The sunshine feels so good--I'm ready to paint outside again! The Artists in Action program was a great experience. I've got artwork hanging around town. I’m planning something different for April. And I just got invited to come to another artist residency. Read on…
Artists in Action Residency
Last month I moved my art studio into the main gallery at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center, in Dowell, MD, as part of the Artists in Action Program. I only had a week there, but I was amazingly productive during my brief stay. I used daytime source photos to create nighttime paintings. In cinema it’s a technique called “day for night," and it's a process American painter Frederic Remington used 100+ years ago to create his nocturnes. I met visiting artists from near and far and had fun talking with visitors about my experiments. Thank you to everyone who came to see me! (The 2 photos on the left are by Joann Foltz.)
Commission Snow Hill
Sadly, 2018 was the 15th and final Paint Snow Hill annual plein air (outdoor) painting event. It was my 12th year! I am not quite ready to kick the habit. So I will be traveling to paint in and around Snow Hill, Maryland, in late April.
There's no 'Wet Paint' Show & Sale at the end of the weekend, so I am going to take on a maximum of three (3) commissioned paintings in Snow Hill this year. Full information about purchasing a commission is here. If you are interested, watch your inbox next week. And let me know if you have questions.
Featured Artists at JPPM
During the month of March, the gift shop at Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum has expanded into a neighboring room (to the left of the gift shop), and I have 5 paintings in the exhibition. The shop at JPPM is full of beautiful artwork, crafts, and jewelry all made by Maryland artists. With Easter & Mother’s Day fast approaching, I guarantee that you’ll find something meaningful for the special women in your life there.
Salon des Refuses
I have 4 paintings in the current show at Annmarie Garden, Annmarie's Salon des Refuses, up through April 22nd. Here's a photo of me on opening night with one of my paintings: the colorful jumble in the upper right corner (photo by Pam Teague). And for more info on the show, follow this link.
Lacawac Artists Residency
I have just been invited to participate in the artists residency at Lacawac Sanctuary near Lake Ariel, PA, in August. There I will be continuing my investigation of nighttime painting and Frederic Remington. I'll share more on this as we get closer.
Sign Up
The most efficient way to find out about these goings-ons is to subscribe to my email list. If you are relying on social media to keep you posted, don't. Facebook and Instagram change their rules and algorithms all the time. To thank you for signing up, I will send you a 10% off coupon to use on your next purchase in my Etsy shop. Sign up here.
Sadly, 2018 was the 15th and final Paint Snow Hill annual plein air (outdoor) painting event. It was my 12th year! I am not quite ready to kick the habit. So I will be traveling to paint in and around Snow Hill, Maryland, in late April.
There's no 'Wet Paint' Show & Sale at the end of the weekend, so I am going to take on a limited number of painting commissions for that trip. I'm calling it "Commission Snow Hill." When I say "limited number of painting commissions," I mean three (3). I will make a maximum of three (3) commissioned paintings in Snow Hill this year.
Here's how I will make them available: * First, I will offer the commissions by email to my collectors on Monday, April 1st. * Next, if any are left, I will offer them to all of my newsletter subscribers on Tuesday, April 2nd. * Finally, remaining commissions will be made available to the general public on Wednesday, April 3rd, in my Etsy shop.
THIS OFFER IS NOW CLOSED. I AM NO LONGER ACCEPTING COMMISSIONS. Available paintings are in my Etsy shop.
Q&A
* Why should I commission a painting?
Well, it's exciting and fun to commission a painting! You will get to see photos of the scene that inspired the painting, the preliminary sketches, and the painting-in-progress. It's a behind-the-scenes glimpse into my studio and the making of your artwork. It's being made just for you!
* What is the cost?
It's $350.00 US. That is my regular sales price for an 8 x 8 inches framed painting. (I hate when people bury the price waaaaaay at the bottom of the info sheet, like they are embarrassed to tell you.)
* What does that price include?
You will get an 8 x 8 inches acrylic landscape painting on a wood panel mounted in a custom black floater frame. The painting will be signed on the front and back, and titled, dated, and numbered on back. It will be wired and ready to hang. If you live in the US, then the purchase price also includes USPS Priority shipping.
* What do your frames look like?
Below are 2 examples of my paintings framed in custom floater frame with a black finish. This is my preferred frame style. Yours will look something like this.
* I am not interested in commissioning a Snow Hill painting, but I would like you to paint something else for me, like my grandma or my new house. Can you do that?
No. This opportunity is unusual because I do not regularly take commissions. If you would like a custom painting of your grandma or your new home or anything else you love, please let me know. I have a couple of friends who welcome commissions and do breathtakingly gorgeous work. And I am glad to refer you.
