Some Thoughts While Uninstalling an Art Exhibition

An impromptu celebration of sparkling wine, cheese, crackers, veggies and hummus at the final hour, was followed by a quick and efficient de-installation that almost beat the coming rain.

Paintings uninstalled and loaded into cargo van, check

Hooks, nails, and wall labels removed, check

Lettering scraped off the wall, check

Guestbook picked up, check

Paintings unloaded (in the wind and rain), cargo van refueled and returned to U-Haul, check!

The opportunity to exhibit in a large space is sometimes the only time to get to see an entire body of work together at once. I didn't have much time to paint while the exhibition was up, but I’ve enjoyed the time to get to see the work and start to reflect on the direction it’ll be taking next.

I left over two feet of wall space between paintings, which seemed like ample room on paper and although I was satisfied with how it all looked once hung, after leaving for a day or two and them returning with a fresh eye, the space felt crowded to me. Perhaps that’s because I’ve been used to seeing everything in the studio, where space barely allows for seeing everything together. In the future I’d like to leave more room - enough so that when stepping back away from the larger paintings, the ones around it do not intrude on peripheral vision. I know of no rule of thumb for determining the amount of space needed, but it seems like 36” between the larger works, or even more, wouldn’t be too much.

I underestimated how many business cards, various print outs and price lists I needed. I had to keep replenishing them with what I thought would be ample quantities, and even so, I ran out of a couple of items on the last day. I am not complaining – and I am happy to be able add to my address book from those that left their information when coming to see the show.

Holiday Greeting Cards

I've always liked Fine Art Cards and enjoy collecting them at museum gift shops and galleries and more recently online. I don't create cards from every painting that I do, but I have a few card designs available. The cards below are digital variations of original paintings. In this case, snowflake effects have been digitally added for a seasonal look.

These cards are printed by Zazzle. I like Zazzle for their very high quality and lightning fast service, and the added ability to personalize products to suit your needs, at no extra cost. The three cards below include a text greeting printed inside, which can be easily added to or altered with Zazzle's customization feature.

Autumn's Veil with Snowflakes by Katherine Kean

Counting Raindrops Variation by Katherine Kean

Holiday Still Place by Katherine Kean

I've watched this company grow and evolve in the print on demand marketplace, from a company that printed only cards and posters to one that prints stickers, buttons, shirts, postage stamps, binders and mousepads - just to mention a few. As an artist my experience with Zazzle has been encouraging. There is no fee or cost to the artist to upload an image and create a product. The print on demand service eliminates the need to invest in and maintain an inventory and Zazzle allows the artist to name their royalty percentage.

If you're an artist you might like to look into Zazzle's services. I'd be happy to answer any questions that I can based on my own experiences.

Questions Are Answered at TAG Gallery's Panel Discusion

The Panel: Sally Jacobs, Katherine Kean, and Susie McKay Krieser

The Question and Answer Panel at TAG Gallery on Saturday was well attended. Microphones helped everyone to hear and TAG’s Director, Amy Lombardo, kept the discussion going. As the moderator, she could insure that nobody rambled on for too long, and for those of us who tend toward the laconic, she prompted more with further questions. There were also wonderful questions from the audience. A couple of questions were difficult to answer - as sometimes the best questions are. One was about the moods I am painting and whether they were of sadness, joy, excitement, or something else. I answered that they are multi layered and I had to say that if I could adequately convey all the nuances in words that the need to paint them wouldn't be as compelling.

Amy Lombardo addressing questions to the panel.

The questions about our three exhibitions alternated among the three of us as we passed the microphone back and forth. We were each asked about the advantages and disadvantages of our chosen medium, the answer for me is that I like the color, control and archival qualities of oil on linen and the biggest challenge is the drying time. Sally Jacobs (From the Ground Up) commented on the advantages and difficulties of working with botanicals - such as the fact that they age and decay, and Susie McKay Krieser (Building a Story) talked about the challenges of figurative subjects – of how she handles issues of positioning and the scale.

Susie McKay Krieser explaining working with models.

It was great to have such an attentive and intelligent audience and I really enjoyed myself. I am grateful to TAG’s gallery assistant Craig Best, who had the presence of mind to ask for my camera and take photos, which is why I am able to post a few of them here.

Atmospheric Question and Answer Panel

Exposure
oil on linen 20 x 10"
©2010 Katherine Kean

Have you ever wondered why an artist might choose to work in the medium that they do, or what experiences in their lives might have been a turning point in their careers? This weekend you'll have the opportunity to find out the answers to these and other questions at our moderated Question and Answer Panel on Saturday, November 13th at 3pm at TAG Gallery in Santa Monica. I will be prsent, along with Susie McKay Krieser and Sally Jacobs.

TAG Gallery
Bergamot Station D3
2525 Michigan Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90404

Gallery Hours: Tuesday -Saturday 11am - 5pm and Sunday from noon - 4pm.

Atmospheric Reception at TAG Gallery

I took one photo before the reception started and then put the camera away and forgot all about it while spending the next three hours with guests. Thanks to everyone who came - there was a wonderful turn out! It was wonderful to see so many friends. I, of course, loved the feedback and I also got to introduce friends to other friends, which is one of my favorite things to do. For those who couldn't make it - don't despair - Saturday we're having a moderated Question and Answer Panel with Susie McKay Krieser, Sally Jacobs, and myself at 3pm. We're also staying open until 7pm on Friday evenings and are open on Sundays from noon until 4pm.

After all the running around I've been doing; delivering artwork, buying sparkling water and ice, buying more ice, getting my car towed to the shop (again!), this week I'm attempting to get back into a more normal routine. Today I spent some time in the studio cleaning one painting, and wiring and finishing the edges of another, getting it ready to ship. If all goes well, by next week I'll get back to doing some actual painting.

Atmospheric Installed and Open

I got all the paintings delivered to the gallery and installed last weekend, and took a couple of photos of the process along the way.



I rented a cargo van from U Haul to accomodate the larger paintings. It was a very new van and handled better than any that I've used before, which was great. That used to be my least favorite part of having an exhibition.



Here is the mostly empty gallery, freshly patched and painted.



The paintings are carried inside and lined up where I think that they'll go.



After some suggestions from Ellen Starr, who has an amzing eye for how to hang an exhibit, the paintings are up on the wall and waiting for lettering. Not every painting got hung, and those that didn't fit are up in the stacks so that they are still available for viewing.



The lettering being installed for Sally Jacob's exhibition From the Ground Up.



Everything up on the walls, lighting adjusted, and ready for our first visitors.



The exhibition runs through November 27th and the gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11am - 5pm. The reception is Saturday, November 6th from 5 -8pm and the Question and Answer panel is Saturday, November 13th at 3pm. We'll also be open on Sundays from noon until 4pm along with several other galleries at Berganot Station.