A Full Days Work

so yesterday i put in a full days work (i mean a FULL days work: 9am to midnight!)

it was installation day in the VineArts Gallery. we install an art exhibit about 4-5 times a year with the shows running usually a couple or so months. each show has a theme and the artists are required to submit their work (with artist statements) by deadline dates. the artwork is then judged as to thematic congruity and theological integrity (the gallery is inside a Boise Vineyard church...so we do have some guidelines as to content). we don't judge on artistic skill. any age can submit. and artists do not need to be a part of the church.

the deadline date for submissions was on Wednesday. we had the jury day on Thursday and then on Friday we installed the show. i have a team of faithful helpers (i call them Gallery Grunts) who take time out of their schedules to join me in hanging each of the shows. i couldn't possibly install a show without them. they are my hands and feet and sometimes even my brain as we work together to bring what at first appears to be a palette of artworks that differ in size, medium, and style...and create one fluid exhibit that speaks the theme and flows aesthetically. there are so many details to handle to hang a show and i am so grateful for my Grunts!

launch day for this new exhibit "Transformation", is this Sunday. the opening reception is from 12:30pm to 1:30pm. it's a chance to meet the artists and view the artwork. we will have refreshments for all those who come and a band will be playing live music. the show will be up till the beginning of April.

so once we finished up the installation (which was about 4pmish) i needed to head over to the venue that i would be painting in the evening. the Visual Arts Collective is a venue that houses an art gallery with a bar and an area with stage that is set up for events (like concerts and theatrical productions). i had the wonderful chance to work last night with my long time friend Jerry Fee. he is a musician and has a real heart to create benefit concerts. so the night was filled with 4 bands (including his) and i painted to songs by 3 of the bands. part of the ticket price benefited a local charity and tickets holders had a chance to win the paintings i would be creating throughout the night.

this was my first opportunity to paint like this in a venue outside of the church. the crowd seemed very receptive to art being created during the music. each time i was to paint there seemed to be a little crowd that would form around me to watch as i quickly painted to the rhythm of the songs.

earlier in the week i had prepped the 3 canvases in my studio. like i've blogged...doing "performance art" is a new thing for me, but it's something i've always wanted to do and am enjoying. i hope to get to the point where i could actually paint something from start to finish during the length of one song...or even throughout a set of songs. Jerry and i talked a little bit about the possibility of some more future events that we could do together. but for this show i prepped the paintings in my studio ahead of time (doing the main backgrounds) so that while i was actually painting at the show during the specified song, i would just add in the final touches and people could watch as i did this. each painting corresponds with a song that the bands were playing at that moment.

as you know, concerts tend to run long into the night (especially ones that have multiple bands) so the show ran till about midnight. i've always been a bit of a band groupie when it comes to my friends who are musicians. so it was a fun experience to actually be part of the show (set up/perform/take down) along with all of the bands. i enjoyed meeting the band members and hanging out. i was also really blessed by some of my friends & family who turned out for the event...it was nice to see some familiar faces amidst the crowd. all in all it was a great experience.

i've included some photos here of me painting, of Jerry singing, and of the 3 paintings i created.

photo taken by J.D.