Brand 36 Show – coming fall 2007
“My Offering – My Confession” – watercolor on paper 22 x 30
I got notification today that my painting (above) has been accepted into Brand 36, The Brand Library and Art Center’s national “Works on Paper” show. Some of you who are regular readers of this blog might recognize the painting as very similar to Ofrenda, which I painted on Yupo in November of 2006. That small painting served as a starting point for this larger work. There were 650 entries, so I’m very honored to have my work chosen for the exhibition beginning Saturday, October 6 and continuing through November 17.
I am very excited about this opportunity to show my work in a new (to me) venue. The theme of the show is “Secrets and Confessions” – that of which you do not speak. I didn’t have anything particularly juicy to confess in an artistic form – other than my unnatural addiction to buying art supplies, which is probably rather common among artists, and not at all salacious. Because the show encompasses the time of the year in which the Dia de Los Muertos falls – I was inspired by the idea of someone visiting the cemetery and to make a confession as an offering. Who is she confessing to? And what is she saying? I will leave that story to your own imagination.
It’s been a very exciting few days for me. Yesterday I enjoyed my first group exhibition and sale with the California Art Club and two of the five paintings I brought found homes with collectors. More about that event tomorrow … time for me to get back to painting …
Brenda Yarborough
July 23, 2007
Congratulations!!! It’s a very moving piece and acceptance into this show is well deserved. It’s just amazing how rapidly your art has progressed and the recognition you are getting is fantastic!!!
Casey
July 24, 2007
Karen, I’m so excited for you! Congratulations – you really deserved this!
Diahn
July 24, 2007
Congratulations, Karen!! How Wonderful!!!
Lydia
July 24, 2007
Congratulations!
Susan
July 24, 2007
Karen, Your news is TOO exciting! I’m so very happy to see you, dear internet familiar, enjoying the beginnings of the fruition of your talent and generous spirit.
Ian Harrison
July 24, 2007
Congratulations, well deserved I’d say. What a stunning painting.
Regards Ian
Linda T
July 24, 2007
Awesome painting!! Congratulations on getting into the show! A well-deserved honor for you!!
Annie
July 24, 2007
Congrats, Karen. And this painting has all the rich color and sense of mystery of ” Ofrenda.” It is inspiring to see you work with these themes of Offering and Confession and continue to explore and
develop them with such excitement.
Jana Bouc
July 24, 2007
The painting is amazing! Such vibrant colors and the composition draws your eye in and it doesn’t want to leave. Congratulations on the national show! You continue to inspire me with how your daily practice has meant so much growth…but I think along with practice, your talent and vision (the ability to really see) and skill at composition has a lot to do with it too. Do you think your years of film production helps your sense of composition? Sometimes I look at movies or even TV commercials and notice how intentionally each scene is composed and how they lead or direct the eye.
wendy
July 24, 2007
Lovely! Reminds me of the Garden of Good and Evil. I recently went to an exchibiton and the paintings left me cold. I think a picture should evoke a memory/feelong/story/imaginative place as well as have an interesting use of the medium. This one succeeds!
w.
Karen
July 24, 2007
Thank you, everyone.
Jana, yes I do think that composition is something I’ve developed a bit of a feeling for through the years. While we were dating my husband taught me to shoot photos – I’d never had much training before. Suddenly I could see things differently and learned to “frame up” a scene in the camera, following the general guidelines of putting the subject on a line of thirds (not in the center), etc. Essentially, the rules are the same in painting – it applies to composition of all kinds. Also, I see my painting as just an extension of my love of being a storyteller – which is what documentary is all about. The medium might change but the purpose is the same: to entertain, intrigue and tell a story. Maybe the story is just “what’s over that horizon?” or “what is that man thinking? – but sometimes it’s more complex as in this one, which is very stylized and draws on different cultural and mythic themes.
Wendy – I agree with you completely and I’m glad that you found it intriguing!
Shirley
July 25, 2007
Karen,
This watercolor is spectacular! As much as I like your landscapes, I always am drawn to those you have done that have life in them – the far away animal or the distant figure in the landscape paintings stand out in my memory. And the colors in this are incredible. I saw it several days ago and just had to find my way back now that I have time to leave a comment and a huge CNGRATULATIONS!
Shirley
Lynn
July 25, 2007
Congratulations, Karen. This is a gorgeous piece, and you deserve the recognition and honor.
Linda
July 25, 2007
Congratulations! What exciting and well deserved news! (and further congrats on your sales at the show, too!)
Joan Y
July 29, 2007
What an honor. Congratulations Karen! I can see why they chose your painting. The mood of the painting, the downcast eyes of the woman, the colors, all perfect for the theme. Great job.
Sherie
August 5, 2007
I know this is late in coming, but CONGRATULATIONS! It is an exciting time. I can see why they chose your work.
Nancy
August 25, 2007
Karen, Kudos to you! A wonderful acheivement to be selected out out so many entries. This watercolor has such power. The colors are glorious and the luminous effect is well captured. It conveys the theme of “secret” very well and leaves the view pondering…. in front of your painting….lingering there…. which is good, oh so very good!