Tag Archives: Art

New Interview

"The Pack" by Amy Guidry; acrylic on canvas; 20"w x 10"h; (c) Amy Guidry

I did an interview for Meaning-full recently and it is currently posted online!  For those of you that don’t know me personally, this interview gives a little more insight into my work, my process, as well as a little more about me.  And there are lots of images, so be sure to check out the second page of the post in order to read the interview.  Just go to http://meaning-full.com/05/meaning-full/painting-amy-guidry/.

There’s also a link to my site from the interview, but in case you don’t know, my work can be found at www.AmyGuidry.com.

 

Sold

"Introspective" by Amy Guidry; acrylic on canvas; 40"w x 30"h; (c) Amy Guidry 2011

Another painting from my New Realm series has a new home. I really love to share my work with people, especially people that I know. It’s a great feeling to know that something so personal to you is enjoyed by others. I remember when I first started to show my work (out of school), I was so self-conscious and afraid because it was work that I not only created on my own, with no guidance or “approval” by a professor, but also because I felt so exposed. My first show was a juried exhibit (talk about fear!). Most people there ignored me and visibly did not seem to like my painting, but I received 2nd place (obviously one person liked it) and I was so relieved and surprised, but it was enough to help spur me along. Which is how I’ve gotten where I am today.

So now “Introspective” is being enjoyed and shared with others. It’s such a good feeling- and that’s what keeps me going. It’s amazing how much we can accomplish when just one person gives us the encouragement.

www.AmyGuidry.com

VACI

"Renewal" by Amy Guidry; acrylic on canvas; (c) Amy Guidry 2011

I’ve received more good news recently- my work was selected for inclusion in the 54th Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Art at the VACI (Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution). The juror for the exhibit is Jim Kempner of the Jim Kempner Gallery in New York City. My painting “Renewal” from my New Realm series was selected and it is an acrylic on canvas, 48″ wide by 24″ high. The exhibition will take place in the Strohl Art Center of the Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York. There will be an opening reception held on Sunday, June 26th from 3-5pm. The exhibit will remain on display through July 14, 2011.

To view more of my work, visit my website at www.AmyGuidry.com.

Louisiana Review

The Louisiana Review, Volume 9, Spring 2011 edition

I recently received a request to publish some of my work from my “New Realm” series in the LSUE journal, The Louisiana Review. I’m excited to announce that the issue is out and features “The Red Dress” and “Dreaming.” Both of which are in private collections, but it’s nice to have an opportunity to still feature them in print. The Louisiana Review is published by the Division of Liberal Arts, Louisiana State University at Eunice. It features art, poetry, and literature predominantly from Louisiana and Southern artists. Look for my work in the Spring 2011 edition, Volume 9, available online now.

To view more of my work, also visit my online gallery at www.AmyGuidry.com

BAP Quarterly

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

So excited- I came across some good news just after it was announced (apparently I was on the web at the right time…). I have been selected as one of the artists to be featured in the Brooklyn Art Project’s BAP Quarterly #1. This is their first full-color publication and will be out this summer. Featured on the left is one of my paintings to be included- “Symbiotic.” “The Wild West” has been selected as well, so my excitement is doubled. The publication was guest-curated by Samantha Levin (Anagnorisis Fine Arts, Curator for White Rabbit, NYC).  100 artists have been selected, including some of my personal faves- Carrie Ann Baade and Caitlin Hackett.

For more information and a list of the 100 artists to be featured, visit http://blog.brooklynartproject.com/2011/05/100-artists-selected-for-brooklyn-art-project-quarterly-1/. And to view more of my own work, visit my website at www.AmyGuidry.com.

 

Art and Social Media

Artist Amy Guidry autographs a fan's exhibition catalog

As an artist, I’m always learning more about the business side of the art world. I scour the internet constantly, read books and magazines- Art Calendar!, listen to podcasts, etc. Anything I can get my hands on basically. So I’ve compiled a “best of” pertaining to social media. Some of you are using these services already (as am I) but are you using them to their fullest potential? And some of you are not using these at all, which needs to change pronto. So here are the tips I’ve gained:

Facebook:
– Create a Fan Page for your art. This is where you will do all your marketing since Facebook does not allow such on your personal profile.

– Engage your fans with your posts and make sure they are visible (not locked under some privacy setting). When fans “like” your posts, everyone on their profile sees this, thus spreading the word.

– Ask fans questions to get them interacting and interested in your page.

– Join Facebook Groups for artists and post links to your work and introduce yourself. However, do not do this to another artist’s fan page since that is dedicated to their work and would be considered rude.

– Add to discussions, don’t just “like” a post.

– When a gallery invites you to an event on Facebook, never just ignore or decline it, always write a personal note on the event wall—leaving your name there for all to see.

Twitter:
– Retweet and @reply other artists to spark conversations and build your network.

