Here’s a taste of my event photos from my show at the Schepis Museum in Columbia, LA. More on my events section of my website www.AmyGuidry.com. The show is a solo exhibit of my “New Realm” series and is up now through the end of June, so be sure to stop by if you are in the area. The News Star, the Monroe local newspaper, also ran a short article about the show. Read the article online at http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20100528/LIFESTYLE/5280303.
I recently purchased a wall sculpture by Fred Daspit and thought it would be nice to share some photos of a few pieces from my art collection. I spend a lot of time showing my work, meeting other artists, and obviously hanging out in galleries, so it’s no surprise that I’d get the collecting bug. It’s one thing to hang your own art in your home, but to have work from other artists in different styles and media is entirely another.
As I was taking photos, I started to consider why I purchased these particular works of art. Given the fact that I am an artist, I thought it might be interesting to consider collecting art from the buyer’s perspective. Obviously I enjoy the art in my collection and find it aesthetically pleasing, but clearly there’s more to it than that. So what drives one to buy art? I think this is something all artists, myself included, have asked ourselves at some point in time. I don’t know that there is any one answer, given there are different buying
“styles” out there. However, I do think there are a few common traits amongst buyers. As I said, I buy art because I like it and most people like the art they purchase (those that purchase art solely as an investment may not necessarily like the work).
As an artist, I also understand the value of art. I’m well-aware that it took a hell of a lot of time to create that masterpiece I’m about to buy, and it’s only fair that the artist is paid for their time and skill. I don’t give away my work, so I certainly don’t expect anyone else to.
Another factor is liking the artist. It’s not just about liking the work, but also liking the person behind the work. I have purchased from artists I never met, or met after the fact, but most works are by people I know and like. Those I don’t know personally have a good reputation amongst the art community, though.
Lastly, the fact that these artists are in the public eye on a regular basis serves as a great reminder that I should buy their work. And when I say public eye, I don’t necessarily mean they are featured in the news or received some big accolade. It could be their personal emails to me or a postcard invitation to a show. Anytime I see their name, it just reminds me of their work and the fact that I would like to own a piece.
Some people buy on impulse, some buy because it’s just a great deal, but I think it’s safe to say that all of us should get out there and meet and greet if we want to sell art. With that said, if you would like to see and learn more about my work, be sure to check out my website at www.AmyGuidry.com.
Someone recently asked if I ever post photos of my work in progress. Technically yes, but it’s usually just a snippet of a painting. So I dug through some photos for this “photo diary” post of sorts since I actually documented my work on “Untitled.” So here goes:
“Untitled” by Amy Guidry; Acrylic on canvas; 30″w x 24″h
To view this painting as well as more of my work, visit www.AmyGuidry.com. And while you are there, if you’d like to be informed about new work and upcoming events, sign up for my monthly newsletter on my contact page.
I always enjoy my visits to Austin, Texas since there’s so much to do and so much to look at- it’s absolutely beautiful. And it just so happens that I am represented by one of their great galleries- Wally Workman Gallery. So this August, I will be in Austin for Wally Workman’s 30th Anniversary show. This will be a huge show, so it’s a good thing the gallery is large itself. All of the represented artists will be showing several new works. Add that up and it’s colossal. And let’s not forget- thirty years! This speaks volumes in the art world where- unfortunately- many galleries don’t make it two years, much less thirty. So in celebration, Wally Workman Gallery is having a show preview on August 5th in conjunction with First Thursday Artwalk. The blowout party and opening reception will be held August 7th from 6-8pm. And if you can’t make either of those evenings (or both!), the exhibit will be up through August 28th.
As for me, I have been toiling away on a new piece to submit for the show. It’s 3 feet long, so this is one of the biggest pieces I’ve done in this latest series of work. I have included a sneak peek- just a small portion of the painting. It’s not the best photo either since I took it myself. Haha. But it gives the basic idea… and of course I will be posting the painting in its entirety once it’s officially finished. So in the meantime, if you’d like to see more of my work, be sure to visit www.AmyGuidry.com.
