the 2022 Incognito Art Show.
A few days later I got a package that contained 3 A5 sized cards and some instructions.
“The identity of each artist will be anonymous when the artwork is exhibited. Only once purchased will the artist’s identity be revealed on the reverse side of the work.”
Who is it for?
“In 2021, the incognito art show donated $70000 to Studio A, an arts company that provides professional development for artists with intellectual disabilities.” see here
They want to do the same this year. I figured that is a good cause and a fun little project, so I under-painted the 3 cards with coloured gesso in preparation to contribute.
(I then had to iron the back of the cards and while they were still warm pressed them between two wooden boards because they curled a bit with the paint. ) This means that I have to tape the cards firmly down while I paint them.
what next?
feeling pretty random at 6:15 in the morning I’m thinking a bit of fruit, or a glass bottle…
I do realise as I’m writing this that I’m not being as anonymous as I maybe I should be but…it’s a big world out there and I have a small audience so I figure it’s a “two birds” kind of thing.
“Save some, spend some and give some away.”
I can’t remember where I first heard it but that’s a philosophy for money that I learnt when I was really young and I apply it to my time as well - “time is money’ according to "Advice to a Young Tradesman", an essay by Benjamin Franklin, and in a way I see myself as a kind of tradesman because I work with my hands building things ( I kind of build a painting with layers and layers of paint, and I sometimes build my own supports to paint on).
“Save some, spend some and give some away” if applied to my work is to sell some, to keep some and to give some away - is also kind of applies to what I paint - I paint some commissions (other peoples’ ideas), or ideas that I will share in a workshop/class. I paint some ideas that interest me just for me without intention of selling or using in any way (like studies in my sketchbook, or of my children and friends and for gifts), and I paint some things specifically for putting out there for sale and/or exhibiting or entering into art prizes.
-
Settling on a piece of fruit that I’ve painted before and a limited pallet that I’m familiar with, I make myself a hot cup of tea and prepare to make a start…wondering if I should put the timer on…wondering if I should put on some music or a podcast…wondering why I make things more complicated than they actually are…wondering if I should delete that last bit…
40 minutes…
including procrastination. Now I’m thinking about the next - animal…some kind of bird maybe?
So now I must choose an image, wash my brushes and pallet and choose a new pallet, make some more tea…maybe feed the chickens and put on a load of washing…decide what to listen to (or turn off the white noise and listen to the birds and occasional car going by),
and that makes 3…
now I will just let them sit and cure for a day or two so they don’t curl when I un-stick them from the boards, pop them in the supplied packaging and send them on their merry way.
…and post this blog.