Win- Win Situation- Artist as Collector

South Florida based artist, Maggie Ruley is this week's guest blogger for our Artist as Collector Series.

Bromeliad, Coconuts and Lime, 1998
acrylic on canvas
20" x 16"
©2013JimSalem

I bought this painting at a benefit years ago.  A local potter, Jay Gogin, had been selected to study in Japan with a famous Japanese artist, and friends threw a benefit to help raise money for his expenses.  Jim Salem donated a painting and I knew right away when I saw it, that this was the piece I wanted to buy.  

It was one of those win-win situations.  I got a wonderful painting and I helped a fellow artist.  

 Jim is an amazing painter and a wonderful instructor.  I have taken classes with him for years.  "Bromeliad, coconuts and limes" is one of his demo paintings.  He starts each class with a half hour demonstration and it is amazing what he can accomplish in that time.  Finished works fetch high prices, and I was able to acquire this one at a very reasonable one.  

He still teaches and he and his partner have their own art gallery- Cocco- Salem in Key West, Florida.  Jim is very generous in both his art instruction and in his daily life.  

I am proud to be able to say "Oh yes-  I own a Salem"

Maggie Ruley is a painter and potter inspired by her beautiful tropical surroundings in Key West, Florida. (Lucky lady)

Postcard to Myself - a Tie Breaker

A big thank you to all of you who cast your vote in Your Help Please for which image to choose for the card for my upcoming exhibition at the Siegel JCC ArtSpace in Wilmington, DE.  

It was almost a 3 -way tie with your compelling comments on this blog, email and on my FB Page on why you voted for the one that you did.

What I decided to do was create a post card for each one in SendOutCards and mail it to myself (!) That way I could see which one would work best in a postcard size and format.

Even then it was hard to choose, but I did, and the winner is...

Kaleidoscope
Acrylic on canvas
42" x 54"
©2013NanciHersh

oh... and here are the other two.

Thank you again... and hope to see you there!

A Little Fling is Just What You Need

Drawing 3/23/13
Gesso, Akua ink, graphite & collage
11" x 14"
©2013NanciHersh

Sometimes (often) in the midst of everything on a busy weekend you need to carve a small niche of studio time to fling some color around... and suddenly you feel much better.

Begin Again - A Spring Collage

Noticing that many of the recent Artist as Collector posts on this blog were paintings or prints with a cooler palette- a winter theme, I am switching gears and posting a collage for the first day of spring. (yippee! spring!)

Begin Again
Watercolor, ink, and collage on paper
8" x 11"
©2013NanciHersh

This began as a watercolor that I did at the hospital two years ago after my surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering.  I pulled it out after I created a collage from another watercolor done at that time. (They had a sunny room for patients and their families with live music and lots of art supplies.)

From the Heart
Watercolor, watercolor pencil, ink and collage
4" x 6"
©2013NanciHersh

That collage became a SendOutCard Thank you campaign I sent to people who have supported me along the way (if I missed YOU- let me know and I will be happy to send you one, too!)  The cards were well received and I revisited the other watercolors I did that afternoon and went back and worked on them as well.

Perfect for spring, two years post surgery (feeling well- and blessed, thank you.)

Here's to new beginnings....

Happy Spring! What are you looking forward?

Trading with the Real Deal- Artist as Collector

New Jersey based artist Joseph Carlough is this week's guest blogger for the Artist as Collector Series.

Digital Print

8" x 12"

©2013Kenan Rubenstein

I met Kenan at an event in Brooklyn, NY.  He was selling his comics and art prints, I was selling my books. We were sitting next to each other, and hit it off immediately. He asked my partner and I if we came to zine (homemade book) fests often, and we said yes. We laughed and claimed that we were a zine wonder couple, and he, without missing a beat, said, "The Wonders! Is that your last name?"

And so we traded our work, and I've seen him numerous times since. We keep in touch, regularly trade work by mail, see each other at artistic events here and there, manage to find time for brunch, even though we live hours apart. It's a small world when you're a part of a community. 

Kenan's possibly the most disciplined person I know. Seeing his artwork is a constant reminder that I have to always be working- making better, stronger, more complete pieces.  I live in a world of extremely personable, talented, and energetic creators, and that's what makes it all fun. It's easy to feel excited about art when those around you are. 

Kenan's the real deal, and I can't respect him enough for it.

Joseph Carlough is a book artist, zine guy... and also is the real deal who I recently met at a 50th Anniversary for a mutual friend's parents. Ya never know who you are going to meet- even at at Indian Pakistani restaurant with 100 or so relatives and assorted characters.  But our friend knew - she sat us at the same table!  Thanks Nadira!

Who's a real deal in your life?

Your Help Please

An opportunity to exhibit my work April 9- May 9, 2013 at the Siegel JCC ArtSpace came my way- very recently. 

Yes- only a month a way.

I need to design my exhibitions card.  pronto.

This is where I need your Help.

The title of the show is Beneath the Surface.

Beneath the Surface II
Acrylic on canvas
30" x 40"
©2013NanciHersh

Kaleidoscope
Acrylic on canvas
42" x 54"
©2013NanciHersh

Autumn Pond
Acrylic, pastel, graphite and collage on paper
29" x 42"
©2013NanciHersh

Which of these images do you think I should choose for the image on the postcard.....?

Click on blue word "comments" below (next to the icon of the envelope) and please cast your vote.

Thanks!

Symbol of Warmth and a Place of Honor in Art Collection

Pennsylvania based artist Jay Rolfe is this week's guest blogger for the Artist as Collector Series.

Dog Sled

oil on canvas

24" x 30

©2013ELOR

Collection of Jay Rolfe

As an artist I love any art that uplifts my spirit. I’ve collected art my entire adult life. My

wife and I currently have displayed in our home 70 artworks by others and 28 of my own.

We have an additional 16 artworks by others displayed in our second home along with 21

of mine. And we have more in storage which we occasionally rotate into our display.

Each of our artworks give me a positive feeling that brightens my day.

The work I’m sharing with you today is an oil painting we fell in love with and

acquired in a gallery Quebec, Canada, during a visit to Montreal many years

ago. I didn’t meet the artist at the exhibition and only know that the artist was Canadian

and signed the painting ELOR. At the time we were living in the far north of New York

State near the Canadian border. Winters were very cold, often with 10 to 20 days at a

time when the mercury didn’t rise above 0° F. The cold was accompanied by lots of snow

that stayed on the ground and got deeper all winter long. What fun for young adults!

This painting, Dog Sled in Blowing Snow, of an Inuit driving a dog sled with eight

Huskies through a sea of blowing snow as the sun goes down, struck me as both beautiful

and a symbol of all the fun we were having in the snow. 

The painting hangs over our fireplace, a symbol of warmth and place of honor

Jay Rolfe is a painter, sculpture and mixed media artist whose goal is to uplift the spirit, nourish the soul, show awe of the mystery, and create beauty using color, shape, and humor.

Beautiful Reminder- Artist as Collector

Venezualian artist currently living in Connecticut, Sikiu Perez is this week's guest blogger for the Artist as Collector Series.

Winter Berries
Oil on canvas
10" x 10"
©2013AlyceTrebra

I bought this painting from a local gallery in Connecticut at their holiday show last year. 

It grabbed me as soon as I first saw it on their online newsletter. Then, when I saw it in person, I had to buy it. 

It reminds me that winter is not just snow, and there are still beautiful colors to be found.

Sikiu Perez is a contemporary ceramist lucky enough to be raised among artists who encouraged her art studies. She likes to add happiness to the darkness and give a whimsical twist to the ancient Mesoamerican art.