Sheila M. Evans

Artfest

When: May 29 – 31, 2009

Where: Coeur d’Alene Park, 2nd & Chestnut, Spokane, WA 

Hours: Friday 12 p.m. – 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

What I’m bringing: Pastels and Oils

Booth #47 (fourth row from Second Ave. facing north, toward the east end of the show.)

Finally, it’s the first week of my official show season. Artfest (Spokane, WA) starts on Friday. I’m finishing up my framing, varnishing oil paintings, making price tags, doing those last-minute organizing things that I never seem to finish, and hoping I still remember how to back up a trailer. Two days to setup! Whoo-hoo!

Above, a photo from last year’s Artfest. This year I’m in booth #47. Hope to see many of you there!

Over the weekend I was asked to participate in the Art Spirit Gallery’s 11th Annual Small Artworks Invitational this coming December. I realize this is extra-advance notice, but I wanted to mention it because I have always loved the gallery. And, small work definitely fits with the theme of the moment: after spending Monday matting and packaging a basketful of miniature pastels, yesterday I framed a whole stack of small works in anticipation of upcoming shows, including Cathedral Study, left.

Back to the original topic, the Art Spirit Gallery is a beautiful contemporary art gallery in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, a resort town about half an hour from where I live. The gallery represents a who’s-who list of the most respected artists in the area, so I am honored to have some work there if even just for one group show. The 11th Annual Small Artworks Invitational runs from December 4th through the 31st, 2009. The Art Spirit Gallery is located at 415 Sherman Avenue, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

With my first show of the season only two weeks away, I’ve been spending some time on my traditional last-minute activities: framing and miniature pastels. Actually not so much with the framing, as it is not exactly my favorite thing to do. So I’m procrastinating a bit. But in a good way.

Anyone who has been in my booth at one of my shows has probably seen the basket of miniature pastels on my desk. I’ve been making these for a few years now. They are tiny, either 4″ x 6″ or 6″ x 9″, matted and ready to pop into a standard-size frame. I started because I wanted to offer original art that would be accessible to just about anyone. Not everybody comes to an art fair having budgeted for a major work of art, and not everyone has room for one. But if someone walks into my space and likes the art, this way they can take home something handmade and original without digging too deeply into their budget or their wall space. (I did try offering reproductions for about a minute and a half, but this is much more fun.)

So, every year about this time I spend a week replenishing my miniature basket. I love it. The pieces are simple and fairly quick to make. Plus it means it’s almost time to get out there and start the summer!

(Hazy Day, above, is one of this year’s crop of miniatures. It is 6″ x 9″.)

It’s been a short week in the studio but I have managed to paint a few pastels. Hot off the drawing board is this one, Dancing Half Moon Study. It’s another small piece destined to become the sketch for a large pastel, which I will begin first thing next week. I’d been struggling for a few days to work out a new composition, then this came together rather suddenly. I love the motion in it, and the shapes reminded me simultaneously of a crescent moon, ballet slippers on point and a standing-balance yoga pose. The title is a combination of all three. 

Meanwhile the art fair preparations continue. Artfest (Spokane, WA) begins three weeks from today! Most of the hard work is done but I’ve been making life easier for future me with some labor-saving treats. “Treats” include things like built-in shims for my Pro Panel walls and a wireless credit card terminal. I’ve been coveting a terminal for some time now and today I made the leap into the 21st century (or technically the late 20th). Special thanks to Pro Panels and Teamac for their help with the shims and the wireless terminal, respectively. Both are great companies and once again, neither employs me in any capacity. They are just good people.

I’m making good on my promise to spend more time in the studio painting, most recently working on some more of my hydrangeas. Rubystar Study, a small sketch for a larger pastel, is my first attempt at working with a now-fading reddish-pink hydrangea that I bought several months ago. These red hydrangea pastels have been a great opportunity to dig deeper into the beautiful rich dark reds in my Ludwig darks set. I’ve been trying to find reds like these for years with no luck, and I have no idea how I would have done this pastel with out them.

It feels odd to be talking about painting flowers. I really do not think of myself as a floral artist. I rarely paint actual flowers, and my paintings are not typical still-life type compositions, nor are they particularly cheerful, traditional, or anything else that comes to mind when I think of floral art. I was pleasantly amused when one of my paintings was described as “creepy” by a Sausalito customer (as she was buying the painting). “Mysterious” is another label I like for my work.  All of which is probably why I spent the better part of two days harumphing after being referred to as a floral artist over the weekend. 

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