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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“Generate” by Amy Guidry; acrylic on canvas; 4″ x 4″; (c) Amy Guidry 2011; SOLD
“Ephemeral” by Amy Guidry; acrylic on canvas; 4″ x 4″; (c) Amy Guidry 2011; SOLD
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.
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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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.
Initial sketch on canvas for “Cornucopia” by Amy Guidry
Initial layer of paint- very rough
Finished the first rough layer of paint
Working on the next layer of paint to the sky, deepening colors
Adding the next few layers of paint to the desert, adding details- rocks
Finished desert and sky, now adding more paint and detail to cliffs
Adding detail to the cornucopia for a “woven” effect
More detail to the cornucopia, deepening color along the way
Details added to the coyote and ram, working on hares next
Details to hare and birds added; Working on elk’s details and color
“Cornucopia” by Amy Guidry; acrylic on canvas; 10″w x 8″h; (c) Amy Guidry 2011
"Untitled (Deer)" by Amy Guidry; Acrylic on canvas; 4" x 4"; (c) Amy Guidry 2011; SOLD
I’ve just added two new paintings to the In Our Veins series- one of which I will post later since I’ll be including photos from my actual painting process, so be on the lookout. The other is a small painting, 4″ x 4,” acrylic on canvas, titled Untitled (Deer). These small paintings are pretty popular in that they sell almost immediately. Which is why I am posting a new piece that is already sold. I will be adding more at this size, in addition to a variety of sizes, but I give my subscribers the first viewing. So if you would like the opportunity to see my latest work and purchase it while it’s still available, please sign up for my newsletter. Facebook posts have a short shelf-life, as do Twitter, so this latest painting sold before anyone even knew about it. The newsletter is monthly and also gives a concise list of where I’m exhibiting at the moment as well as other news. You can sign up at www.amyguidry.com/contact.html (just click on the “newsletter” icon).
"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.
"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 Gallery: 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
I recently did an interview for Eclectix with Patricia Zemanek and it is now online! This coincides with their “Bad to the Bone” Volume 10 issue in which my work is also featured among some great artists, including a personal fave- Laurie Lipton. To read the interview, go to: http://eclectixetc.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/amy-guidry-eclectix-interview-26/.
To view my new work and a list of upcoming exhibits, sign up for my monthly newsletter at www.amyguidry.com/contact.html. You can also “like” my Facebook Fan Page to get my latest updates.
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.
To receive my monthly newsletter featuring new work, events, interviews and more, sign up at www.amyguidry.com/contact.html and you can also “like” my Facebook Fan Page to get my latest updates.
Just a quick, fun post today. Since it is Halloween, I thought I’d get into the spirit and post a different form of my art… I think I should use pumpkins as my new medium. I carved a Twilight pumpkin, which, yes, I know I’m not the first nor the only one to do one. However, I can say that mine was carved based off of my own drawing. For those of you who are artistic, here’s a little how-to: I first drew a simple drawing of the photo from the book. No shading or detail. Then I used orange, light orange, and yellow colored pencils to map out the positive and negative areas. The light orange was used to mark the “gray areas” since you can carve just the outer surface of the pumpkin to get those middle tones. I thought I could use my drawing as a template, but that was getting confusing, so I used it to cut out the major areas- ex. Bella’s cheek. After that, I just set the drawing down by the pumpkin and used different tools to remove other areas and do the details. I had some actual pumpkin carving tools, but those were not as sharp and precise as I needed. So I used an X-act0 knife to do a lot of small details and a mat knife to carve into the surface. I used a steak knife to cut out large areas. I even used my fingernails to pick out some small parts. Whatever does the job. Oh, and I used a spoon to scrape over the “middle tones” and smooth them out a bit. And that’s it. Happy Halloween!
