Flex Lance Accident, Latex on Canvas, 82 x 50" $8,200 (my prices will be going up to gallery prices soon, currently this painting is available at the old prices) [Thumbnail: Table Saw Accident, Latex on Canvas, 64 x 50" $6,400] Two of the paintings that will be exhibited in the Esvelt Gallery show in November.

 The past few weeks I have been occupied with cleaning up important loose ends such as creating an inventory record of all my work and preparing for my exhibit in November at the Esvelt Gallery in Eastern Washington, and creating a plan for the rest of the year.

Inventorying my work:

This entails creating a numbered file for each work of art detailing where the art is, its provenance, materials, size, price and image. One thing I'm preparing for is my pricing to change to gallery pricing, pricing the work per square inch. It's more consistent that way. Therefore, across the board the prices will be increasing in the Fall. I use Bento for this. Unfortunately for me and many other people, I've just learned that Filemaker will not be continuing it's updates of this program, so it looks like I'm going to have to find another source. Perhaps this will continue to work for me for the next 6 months to a year since I've already put so very many hours into it. Here's what my file looks like.

Preparation for exhibit

The other thing I'm doing is getting ready for my Esvelt Exhibit. I've built 8 of my 9 stretchers, routed them and now have to stretch my canvases. In the future I'll put together some images, still and video, of how to build canvas stretchers. But here they are: 

 I use Windsor One wood, they're preprimed and they're true because they're composites. They're easy to use, cut and I don't have to worry about torque. They're also treated so you can use them and ship overseas. Just make sure you use your safety equipment, ear plugs and face mask and eye protection when you're working with any powertools.

Jury Board

I just completed a very involving 2 week long art grant board process. It was wonderful and I recommend all artists volunteer to sit on jury boards. It's an effective way to:

• connect with your community,
• be of service to your community,
• get to know other artists and their work,
• build a relationship with various arts organizations, 
• learn about successful application submissions.

 Helping:

I'm working with an artist in my building, teaching her basic mac skills. It works well for her and me. I go to her studio during my normal break time and she pays me what she can afford to. It feels like the right thing to do.

Changed Plans

Last month a great opportunity fell through. I had found the studio of my dream, a big empty warehouse space. I was going to share it with two other artists. I saved money/sq. ft., the ceilings were 16 feet high, the floor was level, there was heating, I could build my own storage, free parking and close to home. However, there was a problem with the property manager and he skipped town, leaving the owner in distress, so the deal fell through. Looks like I'm at the TK for a little longer. It's a great place to be and the neighborhood is growing and changing in a dynamic and positive way. I lose several months a year because there's no heat and the studio is too cold to work in. I need more space, higher ceilings, level floor and to save money. Ideally closer to home so I could have more time in the studio. Also, sometimes being open for First Thursday's Art Walk interrupts my workflow. I open as a gift to the community. In addition it takes time and costs money to be open. Right now I'm showing my work as a communty service so it costs me. And its getting harder to justify the expense in the abstract and in the particular. Which is why....

Upcoming Plans:

Which is why....my systmatic plans for the remainder of the year is to complete my inventory records, prepare for this show and put together an additional 13-15 Non-ordinary Reality paintings to begin to shop my work for representation. The good news is that I sold a small piece this week. I'll make sure that 5% goes to SLE Lupus and 5% goes to the charity that my buyer supports which is Legal Voice. In the meantime I need to make sure I don't miss important application deadlines.

I had also hoped to write an article about Seattle and tertiary art markets today. But that's a slow going process.