Tag Archives: painter

Chicago!!

"Fleeting" by Amy Guidry; acrylic on canvas; 8"w x 10"h; (c) Amy Guidry 2011

I wasn’t sure what to title this post other than “Chicago.”  I figured Chicago conjures up good things- the band, the musical, the city… so in this case Chicago conjures up another good thing- an exhibition!  I was waiting for the results of the 15th International Open at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago and received my notice the other day that my work was selected!  I’m excited to be included in this show as well as excited to be showing in Chicago for the first time.  I was honored to be one of the few chosen since only 33 works were chosen from 750 entered.  The juror for the exhibition is Linda Warren, director of Linda Warren Gallery in Chicago.  The show will open March 2nd, with a reception from 6-9pm and will be up through April 26th.

Selected artists are: Karen Appleton, Patti Bartelstein, Angelique Brickner, Cat Del Buono, Catherin Colaw, Renee Couture, Pat Dumas-Hudecki, Sebrina Fassbender, Alexandra Fritz, Amanda Greive, Amy Guidry, Zoe Hawk, Edith Hillinger, Ellen Holtzblatt, Aran Illingworth, Pamela Johnson, Kay Knight, Mie Kongo, Sioban Lombardi, Jennifer Moore, Anna Pamasa, Silvana LaCreta Ravena, Janet Roberts, Clare Rosean, Sausan Saulat, Carrie Schumacher, Soo Shin, Beverly Y. Smith, Allison Svoboda, Camille Swift, and Susan Smith Trees

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"Awakening" by Amy Guidry; acrylic on canvas; 48"w x 24"h; (c) Amy Guidry 2011; SOLD

Another New Realm painting has found a new home.  Awakening is one of the earlier paintings from the series and is one of the largest at 48″ wide by 24″ high.  The single butterfly represents growth and freedom, themes that are heavily present in this series.  As stated on my website, New Realm challenges the antiquated views of women as often seen in fairy tales.  Using a surreal backdrop, it is a modern tale which presents the heroine as a strong and courageous woman.  I’m also happy to say that several paintings from this series will be included in a upcoming exhibition featuring works from early in my career to the present.  More details on that closer to time.  Meanwhile, you can check out this series as well as a closeup of Awakening at www.amyguidry.com/awakening.html.

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New Small Paintings

I recently added two new small paintings to the In Our Veins series.  My latest newsletter featured both paintings (which if you would like to receive, sign up information is here: www.amyguidry.com/contact.html) and there is still one available.  The titles are Generate and Ephemeral, each are 4″ x 4,” acrylic on canvas.  Generate (sold) pertains to the life cycle and how life continues, hence the flowers growing out of the wolf’s back.  Ephemeral is still available ($100- contact me if interested) and features a moth with a heart, ribcage, and vertebrae superimposed upon it.  The premise of the painting is the importance of life- so fragile, precious, and short, in the scheme of things- and serves as a reminder to live life to the fullest.  Both paintings can be viewed (larger) on my website at www.amyguidry.com/ephemeral.html.

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Professional Artist Magazine Feature

Professional Artist Magazine, Dec/Jan 2012 issue

I’m excited to announce that I’m currently featured in Professional Artist Magazine (formerly Art Calendar Magazine) as part of their December/January issue.  The article is titled “Communicating Social Messages through Art, Partnership and Publicity” and was written by Renee Phillips, aka The Artrepreneur Coach.  I am honored to be a featured artist and to have had the opportunity to share some insight in this article.  If you’ve been following my work, you know that art is my passion but reaching people through my work is also incredibly important.  I strive to inspire others as well as get them thinking, talking, and acting upon issues that are of personal as well as social importance.  In addition, Renee makes a great point that it is up to the artists, no matter what their subject matter, to be proactive about getting their work out there.  I strongly agree and if you’ve checked out my previous posts on press releases, you understand why.  I can’t post the actual article but if you would like to read a modified version of it, you can check it out on Renee’s site at www.manhattanarts.com/readingroom/ezine/CareerBusiness/Renee_Social-Issues.htm.

