Sheila M. Evans

There are many artists out there who are much smarter than I am. They take their completed artwork to something called a “Professional Framer,” and pick it up framed and ready to sell. I’ve heard of these creatures, these framers, working in frame shops, framing artwork for a living. I know they exist. I’ve even dreamed of hiring one. Trouble is, I’ve never thought that I could afford to have my artwork framed this way, so I have always done it myself.

I’ve changed the way I do it over time. I’ve learned to buy custom frames at wholesale, and graduated from cutting my own mats to ordering them pre-cut (once I figured out that it wasn’t that much more money, after I’ve screwed up a few mats). I had my glass cut by the frame wholesaler, too. I had dialed in a pretty efficient, cost-effective system for myself. Then, I had the brilliant idea that I should upgrade my framing. Read more

After what seemed like an eternity I am finally PAINTING! In what seems to have become my New Year tradition, I am out of the old studio and into the new. The new studio isn’t completely (or even nearly) together yet, but with shows coming up, it was time to stop renovating and start my real work again. Feels good.

I’ve just sent out my second art fair application, now that I have rounded out my jury images with Moondrop No.2, left. My first application didn’t go so well, unfortunately. My Arch Nemesis, Cherry Creek, has given me the raspberry once again. Curse you, Cherry Creek! I know what you’re up to… letting me in once so I’ll keep applying. Oh well, it’s a long drive to Denver, and you don’t provide electricity, and there are lots of other shows in the sea. (Harumph.)

But, onward! 2011 is shaping up to be a great year. I’ve already got two fairs on the schedule (Artfest and Sun Valley) along with an exhibit next month at a private club here in Spokane, the salon in France, and two new galleries in Oregon to keep me busy. And, I just signed on to do Eye 4 Art at Mead again this year.

Check back in the coming months for more on all of those, new shows on the schedule, and progress reports on the new work space. Happy New Year!

Looking for something new? Check out my Studio Sale page. I decided to change it up a bit—instead of older, matted work I will be selling all-new, framed, ready-to-hang miniature pastels. The pastels are all 6″ x 6″, framed in a silver plein-air frame just like Peachberries 3 (left). The frame’s outer dimensions are 11″x 11″. The glazing is done with nearly-invisible anti-reflective glass. These pieces are great alone or in groups of two or three. I offer a small discount on multiple pieces—contact me if you are interested.

Sorry—Peachberries 3 is sold, but there are several other pieces available and I will paint more soon.

Take me to the Studio Sale!

Yes, in case you were starting to wonder (I was!), I do, in fact, still make art. Things have been beyond crazy here, which I will explain in a later post. Suffice it to say that I have added “general contractor” to my list of semi- and/or un-paid occupations alongside “artist,” “framer” and “traveling huckster.” BUT… I finally forced myself to go clean up my studio and make something before I drove myself and everybody completely batsh*t. In the nick of time, I might add. The result: Aviary No.1 Study, above. Whew.

 Art and Glass Fest at Arbor Crest is this weekend. I’ll be in my usual spot right by the entrance, with some new work in both oil and pastel, plus a few “classics” for a change of scenery (I spend a lot of time looking at my paintings all summer!)

Arbor Crest is a beautiful winery, and the weekend promises to be beautiful as well. I hope to see you there!

Art & Glass Fest at Arbor Crest
When: August 21-22, 2010
Where: Arbor Crest Wine Cellars, 4705 N Fruit Hill Rd, Spokane, WA
Hours: Saturday – Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
What I’m bringing: Pastels and Oils

So that’s it for Sun Valley. As always it was beautiful, fun and a bit sleepy.

Luckily it was a bit better for me than last year, when I bought a double booth space and seriously regretted it. This year I decided to minimize costs and make the most of a single space by going up. I extended the tent, and finally put to use the extension walls I bought from another artist at this very show.