– Follow people (even if you don’t know them- that’s the great thing about Twitter) to get on their radar. Follow artists, galleries, curators, etc.

– When tweeting about a popular subject, put a number sign (#) in front of it. These are known as hashtags and make it easy for others to find your tweet through Twitter searches so they may want to follow you. Example: #art, #gallery

– Do not to use more than 2-3 hashtags or you might be considered a spammer to your followers.

– One of Twitter’s most popular personalities, @GuyKawasaki states, “I find it’s worth repeating important tweets up to 4 times in about 18 hours. Typically, that would be evening, late evening, next morning and then the afternoon. Hopefully, that will catch the different audiences. But that’s enough; I don’t want to turn anyone off.”

– Make a “List” on Twitter to group people of interest- such as galleries or dealers, curators, and collectors. This will help you keep track of different groups and stay in touch.

LinkedIn:
– Join groups that are related to your style of artwork as well as more general art groups. Ask questions and contribute to other discussions.

– Connect with galleries, artists, curators, and collectors that you know (you can get booted out for spamming people you don’t know). Also connect with other professionals- your dentist, doctor, real estate agent, etc.

People who are popular in the social media world inform, entertain, and educate – sometimes all at once. If you’re a successful self-employed artist, it’s about the inspiration and the example you provide for other artists. So it’s really about them. Post videos, tutorials, news, artwork, interesting articles, music, movies that you think people will appreciate. Posts should be of substance, not how you’re waiting in line at the grocery store or that it’s Monday or Friday (we know the days of the week). Think of it this way: if you were in their position, what would you find interesting?

www.AmyGuidry.com

New painting

“Heads II” by Amy Guidry; 12″ x 12″; acrylic on canvas;  Sold; (c) Amy Guidry 2011

My latest piece is now finished and online! I had some back problems to slow me down a bit, but managed to pull through. This is the most recent addition to my “In Our Veins” series. It is a 12″ x 12″ painting, acrylic on canvas, titled “Heads II.” It is related to a previous painting- “Untitled (Heads).” I recently discussed this one and wanted to share my thoughts behind it. The concept behind this piece, as with several of my paintings, is that of humans viewing nature as a means to an end. We view animals as pieces and parts- head, tongue, rump, rear, breast, wing, etc. If they are not referred to as parts, they are named something other than what they are- chickens are poultry, pigs are pork, cows are beef, etc. They are no longer acknowledged as animals, but as food. Others are treated as trophies to hang on a wall, or turned into “luxury items” to wear or carry things in. I see animals as sentient beings- living, breathing, thinking, with offspring of their own to care for.

While humans typically treat their fellow members of the animal kingdom as a means to an end, I depict them with personalities, or what others arrogantly deem as “human” qualities (as if only humans can express emotions). For instance, many of the animals I paint have eyes that appear “human,” in that you see the whites of the eyes, or they have lighter colored eyes and not large, dark doe eyes as typically associated with animals. Some animals are positioned in a dominant stance or their facial expression is calm and serene- again, qualities typically associated with only humans. In this painting, the animals are confident and staring directly at the viewer, demanding attention and acknowledgement.

For a larger view (much larger, thanks to my recent website redesign), visit the following link: www.AmyGuidry.com/Heads_II.html

549 Exhibit

The group exhibition at Gallery 549 featuring some of my latest paintings is coming down this week. I have a few photos to share from the opening reception and there are even more on my (newly redesigned!) website at this direct link- www.amyguidry.com/events.html (Go to the album at the top left). So now I am gearing up for my next show which will be in Austin at Wally Workman Gallery. More details on that closer to time. In the meantime, check out the photos!

Interviews, websites, makeovers, Oh my!

Artist Amy Guidry discusses her work with viewers at Gallery 549

Sorry for the delayed post! I’ve had a lot going on as of late, some of which I would like to announce right now. I recently did an interview for Pop Culture Radio with Chris Wakefield. The interview is now online and has a bit of something for everyone whether you are an artist, a collector, or just an admirer of art. You can listen to the entire interview at this link: http://popcultureradio.net/radio-interview/amy-guidry/.

Also, for some even bigger news and I do mean big- if you’ve been following along you know of this several months long undertaking- my website makeover is finished and the results are now online! The overall design is a bit different (new and improved!) and there are some new added features. For one, the images are now large. And I mean large! Many of them have a zoom-in feature as well. While you are there, be sure to sign up for my e-newsletter. You can also now sign up for my quarterly postcard which features one of my latest paintings on the front and a quick list of exhibits on the back. Many people just like to collect the postcards for the paintings since they also get my newsletter. Sign up for one or for both, they’re all free. Check it out at www.AmyGuidry.com.

Resumes!