In addition to Mother’s Day, this weekend is also the Second Saturday Artwalk in Downtown Lafayette, LA for the month of May. This Artwalk will feature work from students of the Lafayette Parish School System and the Talented Art Program in several galleries and restaurants around the downtown area. As a former Talented Art Program student from the New Orleans area, I can attest to the importance of such a program and it’s impact. So be sure to come out and see what future professional artists are doing in our community! As promised, here is this month’s schedule:
Acadiana Center for the Arts -101 W. Vermilion St. / 233-7060
Main Gallery: May 8 – July 24, 2010 Southern Open 2010
Side Gallery: May 8 – June 4, 2010 Jeremiah Ariaz: Tucumcari
Vault Series: May 8 – July 24, 2010 Pat Juneau
Architects + Artists Gallery– 200 Jefferson St. / 234-4166
Artwork by students of the Lafayette Parish School System’s Talent Art Program
Cajun Spice– 535 Jefferson St / 232-3061
Eclectic Chairs, Mosaics and More by Tanya Falgout through May 31
Cité des Arts– 109 Vine St. / 291-1122
Artwork from the local talent in our Lafayette Parish Schools.
Galerie Eclaireuse– 535 Jefferson St. / 234-5492
Sue Boagni and Paul Schexneider
Gallery 549– 549 Jefferson St. / 593-0796
Frederic O. Daspit – New Sculpture
Gallery R (at The Russo Group)– 116 E. Congress St. / 769-1530
Exuberance: The Art of Coyo
Funny that I just wrote a post on how to get your work published,that I received some good news regarding my own art. I had submitted my work to Adbusters Magazine quite some time ago and the right opportunity has finally presented itself. It just so happens my painting “Special Ingredients” is the perfect fit for one of their features and will be in the July/August 2010 issue. (That’s it on the left!) More good news- my work will also be featured with an artist’s profile/gallery on the beinArt Surreal Art Collective. I’ve been a fan of this site for quite awhile now and am honored to be included among the many talented artists featured there. I don’t have an exact date on when my work will be posted, but I will let everyone know as soon as it is online. In the meantime, be sure to check out their site (the name is a link!) and also be sure to check out Adbusters- online or in the bookstore. And if you would like to see more of my work, visit my website at www.AmyGuidry.com.
If you’ve been following my blog, you may recall awhile back that I was to have a show at the Schepis Museum in Columbia, LA. Well, since that show had been planned a year in advance, and a lot can happen in the meantime, there were renovations being made that turned into a bigger project than expected. So my show had to be postponed. Well, I am happy to say that the time has come and my exhibit will open next month at the Schepis. This will be a solo exhibition of my New Realm series. This series has been in several locations in Louisiana, as well as Austin and Las Vegas. No two shows have ever been the same since works are sold and replaced or new work has been added by the time another show opens. So on and so forth.
The exhibit will open next month- May- and be open through the end of June. With a two-month display time, this should give many of you a chance to see the work in person. I can’t stress enough that I have to use low-res, small images on the web (thanks to copyright infringement), so seeing my paintings in person is a whole other experience. The opening reception will be held on Sunday, May 30th from 2-4 pm.
Many works from the New Realm series can be seen online at www.AmyGuidry.com. While you are there, be sure to check out my Press section for an article in the current issue of Art Calendar Magazine about New Realm.
I think you should give the people what they want, and I have noticed as of late searches to my blog for info on the Second Saturday Artwalk in Lafayette, LA. So since I am a regular attendee and sometimes exhibiting artist of the ArtWalk, I thought I should provide a schedule for this month.
The April Artwalk is in conjunction with Festival International, so there are some special performances listed. Kind of short notice, but all of this will take place TOMORROW- April 10th.
