Paintings in the Wings

Getting ready for a solo show is a process, y'all

I realize I’ve been a little lax on my goals to get something up here at Your Inner Panda every week, but I’m entering the home stretch of preparing for a solo show at The Rob Schouten Gallery this August 2024, so I’ve been a bit distracted.

As I was pondering what to write about, I thought it might be fun to share one of the paintings each week up until the show. For the other visual artists here, I know you know there is a lot more than just painting the paintings to put together an exhibition of your work. If you know, you know!

Having a gallery is great, because they take care of much of the minutia, like preparing the space, doing much of the publicity, and hanging the show.

Besides making the work, here is a list of all the things one must deal with as you get prepared for an exhibition:

Before you even start painting, how much time do you have?
This will determine how many paintings and the sizes.
Do you have all your materials? Paints? panels? frames?
Have you considered the theme?
Do you have source/reference materials if you work representationally?
Will your medium require time to dry before varnishing and framing?

You’re almost done with all your paintings! Huzzah! But wait…
Now there is varnishing
Framing
Pricing
Documentation:
including
Writing an artists’ statement
Updated resume
photographing work
Making sure your photographs are clear and accurate
Image processing in the computer, saving photos in different sizes and formats
Inventory list with thumbnail images, with prices, medium, size
Getting images to the gallery. When do they need them? Printed materials need to be sent in early.
Finally: delivering work to the gallery

Show up at the opening

bring home big bags of

At this point (late May) for a show in August, all my oil paintings are done and I have all my frames. There is a little finish work to do on several, but it can wait until all the paintings are done. I’m starting on my last five paintings, which will be in a faster drying medium. I’ve photographed part of the show, but may need to rephotograph some of them, as I don’t think they are clear enough. Some of the paintings are varnished, but I will need to wait another month or so before I can do that.

The theme of my show:

In times past, I traveled with the purpose of gathering images of where I traveled to, creating a body of work rendering a sense of place. This time, I’m working on more of a concept than a specific place.

chiaroscuro: kyärəˈsko͝orō

From darkness, we reach for the light

The painters who have mastered the effects of chiaroscuro, the play of light and shadow in paintings, prints, and drawings, have always held an intense fascination for me. Caravaggio, Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Hopper, particularly in his etchings and drawings, are among my favorites.

The origins of chiaroscuro as a recognized painting style come from the mid 17th century in Italy, from chiaro: clear and bright + oscuro: dark and obscure.

For this body of work, I searched my archive of photographs I have taken over the last three decades, to find images that found light within the dark. As I work on these paintings, I am well aware of the darkness that has fallen over the political discourse. I am concentrating on finding the light, and therefore hope, that lies within these paintings. May you feel some of that hope as you study them. May we all feel that hope as we move back into the world.

I leave you with one of the paintings for the upcoming show:

Caravaggio in the Willamette
Oil on Linen
12”x16”

I went on a photo expedition down to the Willamette Valley, in western Oregon to take pictures to work on paintings for an exhibition. The winemakers at Argyle Winery let me come in and take pictures in their cavernous, dark warehouse, where they were punching down the crust that formed on the vats of fermenting grapes. I think Caravaggio would approve of the elbow protruding out of the picture plane.

More next week!