* When will the painting be made?
These paintings will sometime between April 25-27, 2019, in and around Snow Hill, Maryland. To be clear, they have not been painted yet.
* What exactly are you going to paint pictures of?
Well, I'm thinking that there are two possibilities for commissions:
1) You give me a general suggestion. Tell me what you love about Snow Hill. For example, your mom used to live on Morris Street, and this would make a great Mother's Day surprise. Or you have fond memories of hiking on Assateague Island as a child. Or you've always been fascinated with working boats. Or nothing says Delmarva like flat expanses of farmland. Or, oh, those Snow Hill church steeples!
2) You love my recent work and the paintings I've made at Paint Snow Hill in the past, so you trust me. And part of the fun is being completely surprised and delighted by what I come up with this time. Will I paint the canoe shop or the cannery? Will I venture over to Berlin or spend a morning visiting baby goats? In this scenario, you are basically buying a painting right off my easel. And I will need to know your selection by 11:59pm ET on Saturday, April 27, 2019.
But... 3) Please not, a portrait of your cat Fluffy sunning herself on the front porch next to a pot of pink flowers, but make the porch yellow and Fluffy's eyes open but looking off to one side not straight out at the viewer. Also not, this is my address for you to come paint a house portrait but with the trees in full bloom and in afternoon light, even if it's raining when you're here, and make the shutters more blue than green. These requests are quite different (in my mind) from general subject suggestions. If your commission request is too specific, too art-directed, I will issue you a full refund and direct you to one of my commission-loving friends, who will make you much happier, I promise.
* How can I see what you're painting in Snow Hill?
I will have limited internet connectivity during the trip. I plan to post images to Instagram and Facebook (follow Barb Mowery Art on either platform) throughout the trip. If you have a particular aversion to social media, I could probably email images to you. But bear in mind that I will be doing all of my posting and messaging from my phone, which is less comfortable and comprehensive than working from my desktop at home. I believe that means I am old.
* I have a coupon code--may I use it for this?
Yes, you may!
* How do I join your email list?
Just follow THIS LINK, and I will send you a 10% off coupon for your next purchase.
* How do I know if I'm a collector?
I consider a collector someone who owns a piece of my artwork, either because you've purchased it or received it as a gift. Also if you have purchased my artwork to give to someone as a gift, or if you are another artist with whom I've traded paintings, I would consider you a collector. That said, I do not know the names of every collector, especially if you purchased my artwork at a gallery or event. If you are a collector who is interested in "Commission Snow Hill," please send me an email to barb [at] barbmowery [dot] com (or leave a comment on this blog post) to make sure I have you on the correct list. And if you are a collector who is not already subscribed to my mailing list, you will need to do so HERE or expressly give me permission to add you.
* When will the painting be delivered to me?
If you're on the Eastern Shore, I can make arrangements to hand-deliver the artwork to you on Sunday, April 28, 2019. Otherwise, I will ship it to you by Friday, May 10, 2019. I use USPS Priority Mail, so all artwork is fully insured and has a tracking number. If you live outside of the US, we can talk about shipping options and costs.
* What if I don't like anything you paint in Snow Hill this year?
Yeesh, a grim possibility. When I get home from my painting trip, I plan to spend May working in my studio using my source photos and sketches from the trip. As a back-up, I could offer you "dibs" on one of these Snow Hill studio pieces. But this can't go on forever. You would need to make a selection by May 31, 2019. Sound fair?
* Where is Snow Hill?
It's right in the heart of the Delmarva Peninsula. Check it out.
* What was the annual Paint Snow Hill event?
This is a flimsy excuse for me to link to my video-love-letter to Paint Snow Hill that I made in 2017. Please pardon the fact that I know nothing about sound mixing.
* I would like to commission a Snow Hill painting.
Great! Follow THIS LINK to my shop.
* I have more questions.
Please ask away in the comments or send me an email -- barb [at] barbmowery [dot] com.
Charlene asked me to embroider an image of the Eiffel Tower on a t-shirt to be a Christmas gift for her friend Jenn--who LOVES Paris. Now I have never been to Paris, but I also don't think I have ever really looked closely at the Eiffel Tower before. So my first step was a little internet research.
A few useful images later, and I could begin laying out my sketch in tailor's chalk.
And several hundred tiny stitches later, a shirt was born. (Thank you, Robb, for being my model!)
Remember how I was pressuring you into buying a rain barrel from
my Lions Club is selling rain barrels? This is what they look like when they arrive at your house:
