It's been slow going due to my personal travel and the cold nights. I have another 48 x 60 ready to receive paint, and hopefully I'll get in this Friday during the warmer daylight hours. My wife starts her rehearsal schedule this week, so I bought some white ink and black arches paper to be able to do some work at home.
I'll hear from the ArtFields venue this week and hopefully get some logistical details at that point.
The day job has me completely stressed to the point of losing sleep. Combined with not being able to get into the studio, my emotions and anxieties are close to the surface. But I have everything ready to go in the studio when I get that break of time and climate. I basically work outside, which is why I love the summers. If I can move some work in next week's show, I hope to begin some of the construction projects which will help me combat the cold months. I've noticed some discoloration of the whites if I try to paint below 40 degrees.
I'm excited about the ink drawings, -excited to embark on a period of drawing; period. I was looking through book of Richard Serra's drawings this weekend and they are superb. He is an artist who constantly draws, and it shows in everything he does. It's our brains' lifeline as artists.
This work is getting stronger. I finally feel I have the blacks right, which took the better part of year's worth of effort. I'm anxious to see where it takes me this year.
Artfields notification
the mad hours; oil on canvas, 108" x 76", Rico '12
official entry to Artfields 2013
As I mentioned in a previous post, I submitted work to Artfields, an interesting and ambitious project in an eastern SC community called Lake City. It's potentially something to watch, both from the standpoint of how small, agricultural-based communities and towns are adapting to the ever-shifting cultural and fiscal landscape as well as how to build a respectable regional art show from the ground up.
I want this to go well. It's in my best interest that it does, and I love an underdog in the art world. So the questions going forward are, can a tiny rural community actually pull this off? Will they get regional and national press to bolster their efforts? Will they be taken seriously as a legitimate arts festival instead of a provincial crafts fair? Tough questions, all.
As for me, I'm truly grateful to be included. I really want this work to get in front of people of all walks of life. This is a nice acknowledgement after years of flying beneath the radar in this state, while simultaneously continuing to receive critical accolades both coasts. I'm glad my work will be seen. This is my year, the ascent is already under way.
#secretshow
I made the decision to let some of the paintings from "the 50" be shown in a commercial gallery in SC. I dedicated all of 2011 to a very specific exploration of color and technique in the studio and "the50" are the result. At the suggestion of a friend from the West Coast, I hung all of them in an enormous grid in my studio; and I have to give it to her, it was fairly magnificent.
The work has been stored ever since, and at the end of 2011 I was already moving toward the black and white work that I'm doing now and plan to continue indefinately. So these paintings are unique to me, and likely to never be repeated. I've given one gallery exclusive access to the entire cache, the works have been selected, and they will be shown in Greenville, SC in March. I decided rather than to promote the show in the normal way of a flier, that I would take a very different approach and not tell anyone where it is until the last minute. So the idea of the "secret show" was hatched; replete with hashtag.
Another enticement for this show is that it is a chance to pick up one of my paintings for 3 figures. Think of it as akin to a low IPO on art futures, and don't wish you had gotten it when. So follow #secretshow for details and more teasers, including previews of the works included.
Follow me on Twitter as @ChristopherRico
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