All posts by Amy Guidry

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"Boarfish" by Amy Guidry; From the New Realm series. (C) Amy Guidry 2009

I’ve recently sold another painting from my New Realm series. This one is titled “Boarfish” and was recently on exhibit at Galerie Lafayette in Lafayette, LA. I wanted to spotlight this character from a larger piece I had done titled “Acceptance.” BTW, “Acceptance” is now at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin, TX, so if you’re in the area, you should stop by to see it in person. It’s definitely a conversation starter to say the least. And since many people ask, here’s something educational for you (see, you can actually LEARN things on my blog…you’ll thank me later when this comes up on Jeopardy). According to Wikipedia, Boarfish is the common name of two unrelated groups of fishes: All fish of the family Caproidae are called boarfish. Some fish of the family Pentacerotidae are called boarfish. For the record, I knew nothing of this when I came up with my paintings, I just like boars and fish a lot. So I combined the two to create a friendly “beast” for my surreal fairytale. And if you’d like to see more of this series, be sure to visit my website at www.AmyGuidry.com

Forgot to Mention…

"Food or Pet? How Do You Decide" by Amy Guidry, Feast postcard invitation

I’m excited to announce that in addition to the upcoming exhibition at Wally Workman Gallery, my painting “Food or Pet? How Do You Decide?” has been selected for the show invitation! So if you happen to be on the gallery mailing list, be on the lookout. As a reminder, “Feast” opens on December 5th from 6-8pm at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin, TX.

Two Exhibits, One Day

“Food or Pet? How Do You Decide?” by Amy Guidry; SOLD; (C) Amy Guidry 2009

I’m going out with a bang this year… just when I thought it was calming down. Ha! I will have work in two upcoming exhibits- the opening reception for both is on the same night.  First, I am one of the invited artists in the Wally Workman Gallery exhibition, “Feast.” The title of the show does not necessarily pertain to food, so feast is open to interpretation. There is a preview of the show on December 3rd, from 6-8pm as part of their First Thursday Artwalk. The actual opening reception will be December 5th, from 6-8pm. In addition, they are hosting FINE FOOD ART NIGHT on December 10th 6-8pm. Edible Austin magazine will also be there for an evening of fine food and fine art. Local food tastings provided by the Austin chapter of Les Dames de Escoffier and local catering companies will be creating their culinary interpretations of pieces from the show. A portion of the proceeds will go to Urban Roots, a youth development program that uses sustainable agriculture as a means to transform the lives of young people and to increase the access of healthy food in Austin.

In addition, I will be participating in an art auction during Le Feu et l’Eau Rural Arts Celebration. Also known as the Fire and Water Festival. The Fire and Water Festival has a “warmup” event on December 4th from 7-11pm. The schedule has not been announced yet, but I can tell you it will most certainly involve lots of live music and lots of food. The actual event and auction will take place on December 5th from 11am-11pm.

So if you’ll be in Austin, TX, be sure to check out Wally Workman’s exhibit. And if you’e in Arnaudville, LA, check out the Fire and Water Festival. And if you’re able to teleport, do both. And if you can’t make it to either one, there’s always www.AmyGuidry.com

There’s More to Hot Springs Than Just Water

Downtown Historic Malco Theater, Central Ave, Hot Springs, AR

I just returned from a recent trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas which was host to the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. I saw a great film about the Low Brow art scene called “New Brow: Contemporary Underground Art,” directed by Tanem Davidson. And though I didn’t see it at the festival, I did buy a DVD of “Automorphosis,” directed by Harrod Blank. Several “art cars” were driving about through the city (as you can see from my photos) as part of the promotion of “Automorphosis.”

(Obviously inspired by Piet Mondrian) Art Car promoting "Automorphosis"

I was also fortunate enough to run into legendary artist Ron English. Of course I can’t just publish his art on here, but you can check it out on his website. Mr. English was also in attendance at the film festival. I had a chance to talk with him about the Low Brow art movement and some of the questions that “New Brow” raised. For instance, the dichotomy of low brow vs. high brow art and its role in blue chip galleries. As Mr. English pointed out, what is called “Low Brow” today has much evolved from the original Low Brow artists, and has gained popularity among top collectors. All in all, I think that aside from collectors, it’s the artists that champion the work. Galleries may see a distinction between what is considered high brow or low brow art, but its the artists that generate the excitement over the work and add to its credibility.

For more information about the film festival, visit www.hsdff.org. The festival ended as of October 25th, but you can still read more about the films. And if you’d like to know more about my own artwork, visit www.AmyGuidry.com.

Yellow Submarine- The Beatles art car

Finally Getting Around to This

"Sadie" by Amy Guidry; portrait commission

A little while back I had posted my painting of “Maggie,” a portrait commission I had finished. I had yet to paint Maggie’s sister, Sadie, since we (the clients and I) were still deciding on photos. And another portrait commission had popped up in-between.  Sooo, I’ve finally finished “Sadie!” This little girl has the most amazing eyes. The photo here does not do the painting justice, but trust me, those kid’s eyes are out of this world. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but both Sadie and Maggie have pink jackets on in their paintings. Or maybe it’s just that I gravitated towards pink and chose those?? Anyway, I will get both paintings on my website soon. So check back later! www.AmyGuidry.com

Sold

From the Alice in Wonderland series. Copyright Amy Guidry 2009

Well, it’s sold! I sold the last remaining painting from my Alice in Wonderland series, “The Search for the White Rabbit.” This was the largest of the series at 12″ x 12″ and featured Alice with the White Rabbit as well as a bunch of imposters. This was also entirely acrylic on canvas whereas the smaller pieces in the series were acrylic and ink on canvas. It was fun while it lasted, but I am working on a whole new body of work. It’s rather time-consuming (and as we all know, I don’t have much to spare as it is), but I’m very excited to about this work. And I’ll be posting it, too. Soon! In the meantime, you can view more of my work at www.AmyGuidry.com.