Problem was, I bought the walls so long ago I didn’t remember exactly what came with them. More to the point, I forgot. I quickly realized as I went to put up the first extension that a crucial piece of hardware was missing. We looked in the box, and found a single item rolling around the bottom—a steel pin with a ridge around the middle. Unfortunately, I needed eight. At that moment I could picture them, in their little case on a shelf in our basement, ten hours northwest.

There was NO WAY I was going to have gone to all the trouble to raise the tent and not use those walls, so we set off to find a replacement in a town without a hardware store. My husband Paul was less than thrilled about this. It turned out to be with good reason.

After a frustrating time looking through densely crowded aisles, he finally spotted some turnbuckles at the local drug/hardware/variety store that appeared to be about the circumference of our pin, except with a hexagonal profile. Thinking the ridges might make the turnbuckles a bit too big, he picked up a file to take off any extra material. I thought they would fit just fine as-is but bought the file, just in case. TWO HOURS of “just in case” later Paul finally finished filing the ridges off of seven, much-tougher-than-they-looked aluminum tubes. The walls went up.

And after that very long, hot and trying setup, Paul had the grace to tell me the booth looked “awesome.” Thank you, Paul. Your patience is epic.

p.s.

Later that day we learned that as much as our setup sucked, it could have been worse. Our friend Jody, a jeweler, realized halfway through setup that she had forgotten a crucial part of her display. She actually drove home to get it before the show opened the next morning—four hours each direction. What a life.

The Bellevue Artsfair starts this Friday and I couldn’t be happier. It’s been a long break between shows for summer, so I’m anxious to get back. And Bellevue is one of the best!

This year I’m thrilled to be showing my oil paintings along with my pastels for the first time in Bellevue. And I will have a lot of them after I take down the Metamorphosis show from the Kress Gallery on Wednesday. Show weeks are always busy, but this is especially crazy… after spending today framing and delivering my Alice in Wonderland piece to the Tinman Gallery, I have to take down shows at Pacific Garden Design tomorrow and the Kress on Wednesday before loading the car for the show. Plus the usual million little pre-show details like price tags and artwork lists. And covering my entire studio in plastic so my upstairs neighbor can sand his floors.

SO. Anyway. If you’re in the Seattle/Bellevue area this Friday-Saturday-Sunday, come by the Artsfair! It’s an amazing show and I will have more new and different work than ever before. The details:

Bellevue Arts Museum ArtsFair
When: July 23 – 25, 2010
Where: Bellevue Square parking garage, 510 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA
Hours: Friday – Saturday, 9:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m., Sunday 9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
What I’m bringing: Pastels and Oils
Booth # J-08

And now for something else completely different… an Alice-in-Wonderland-inspired piece titled Why Not? which I’ve just completed for the Tinman Gallery‘s second annual Oz-vitational. Huh? Well, Year One was an Oz-vitational. This year all of the artwork will be inspired by the childrens’ classic, Alice in Wonderland. (Much to the relief of the artists who participated in Year One, I’m sure. Fresh inspiration!)

I’m embarrassed to admit that I had never read Alice in Wonderland nor even seen a movie version until receiving this assignment. I tried both several times as a child and never quite made it through for one reason or another. Luckily for me, a fresh movie came out on DVD just in time for my research. Better still, this particular movie had a CGI Tweedledum and Tweeedledee played by/modeled after the hilarious Matt Lucas, from the seriously funny Little Britain USA.

Anyway, back to my point if I had one. I did stop laughing just long enough to catch an approximately four-second reference to Alice and the Red Queen painting white roses red, and there was my idea. Roses dripping with shiny red paint, forming the shape of the Red Queen’s heart surrounded by white roses yet to be painted. This piece and “Alice” works by many wonderful artists will be available for purchase at the show.

The Alice in Wonderland Invitational runs from July 30 through August 21. Opening reception is from 5 – 9 p.m. Friday, August 30.

The Tinman Gallery is located in Spokane’s historic Garland District at 811 West Garland Avenue.