Thanks to all who came out for the spring open studios! Boy what a long day it was, but beer and cheese helps me cope in that respect. Also much thanks to Dott Schneider for assisting in the studio-a-rama. Gave me time to get a free massage down the hall during the event! Met some fun new arty farty people and endured some provincial busy bodies, but that’s how it rolls here in the land of Cleve. At least nothing got stolen like at the last event!
The best was the guy who said I was lying in my titles and said my smaller portraits were done in acrylic and not oil, because he could tell. Also, the amount of parents dissuading their children from buying art, even $15 fine art prints, was alarming. Kids always seem to go nuts over my work, but I guess the parents are either cheap or just hardwired in a way I don’t understand; your talking to a woman who grew up with David Miretsky drawings in her bedroom, and some twisted early 20th Century Russian art throughout the home. The whole day I was offered money for the free crappy store bought cupcakes on my desk (one lady tried to give me $5 for one!), but buying the child a print was out of the question. Art = Bad, Sugar = Good.
But, at least several people got to see work in person vs. online, and the question asked constantly was how do I get everything so flat and smooth. I guess I never really thought about it, so it is nice for people to study work up close. The newest surreal flowers got the biggest reaction I think — yay!
I didn’t take many photos, but here are a few…
My friend’s son sent me a Flat Stanley, so he’s hanging out with these harlequins I’m painting.
Cupcakes and cookies that people thought was either “installation art”, or were for sale at inflated prices. I should have just sold the damn things. Art Girl Bake Sale! Actually I never thought much of cupcakes, and now they gross me out for good after staring at these buggers for 7 hours straight. The psychedelic cookies were good, however.
Cheese!
People and stuff
Dott thinks Shannon’s knitting needles are metal!
These broads were serious! The bargain bin of yarn became a feeding frenzy. There were a few times that shit got real and women were about to fight like a sale at Barney’s or something. Don’t fuck with women when it comes to yarn, I’ve witnessed this at a few open studios already, they will get nasty I’m telling ‘ya!
Arty Farty 
With Cheese, Flat Stanley, Yarn Broads and Cheese, how could it have not been dubbed a success?
Frankly, I thought your “installation piece” was VERY Walmart chic!
I was called up to show my paintings at the last minute for a studio tour, as several artists had “pulled out.” Figured out why too late, it was a space with loud rock musicians who never took a break, I wasn’t expecting to sell anything, but I didn’t even get a chance to talk with anyone about my work.
Really, you’re right, they come for the cupcakes, but it’s funny they thought the cupcakes were art. Seems like every kid in the neighborhood who could squeeze toothpaste on an empty soda can was getting rave reviews, while my carefully thought out, beautifully executed paintings languished like a pile of old laundry people only glanced at. It was so demoralizing, I seriously considered giving up painting altogether. I think I’ll just give up Open Studio Tours. My plumber has paid more serious attention to my paintings, and we have had several intelligent discussions about them as well.
I am new to wordpress. I was reading your blog for several hours (it’s fantastic, great information about absolutely everything, great pictures) before I realized I’d seen your work before. I saved the magazine High Fructose, 2007, still have it, because I wanted to look up the website that went with your advertisement for illustration work.
Strange world, isn’t it?