 

Right Around the Corner

Amy Guidry with her painting, "Introspective" (SOLD)

I’ve been busy preparing for my next exhibit and it’s just about here.  October 10th is the opening night for my solo exhibition at Galerie Lafayette.  If you’re in the area, you may already know that this is the same evening for the next Artwalk in downtown Lafayette, LA.  So plenty of galleries will be open late and have new exhibitions up as well.  I’m excited to have this show since I will be revealing new work in addition to some pieces you may have seen on my website, www.AmyGuidry.com.  I’ll have many paintings from the 5″ x 5″ series on display as well, which are perfect for those getting a head start on their gift shopping.

So mark your calendars!  I will be in attendance, so stop by and say hello.  October 10th from 5-8(ish) pm at Galerie Lafayette on Jefferson Street.

 

I’m Quite the Busy Bee

"Isaac" by Amy Guidry; portrait commission

Whenever I agree to do a show, or a commission, or a press release, or all of the above, it doesn’t seem overwhelming at the time. And perhaps it’s because I agree to do all of these things in a short span of time that makes it overwhelming at times. I really don’t know when to stop, though, because I’m one of those people that is always going. You know the ones. I’m going even if I’m sick. I don’t have time for germs! I’ve got paintings to finish and treadmills to run on. You get the picture. It’s just hard for me to sit still.

So maybe this helps to explain why my posts have been on hiatus recently. A small hiatus, but still, a hiatus. I’m just now catching up on things. So aside from wrapping up one show, then getting into another show (No Dead Artists), and gearing up for my next solo show (October is right around the corner!), I’ve also finished another commission piece. This is an 11″ x 14″ painting of “Isaac.” I’ve actually done two paintings of Issac, but don’t have any photos to share of the second one yet. I’ll get there eventually… Anyway, I may have to remove some work from my website before I add any of these new pieces because it’s getting to be a bit full. However, you can still see more of my work at www.AmyGuidry.com. Or in person at Galerie Lafayette next month!

Vanity Galleries

"Inner Peace?" by Amy Guidry; Copyright Amy Guidry 2009

I had a blast from the past the other day…well, usually that is associated with a good thing, but in this case, it isn’t. I never did write about this in my blog before because it just slipped my mind. Better late than never. I received an email a couple of days ago from a gallery in Santa Monica (see link provided for more info). I thought it was strange because I suddenly found myself on their mailing list, yet I had contacted them years ago (not knowing any better…keep reading) and never received emails from them before. Odd that a gallery would want to reach out after all these years of no contact. Anyway, I contacted them back when I was first starting out my painting career because I found a call for artists. Turns out they only wanted to see me if I lived in California. Strange since galleries will take you on no matter where you live. So I was looking around on the internet and found out they are a vanity gallery. Blech.  Read more proof here: http://http://gyst-ink.com/blog/?p=177 And yes, I spoke with “Heidi,” too.

Vanity galleries, as you may very well know already, require a fee (and a large one at that) from artists in order to represent them. Basically you are paying your way in. Any gallery worth its salt does not have to survive by taking money from its artists. They survive on SALES of work. If they can’t do that, something is wrong. In addition to a yearly fee, many vanity galleries also require the artist to install the show themselves, pay for promotional materials and invitations, cover all shipping costs, and do a required amount of gallery-sitting. Which begs the question…And what does the gallery do for you? As in any bad relationship, you are left doing all the work while your partner is living it up at your expense, with no real love in return. It’s best to dump the loser (or gallery…we are still talking about art here) and wait it out until the “right one” comes along.

Questions? Comments? Know of any other losers we should all avoid? Let me know!

www.AmyGuidry.com

Triskaidekafolio

“Everything’s Coming Up Roses” by Amy Guidry ; Acrylic on canvas; 40″w x 30″h; SOLD; Copyright Amy Guidry 2009

As I wait for my brother to get me a few copies of the New Orleans Gambit, I checked it out online today knowing that the review of the 13th Annual NO DEAD ARTISTS would be there. I was happy to see that my work was mentioned first in addition to the fact that I was one of a handful of artists that were mentioned from the show. What a nice surprise! The review was written by D. Eric Bookhardt and titled “Triskaidekafolio.” I had no idea if that was even a word, so thanks to the internet I found out this was Mr. Bookhardt’s take on triskaidekaphobia, which is an irrational fear of the number 13.  You can read the entire article online at http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A60495.

Be sure to visit the opening reception if you are in the New Orleans area this weekend! The show is at Jonathan Ferrara Gallery on Julia Street and will open from 6-9pm, Saturday, September 5th. But if you can’t make it and you’d like to see some of the work I have in this exhibit, including other series, visit my website at www.AmyGuidry.com.