Marsh Painting And Might Be Good News

[PETE K]

Hi all, first off what might be good news. today are art club has a small gallery (RAGS) Royal Art Gallery in the next town over. I was promoted from Ass. Gallery Director. to Gallery Director. now i'm not sure if it's a good thing. the gallery is not doing well. and i have 4 months to see if i could turn it around. I was given full rain to do as i please to do. but with no real money to do it with. well i guess will see what happens. if anyone has any suggestion i sure would be open to here them. thank you.

Now here is a painting i was working on the past two days. it's of a marsh again down the street from me. I kind of like the interesting mud that low tide look brings in. not sure how many more i will do but they are fun. it's 20/24 gesso/pumiced, tan on masonite. please C&C i have chaned some thing already. so let me know what you think.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/26-Jun-2009/131537-100_0881.jpg

[mudfish]

From one low country artist to another, I can smell the pluff mud. With no indication of how your gallery is currently run, my only suggestion would be that you have frequent turn over of the work to keep interest up, and lots of local artists. I know St. Mary's isn't the biggest place in the world. We have a city gallery and each month there is a new exhibition, a number of the local guilds have their guild shows there which promotes local interest, and local artists are invited to hang an exhibition. They also sponsor several large competitions which attracts statewide interest, all the prize money is from the entries so it doesn't cost much. Sponsor stuff for kids too & you hook the parents. The space is also rented out for classes, etc. Don't ignore the photographers & other "crafty" people not generally considered fine arts. Remember Marketing 101. If they don't know about it, they won't come.......

[Donna T]

Nice painting of the marsh, Pete. I like the shapes of the mud too. I hope you can keep the gallery going. I don't have any business wisdom to offer and I'm glad others here can help you out.

Donna

[DAK723]

I know nothing about business, but your painting is really nice!

Don

[bchlvr]

Great painting!

[water girl]

I really like the grasses along the sandy embankment.
One suggestion for the Gallery could be to rent it out to other organizations for juried shows....or rent it to a fellow member of a show. Charge a cleaning deposit, etc, on top of a weekly rent. That would bring in a few dollars.

[PETE K]

Hi Trish, thank you I don't seem to smell the pluff mud anymore i guess been around it to long. you were on to some of the idears i was thinking. the gallery wasn't ran to well. i had idears but couldn't get anything done, didn't really have a say. the whole county is quite large but few people. it in the old part of town, most everyone is around the interstate, (the new part of town) was thinking of doing some small Plein air outhings each month. to get our feet wet and plan a large one at the end of Sept or Oct. also see if we could do an art in the park kind of thing. we are going to have artist of the month for the first time in July and Aug. will pick artist Monday at our club meeting. get some fliers out to hotels and local B&Bs. a lot of tourist pass through and stay in them. may help. so far there was nothing for kids, that sounds like a very good idear, we do offer classes but it was for adults, they didn't want to do children don't know for what reason. most of the time people would come in and ask for classes for their kids. and we had nothing. we could start that also. thanks for the info. giving me mor idears to work with.

Hi Donna, thanks the shapes of the mud is what cought my eye one day a few weeks back, but to remember to get photos of it i keep missing that time of day. and to do a P/A there isn't very safe your right next to the road (hyw 40) traffic move be quite fast and there is only a cupple of feet of room. garde rail and a steep inbankment. but i got a few more yesterday so i'm most likely going o be doing a few more.

Well thank you Don, much appreciated.

Thank you Linn, haven't seen much of your work lately, it's time.

thank you Karen, if it doesnt work out that would be a great idear.

[adventureartist]

Nice painting. As to the gallery, advertising all those activities goes a long way, and free advertising is the way to go. Most papers have a specific section for "nonprofits" if that is what the gallery is a 501 (c) 3 tax free organization that's all you need to get your foot in the door of most local newspapers. You might consider a free "artwalk" night in town featuring local artists willing to open their doors and your gallery for a few hours say "First Fridays" or something like that. It generates a lot of local and tourist draw on weekends. Our towns here in Arizona combine art showings with spring and summer and fall activities in local parks or on main streets. It takes a bit of organizing and footwork to get the permits and permissions, but most small town councils are open to anything that draws people to their areas.

[CM Neidhofer]

I'm not all that familiar with how this works, but it might work....an Artists' co-op gallery? Guess it depends on how many artists you have in the area. I know of one in Grand Rapids, MI that is successful and thriving. Might not be at all what you're looking for, but a thought anyway...

http://incolor.inebraska.com/pww/acg/coopmembershipapplication2.htm

Christine

[bnoonan]

Pete - I know a little about art biz but I also know the key is to 'DELEGATE'. It's helpful to have assistance...trust me.

Oh and about your painting.

How attached are you to the tree dead center? I'm envisioning the rest of the house and the mud leading my eye into a darker shape to the left of the house instead of the tree. It's nice but it just stops my eye from flowing and I think it would be fairly easy to fix.... if you felt like it.

Stay focused and you'll succeed!

barb

[PETE K]

Hi Dru, thanks on the painting and the info. we do have a paper that gives us a small line on whats going on. if the person incharge remembers to put it in. I think she will remember more because she will be my asistant gallery director. and we will be working closer on our websight also. which we have a news letter that on from sept. so this will change aslo. I spoke to some of the shops in town today after reading this last night. thay said it would be a good idear but it's to hot out now. i think if the artist would do it it just may work heat and all. there is artist doing it every month here in Jacksonvill Fl. they had a farmers market across the street last year one Sat. a month. we did some sales not much from that. but now that stop. i guess it didn't go over real big. alot of people didn't come out to sell there. and it was free. I dont think they gave it enought of a chance to catch on either. i'm looking into this comming week about how to go about doing some art shows in parks also, let you know what happens. thanks againfor all your wonderful idears.

Hi Christine, thank you i gues i forgot to say we are a co-op gallery, by are art league. nonprofit. i think thats some of are problem. we don.t have funds to carry the gallery. and seems not enough members interested in it. for more than one reason. lately

Hi Barb, i found one yesterday and maybe another at our meeting on monday night. i hope. i couldn't put my finger on it but that area didn't care for some reason now i see why thanks alot for that insight.

[Lynne Vokatis]

pete when i was scrolling down ,i cropped the picture just above the grasses....(im not that good in photoshop...to post it....)and its just an idea....so please keep that in mind.and to me...it really made the mud shape/patterns really really pop.I like that alot...and if you cropped it there it would really show them off.what do you think???lynne

[dbjs]

This is great Pete! It reminds me a lot! about a scene in a book I read some time ago. Lovely!!

[Colorix]

Hi Pete, it is a lovely painting. The part from the grasses and down, that is, the lower 3/5 of the painting is great, and strong. The upper part is clearly receded, but maybe the transition between the grasses and what is above is a tad too abrubt. I know the lawn is quite narrow, but would it be possible to put a bit more 'oomph' on it, and its bushes? To smooth the transition.

Very good reflections in the water!

Charlie