If you’d like to view my latest work and news, sign up for my monthly newsletter at www.amyguidry.com/contact.html and “like” my Facebook Fan Page for my updates.

“In Our Veins” Video Feature

I’m excited to announce the “arrival” of my new video project featuring In Our Veins.  This latest video is an in-depth look into the series, discussing my thoughts behind several paintings, as well as some great closeup views of the work.  The video is narrated by Cheryl Mack (she also narrated the New Realm video- many people have asked if it was me).  My description does not do it justice- so be sure to check it out by clicking the image below or visiting Youtube at http://youtu.be/raQXeTBHJTQ.

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Cornucopia

After much digging through photos and picking the “best” ones to post, I am finally posting one of my latest paintings.  This is another addition to my In Our Veins series titled Cornucopia.  (Totally a coincidence on the timing, given it is the week of Thanksgiving.)  It is an acrylic on canvas, 10″ wide by 8″ high and is available through Wally Workman Gallery in Austin, TX.  I’ve documented my painting during my process and have a few photos to share.  I apologize for the poor quality except for the very last photo- which was professionally done.  I’m not the best with a digital camera, but feel that these photos still get the point across.  Just click the images below for a larger view.

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"Release" by Amy Guidry; acrylic on canvas; 36"w x 48"h; (c) Copyright Amy Guidry 2008

Another painting from my New Realm series has found a new home.  The painting is titled Release and was done in 2008.  It is an acrylic on canvas, 36″ wide by 48″ high.  This is a popular painting from the series and one of the more substantially sized ones.  The new owners were particularly moved by this piece and likewise, I was moved by the significance this painting had for them.  I won’t go into any details here because it is a personal story and will remain so.  However, it just goes to show that it truly does not matter if you are not an artist or an art historian in order to appreciate art.  I would never deny someone their feelings towards a piece because those feelings are based on personal experiences and memories that I know nothing about.  Sure, I have my own thoughts, feelings, and reasons behind my paintings, but that doesn’t make them any more “legit” than those of others.  The same could be said for books, poetry, music, movies, and so on.  I was truly touched by what these new collectors had to say, and appreciated that they shared something so personal with me.  Their story has actually added to my own story behind the work.  I enjoy telling stories through my art, but I love to hear the stories that others have to tell as well.

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Gallery 549 Opening + Artwalk

"Symbiotic" by Amy Guidry; acrylic on canvas; 11"w x 14"h; (c) Amy Guidry 2011

I’ve been busy to the point of nearly forgetting to announce an exhibition opening I have this weekend.  Hard to believe I forgot to write about it sooner since I’ve been prepping for it for quite some time.  So here are the details:  I will be showing several new works from my In Our Veins series at Gallery 549 in downtown Lafayette, LA as part of a group exhibition of local artists.  The opening reception will be this Saturday, November 12th from 6-8pm and the show will be up through December 1st.  Also of note, the opening this weekend is also in conjunction with Second Saturday Artwalk, so there are many galleries open late with some great exhibits.  Speaking of which, here is a schedule of what to expect:

Acadiana Center for the Arts– 101 W. Vermilion St. / 337-233-7060
Main Gallery: Prospect.2– Ragnar Kjartanssn, Bruce Davenport Jr., Dawn Dedeaux, Willie Birch, Regina Scully, Jonathan Hicks and Tameka Norris
Side Ga llery: Pacha Mama: earth realm series by Lynda Frese
Vault Series: Louisiana Corners and Cajun Blue by Mary Louise Porter

Adrian Fulton’s Fine Art Gallery– 302 Jefferson St. / 337-658-3274
Chrystal Jumonville

Arts Co-op Gallery and Studio (formerly Galerie Eclairuse)- 535 ½ Jefferson St. / 337-344-8657
Group Exhibition- Susannah Craig, Rena Derieg, Tanya Falgout, Erin Lafleur, Barbara Stevens, Lisa Suire, and Lauren Greene Whyte

Cajun Spice– 535 Jefferson St / 337-232-3061
Michael Van Brocklin

Gallery 549– 549 Jefferson St. / 337-593-0796
Group Exhibition featuring local artists (yep, including yours truly!)

