I like” because this IS about what you like!
Choice A
Choice B
It’s All Good
And the winner is poppies in Subject Matter, and 6×6″ in Sizes! I knew that. People are still spending, but spending cautiously.
But, it isn’t all about sales. Many contacts were made, a portrait commission in pencil may be on the way (there i go again, counting chickens before they hatch!), 2 small oils were commissioned, and the best part of all was seeing Bob and Florence! Sometimes, work just HAS to be put on hold when dear friends from the the past appear.
The second best thing was when Robin brought me a Dr. Pepper, but she sorta owed me because she ate my lunch. For me, the definition of a “starving artist” is one who is too busy working to eat. Wait! maybe the best part was seeing my mom yesterday! Or, was it when my sister and family surprised me today. In the current slang, it’s all good!
Redbud Festival
Some people call it “Rosebud” but it is “Redbud”, after the native tree that blooms here in March. Why isn’t the festival in March? Unpredictable weather! This is sort of funny because it has been on Mother’s Day weekend for at least 10 years now and I have experienced 100 degree weekends and hurricane type weekends. However, we hope for nice weather, of course, and hope to see you there.
I will bring all my new paintings, pencil reproductions (there are 2 new ones this year – Three Rivers Landmarks II and Crescent Meadow II), and new Three Rivers Landmarks cards. Please don’t be disappointed that I am not bringing my murals!
Here are the specifics:
Saturday, May 10, 10-5
Sunday May 11, 10-4
Lion’s Roping Arena, Three Rivers.
More info: www.artsthreerivers.org