6:30pm-8:30pm Recycled Cycles Trio Del Rio
6pm-8pm in front of Green Room Rhythm/Soul & Kabuki Kru with special guests Desert Shadows Belly dancers, DJ Dokda J, DJ Prima & DJ Andino
6pm-6:30pm & 7pm-8pm Jefferson St. Market Les Djembles (8 drummers playing West African Rhythms)
6:30pm-7pm Parc de Lafayette The Ryan School of Irish Dance
6pm Corner of Polk & Garfield on Marley’s side Lafayette High Arts Academy (street theater)
6pm-8pm in front of AcA For the Moment (Barbershop Quartet)
6pm-8pm Gallery Sans Souci Nouveau String Band
6pm-8pm Strolling along Jefferson St. Sweet Olive
Acadiana Center for the Arts– 101 W. Vermilion St. / 233-7060
Main Gallery: Through April 24, 2010; Susan Shaw: Moving Violations
Side Gallery: April 10 – 24, 2010; Festival Poster Artist: M. Craig “Whoojoo” McCullen & Bonnie Camos
Vault Series: Through April 24, 2010; Emily Wortman: Out Of The Rice Fields
Art House Circle Gallery: March 30 – April 10, 2010; LJ Alleman Student Showcase
Cajun Spice– 535 Jefferson St / 232-3061
Eclectic Chairs, Mosaics and More by Tanya Falgout April 10 through May 31
Cité des Arts– 109 Vine St. / 291-1122
Vestiges and Songs From a Room, two exhibits by Caroline Goodell
Galerie Eclaireuse– 535 Jefferson St. / 234-5492
Sue Boagni and Paul Schexneider
Gallery 549– 549 Jefferson St. / 593-0796
April Group Exhibition featuring works by over 20 local artists
Gallery R (at The Russo Group)– 116 E. Congress St. / 769-1530
Les Ailes: The Art of Reggie Michael Rodrigue
Pottery Alley– 205 W. Vermilion St. / 267-4453
Esprit du Fest– Jessica Odell Courville
I came across an article the other day in the October 2009 issue of Allure magazine that I wanted to share. Their “Insider’s Guide” series usually takes on interesting topics with a sort of “how-to” approach. I found this one particularly interesting since it deals with art. Rory Evans wrote the piece “How to Visit an Art Gallery” which can be found online at http://www.allure.com/howtos/2010/01/visit_art_gallery. Silly as it may seem, there are many people that have never even set foot in a gallery before and honestly are intimidated. You don’t need to wax poetic about art or philosophy in order to attend an opening or visit a gallery on your own time. Just as anyone can appreciate music or film, the same goes for the visual arts. I can’t play an instrument, but I like Mozart. There’s no harm in that.
So here are some basics. First, galleries are free to visit. You are under no obligation to buy anything and you don’t have to pay to enter. (Museums usually have an admission cost or a suggested admission cost, but it won’t break the bank.) Galleries are generally open Tuesday through Saturday. Openings are generally held on weekends, usually the first or second weekend (be it a Friday or Saturday) of the month. Openings are held in the evenings in most cases, and are late hours with a high attendance. During the week it will be quieter, so you will have more opportunities to focus on the art and even stand back and view the work as a whole.
Galleries and museums both offer work for sale, but not all work is for sale in a museum. So if you are looking to buy, you have more options with galleries. They also change their shows on a monthly basis (for the most part), so there is always something new to see. Galleries will also introduce you to more “new” artists that may not have had as much exposure yet, whereas museums usually grant shows to more established artists.
Understanding the art does not require the Rosetta Stone. For starters, there’s usually an artist statement posted in the gallery whenever there is a show. The artist statement is written by the artist and is their personal account for their work. This will give you a good general idea about the roomful of work you see. It goes without saying, but also take into consideration the name of the show and the titles for the individual artworks. Many artists will admit that there are multiple interpretations of their work and that’s perfectly normal. You may see something different than the artist, or maybe you can add to what the artist feels. There’s no right or wrong answer. No one can tell you how to feel or what to feel, that’s your interpretation to make. All the artist can do is provide you with the information. And even if you do not have the opportunity to meet with the artist personally, you can always ask someone that works for the gallery. As for this artist, I am always open to questions, so feel free to contact me at www.AmyGuidry.com.
I have some exciting news to share! My work was selected as a runner-up in the Creative Quarterly magazine’s CQ19 competition. This is the first time I’ve ever entered, so this was a nice surprise. Here’s their bio: “Creative Quarterly publishes the best work being done internationally in graphic design, illustration, photography and fine art. Published four times a year, we’re the only competition accepting entries from all parts of the globe.”
So as a runner-up my work will be featured on their website- www.cqjournal.com in June to coincide with the 19th issue on newsstands at that time. By the way, they picked my painting “Untitled (Heads)” as seen on the left. (Good thing, since that was the only piece I chose to enter!) You can see a larger photo on my website www.AmyGuidry.com.
Here’s a list of all of the winners:
Fine Art: Professional
Marie Bukowski
Sonja Danowski
Barbara Duval*
Brent Funderburk*
William Grigsby*, Reactor Art & Design Ltd.
Jillian Ludwig
Andrew Myers
Bruce Roberts*
Kerstin Stephan
Fine Art: Student
Sean Larson, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Angela Young
Graphic Design: Professional
Matteo Bologna*, Mucca Deslgn Corp.
Andrew Byrom
Adrienne Hooker, Studio Wan-ker
Therese Joanis, Leibold Associates, Inc.
