A number of artists (7 of us, myself included) started a gallery relationship with a regional upscale resort/spa/hotel that was under new management and had recently undergone extensive renovations. What was a historically oriented property had become an eclectic mix of contemporary chic meets the classical touch. It was a nice place with clients to [...]
¶
Posted 10 May 2010
† Jason
§
‡
°
There don’t seem to be as many ways that artists are preyed upon as in some professions. Museum heists, plagiarism, “check is in the mail” and simple theft are a few that come to mind. I’ve only previously been privy to the “simple theft” aspect of the sinister side of the art world as outlined [...]
¶
Posted 01 April 2010
† Jason
§
‡
°
You visit the city and decide to take in a few art galleries before dinner. You walk around the first gallery, admire the work and see a small framed painting that catches your eye. A quick perusal of the price list and…what! $850 for an oil painting 12×12 inches and barely 14×14 with the frame? [...]
¶
Posted 30 December 2009
† Jason
§
‡
°
I have gotten into more than a few debates over the idea of artist as teacher, mostly online and anonymous and a few in person but generally, people don’t voice out loud what rides in the back of their minds; if you teach it means you cant make a living at your art, or “those [...]
¶
Posted 04 September 2008
† Jason
§
‡
°
I won’t pretend to really know what’s what or who’s who in the more commercial world of art galleries. My own experience is akin to wading in the shallow end while other artists are fully immersed in the far side of the pool. I’m partly a little intimidated by the more commercial world and partly [...]
¶
Posted 07 June 2008
† Jason
§
‡
°
Sales of my work have been flat now for about a year. Last summer I participated in a group show of four artists and the timing of that show became a huge burden as it coincided almost concurrently with an unplanned move of my home and studio followed by a few months of displaced living. [...]
¶
Posted 21 March 2008
† Jason
§
‡
°
For almost a full week and a half I have been sporadically driving 13 minutes north and 5.5 miles each way from my place here in Providence, RI to a new studio space in Pawtucket, RI. Sporadically, because my life has recently been caught in a ripping current that shows no signs of slowdown for [...]
¶
Posted 07 March 2008
† Jason
§
‡
°
There are surprising numbers of how to’s on the web and in print outlining approaches to writing an artist statement. Many of them offer specific do’s and don’ts, “do write in the first person” or “don’t write in the first person” and many simply offer guidelines and examples of the artist statement. I’ve written and [...]
¶
Posted 22 February 2008
† Jason
§
‡
°
Somehow I thought 58 rejection letters would feel more substantial or take up more space. In the end its just a bunch of pieces of paper with someones (wrong) opinion on them. I’ve had this essay in mind for a while now and I had hoped to title it with a more balanced “acceptance and [...]
¶
Posted 03 January 2008
† Jason
§
‡
°
I am having an open studio this coming Saturday, Dec 1 (click here for more details) and as a follow up to the “Putting on an Exhibition” essay I wanted to outline a little more of what goes into preparing yourself and your work for public display. This comes after a conversation a few weeks [...]
¶
Posted 26 November 2007
† Jason
§
‡
°
The ideal for a lot of us coming out of art school was to make art, be loved for doing that and then sell the work for a premium. The reality? Let’s call it a little different. I am often asked the question posed in the title of this essay. My stock answer is to [...]
¶
Posted 03 November 2007
† Jason
§
‡
°
Slap some work up on the wall and throw a party, how hard can it be to have an exhibition? While I’ve never gotten married and thus have never planned a wedding (that changes in the next year) I have put on a number of exhibitions of my work. Truly I don’t want to [...]
¶
Posted 03 November 2007
† Jason
§
‡
°