Galerie Lafayette (at The Lafayette Public Library)- 538 Jefferson St. / 261-5775
Vaughn Simpson

Gallery R (at The Russo Group)- 116 E. Congress St. / 337-769-1530
Bonnie Camos and Paula Horn

Sans Souci Gallery– 219 E. Vermilion St. / 266-7999
Audrey Leonard, Katherine Prejean, Janet Ullrich Theriot, and Dickie Wagner

St. Pierre’s Center for the Arts– 114 W. Vermilion St. / 337-236-9111
Works by Steven

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Interview for Billboard Art Project

I recently attended the debut of the Billboard Art Project’s Baton Rouge, Louisiana exhibition in which I was a featured artist. There were 58 artists featured from around the United States, some of which were from Louisiana. It’s rather exciting to see one’s work projected on an LED digital billboard and attracting the attention of passersby is even better. While I was there, I had the opportunity to give an interview for the Billboard Art Project. The project’s creator, David Morrison, had flown in from Virginia for the event and conducted the interview. Check out the video by clicking the image below or go to YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM4kmpOUW9U.

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Narrowing Your Focus

A little while back, I wrote about goals and formulating your strategy to meet them (which you can read here).  I had also mentioned that part of that process involves revisiting your goals and reworking them.  So as I am revisiting my own, I thought it would be helpful to go through some steps and specific examples.

No matter where you are at in relation to your goals, let’s stop for a minute and revisit them.  This is something you should do every few months, but even if it’s been years, now is the time to go over your list.  What is it that you set out to accomplish?  There should be a list of several things that will lead to this accomplishment.  Whether you have completed a task or not, here are a few things to consider:

Out of the tasks that you’ve completed, what were the results? Positive?  Did they help you get any closer to your goal or not really?  If it’s the latter, you may want to alter it or even consider removing it from next year’s goals.  Example: You get your work featured on a website you’ve been submitting to and it doesn’t lead to any website hits.  Maybe the website is not worth your marketing efforts so you might not want to submit in the future.  Maybe reconsider the types of websites you are submitting your work to.

Of the completed tasks with positive results, what worked the best? What resulted in the most contact/sales/exhibits, etc.?  When you are making your new goal list for the following year, be sure to include those tasks again and add similar goals to increase those results.  Example: If a certain exhibit yielded many sales, what contributed to this and how can you do it again?  Show at the same venue next year, do the same type of promotions and broaden the range, or maybe the exhibit was during the holidays.

What can be improved upon? Maybe some tasks are not quite what you expected but still have some benefit.  Is there anything you can do to improve this or is it time to cut bait?  You want to spend your time on the things that are improving your career and get rid of the time-wasting tasks that are of little or no benefit.

What is missing from the list? Before completely writing off one of your goal tasks, is there anything you may not be doing to help bring that goal to fruition?  Example: If an exhibit didn’t go as well as expected, was there anything on your end that should have been done to make it a success?  Did you attend the opening?  Did you promote the exhibit?  Did you send out press releases?

Focus on your “best bets.” Maybe you are hoping to get an exhibit or find gallery representation.  While this is a great goal, you should focus your efforts on the venues that will be the best fit.  Example: If you are an abstract painter, you should focus on galleries that predominantly show abstract work.  What sells well for the gallery?  Where are they located?  What direction are they going in?  Just because it is a well-known space, doesn’t mean it’s a good fit unless it meets these criteria.  Focus on the ones that do.

Is there anything you can delegate to someone else? Some tasks are necessary, but may rob you of the time you need to complete your high-priority goals.  Do you have an assistant that can take care of such tasks?  Or can you afford to hire one?  Do you have a business partner that can handle certain tasks better than you can?

Once you evaluate what tasks are best suited to your career goals, it will become easier to work on future goals.  You will eventually streamline your goals and learn what to focus on and get the best use of your time.

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