As a busy artist, I am always updating my resume to add exhibitions or press items. One thing I can’t stress enough is the importance to stay on top of updating your resume. You never know when a gallery or a collector may ask for it and you don’t want to hand over an outdated resume or keep them waiting while you work on one. And it’s easy to forget to include something. So here are a few guidelines that I follow for my own resume (or CV) that may come in handy for those of you in need of an update or those just starting out. These are the categories in order of appearance:

Birthdate and Birthplace: I just put my year of birth, but you can use your full birthdate. This is important to collectors and galleries since they are interested in how your age and where you are from may influence your work.

Exhibitions: Depending on where you are at in your career, this may be one category or two. In the latter, you will have a Solo Exhibition category and a Group Exhibition category. Some like to put 2-person shows in with Solo. In that case, it should be clearly marked as Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions and list each exhibit as such.

For those of you just starting out, don’t fret. Everyone has to start somewhere. If you have ever shown your work in a coffee shop, restaurant, library, bank, etc. now is the time to list it. If you were the only artist, list it as a solo exhibit. What if you haven’t shown at all yet? I would start small- ask owners of businesses (if you know them personally, even better) if you can hang your work there for a month. If you know of a vacant space that you can use, put up an exhibit of your own and invite people for an opening reception. Even if it’s for one evening, it’s still an exhibit. These opportunities are easier to come across since no one is expecting you to make money for them, so they are more willing to let you use their walls. However, once you start getting exhibits at galleries, you should remove these previous shows from your resume. It’s okay when you’re just starting out, but once you start moving up the ladder, you will need to omit exhibits that are of “less importance” in the gallery owner’s eyes. This rule goes for everyone.

List exhibitions by most recent first. List the year, name of the exhibit, and the location. If there is an exhibit catalogue, put “(catalogue)” at the end of the listing. If there was a well-known curator or juror, list them as well.

Experience: I use the term “experience” here, but really this will depend on you. This spot should be reserved for any jobs, lectures, workshops, etc. that you may have (or had) pertaining to your art career. ONLY list something if it is relevant to your career. Even if you are an Executive Director, 20 years going, at a major department store chain, do not put it down. Unless this is evident by looking at your art, it is not important to your art career in any way other than a paycheck. If you are an art teacher, list your teaching experience, or if you’ve ever been a guest artist lecturer, list lectures, etc.

Education: This is an important category, but as I have learned from various sources, it shouldn’t be at the top of your resume. Your exhibition history is more important. So obviously this area won’t need much updating unless you are presently in school or going back. You should name your university, location, degree received, and the year. If your degree is not art related, or does not  influence your art, you may want to leave off what your degree is in. More than likely, no one will ask anyway. From experience, only other artists and art professors ever ask where I studied.

If you have not attended college, don’t worry about that either. Many artists are self-taught. You may list such on your resume or if you’ve ever taken another artist’s workshop, you can put this under Education as well. As you move up the ranks, you may want to eventually remove the workshops unless they were conducted by well-known artists (i.e. nationally or internationally recognized). As your career progresses and you gain exposure, no gallery is going to care about a workshop you took 10 years ago. Not to say it wasn’t important to you, but galleries want to know what is most significant to your career.

Awards: Again, this is a category that depends on you. This may not be a blue ribbon award category so much as it is a list of grants received or residencies you were selected for. If you have received an award ribbon, certificate, etc. be sure to list the name of the competition and what placement you received. If you received a purchase award, be sure to name the award- for example, most are a person’s name such as the Betty Sue Purchase Award. If you don’t have any awards yet, just leave this category out.

Bibliography: Well, back in college, I learned the proper way to list press articles, etc. from “The Little, Brown Handbook.” I assume it still exists, but no two artists ever list their bibliographies the same. Some group everything by year, some alphabetical by article name, some alphabetical by author name, etc. I list by author name, but to each his own here. Regardless, this category should include any magazine articles, newspapers, radio interviews, tv interviews, and even blogs. Back in the day, blogs weren’t even in existence in “The Little, Brown Handbook.” Our books were stone tablets… just kidding.

Collections: Again, if you don’t have anything for this, just omit it. However, if your work is in any public collections, list it here. If your work is in any private collections (which is more likely the case), you can list the names and locations of the collectors if they are well-known (i.e. celebrities or famous patrons of the arts). Sorry to say, but no gallery is interested in knowing that your next door neighbor owns your work even if it’s 50 pieces. However, if the person is seen on national television or they are a famous artist, well-known curator, or a major art collector that loans their collection to museums from time to time, then you’ll get a gallery’s attention.

Representation: Another category you can omit if needed. If you happen to have gallery representation, list it here.

So that’s it- you may find in your career that there are other categories you could include, which is fine, just be sure your exhibitions stay at the forefront. Oh, and be sure your contact information is on every page of your resume. And no staples.

www.AmyGuidry.com