Buck Smith
Christine Strohl, The Strohls
Alex Trochut
Marius Valdes, Zoo Valdes
Rozina Vavetsi, Rozina Vavetsi
Karin Von Ompteda, A Work of Science
Graphic Design: Student
Jeffrey Carpenter, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Johnny Chang, Art Center College of Design
Jiyun Ha, Art Center College of Design
Wayne Tang, Art Center College of Design
Jou Ying Liu
Illustration: Professional
Leeay Aikawa
Vlad Alvarez
Scott Bakal
Hans Baltzer
Sonja Danowski
Felix Gephart
Beppe Giacobbe*
Robin Hursthouse
Carl Johanson
Esa Peltonen
Giselle Potter
Steven Tabbutt
Hui Tsai
Illustration: Student
Catherine Choi, California College of the Arts
Sam Wolfe Connelly, Savannah College of Art & Design
Barbara Graetzer, Fashion Institute of Technology
Tory Novikova, Pratt
Shigeko Okada, School of Visual Arts
Alexa Thoen, Minneapolis College of Art & Design
Christine Wu
Photography: Professional
Michael Alberstat, Alberstat Productions Inc.
Marti Belcher
David Ellingsen
Elwin Goh
Steffanie Halley
Jens Honore
Harold Lee Miller
Jes Schrom
Richard Tuschman, Richard Tuschman Images
CQ19: Runners-Up
Runners-up will be displayed on the online Gallery June 2010.
Fine Art: Professional: Runner Up
Paul Cooper
Kelli Craig
Barbara Duval*
Brent Funderburk
Amy Guidry
Chunghee Han
Anita Kunz
Roselyn Leibowitz
Wade Mickley
Jane Powers
Lucas Richards*, MouseSaw
Steven Tabbutt
Jaime Zollars
Fine Art: Student: Runner Up
Antony Anderson, Minnesota State University Moorhead
Abby Cline
Sean Larson, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Zach Nader
Cole Swavely, Massachusetts College of Art
Angela Young
Ina Yun, Cranbrook Academy of Art
Graphic Design: Professional: Runner Up
Phil Choo, Choo Renyer Ball Loftis
Allan Espiritu
Yongseuk Lee, Adhesive Art & Design
Jamie Burwell Mixon, Mixon Freelance
Kurt Munger, Interbrand
Buck Smith*
David Ter-Avanesyan, Ter33 Design
Graphic Design: Student: Runner Up
Sara Alway, Temple University/Tyler School of Art
Sean Barnes, Texas State University, San Marcos
Emanuel Cohen, Université du Québec à Montréal
Jiyun Ha, Art Center College of Design
Katie Hatz*, Temple University/Tyler School of Art
Elizabeth A Herrmann, Maryland Institute College of Art
Jee Won Kim, Art Center College of Design
Amanda Mocci, Université du Québec à Montréal
Francesca Staffieri, Montgomery County Community College
Cynthia Wiley, Iowa State University
Illustration: Professional: Runner Up
Timothy Banks
Pascale Carrington
Matthew Daley, Three in A Box, Inc.
Marcelo Garcia, Aparelho Produtor de Imagens
Felix Gephart
Michael Glenwood
Katrina Kopeloff
Jesse Kuhn
Keith MacLelland
Michael Marsicano
June Michel
Isaac Orloff
Zara Picken
Chris Riely
JungYeon Roh
Matt Rota
Morgan Schweitzer
Kerstin Stephan
Sara Tyson
Andrew Wright
Heidi Younger
Vincent Zawada
Daniel Zitka
Illustration: Student: Runner Up
Christian Castro, Fashion Institute of Technology
Marian Dilan, California College of the Arts
David Gonzalez, Fashion Institute of Technology
YooJin Guak, Ontario College of Art & Design
Nicole Jarecz, College for Creative Studies
Deena Pagliarello, Sheridan Institute
Christine Wu
Photography: Professional: Runner Up
John Abousief
Marti Belcher
Andy Bloxham
Jae Chung
Chris Koules
Jonas Kulikauskas
Harry Longstreet
Yshihiro Makino
Harold Lee Miller*
Jes Schrom
Brian Smale
Richard Tuschman, Richard Tuschman Images
Merrell Virgen, VSPOT Photography
Rachel Waller
Photography: Student: Runner Up
David Corso, Indiana University
Stephen Crimarco, University of Central Florida
Dan Elstone, Langara
Meghan Fischer
Nicole Gavrilles, Ringling College of Art & Design
Frederic Gosselin
Jessica Holcomb, Cal Poly Pomona
Ashley Matthews, Louisiana Tech University