Saturday, December 11, 2010

Saturday Solutions Book Review - The Artist in the Office by Summer Pierre


There are a few books that I think should be in every artist's library.  In addition to Julia Cameron's phenomenal The Artist's Way Series, I would also recommend The Artist In the Office become a fixture in the collection of every creative person working a day job to pay the bills.

The talented Summer Pierre, who is a writer, artist, and musician, wrote and illustrated this charming book.  In it, you'll find inspiring quotations, like this one:





There are also great suggestions for making the most of your time at work.  For example, why not take advantage of your lunch break and use the time as a mini-vacation?  Summer Pierre has a few fun activities you can do away from your desk:




So much of our creative output depends upon our own outlooks and attitudes, and I think this book inspires a level of optimism and positivity that every creative person needs to continue to do great work, both on the clock and in our artistic pursuits.

You can find The Artist In the Office at numerous online retailers.  It makes a great gift for the artists in your life.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Get up off your couch and go to SOFA

It's November in Chicago and the temperature is dropping.  The temptation to stay indoors and avoid venturing out into the elements will grow stronger and stronger for many of us until March or April relieve us of the frigid air.  Fortunately it's not that cold this weekend, and the event I want to tell you about is indoors anyway.   And with numerous galleries represented in the vast Festival Hall of Navy Pier, located at the far end of the pier, you can get plenty of exercise walking to and around the SOFA (Sculpture Objects and Functional Art) Show

The The Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art is also part of the show this time around.  There you can find, among other creepy things, the creepy work of the ever inescapable Henry Darger, whose posthumous fame made him an outsider art superstar in recent years.


Here are some of my favorite artists exhibiting this year:






















Binh Pho















If you can't make it to the show to see these phenomenal artists' works in person, at least take a look at their websites.  And try to find video of Tim Tate and Nemo Gould's pieces if you can.

Here are some more details for those of you who would like to attend:

Dates & Hours:
Saturday, Nov. 6 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 7 from noon to 6 p.m. 
Tickets:
$15 for single day general admission (admits to both fairs) 
$25 for a three-day pass

(Be sure to sign up to be on some of the galleries' mailing lists.  Maybe you'll get a free ticket next year.  I did.)

Website:

http://www.sofaexpo.com/chicago/2010/index.htm


Shuttles:

Courtesy shuttles will circulate between Navy Pier (SOFA & The Intuit Show), the River North gallery district, and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) throughout the weekend.  For more info, visit the Facebook event page.


Get up off your couch and go to SOFA. 

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Weeping may endure for a night

weeping may endure for a night, but joy [cometh] in the morning.
Psalm 30:5


Regret is a bottomless pit, isn't it?  Slowly I scale the walls of this pit, escaping from its Payne's Grey shadows.  On my ascent all I see is the deepest Prussian Blue.

It's the color of night.

Weeping may endure for a night - detail



I remind myself that the night doesn't last forever.




Weeping may endure for a night



Weeping may endure for a night
acrylic and watercolor on cardboard
12" x 16"
2010

Sunday, October 10, 2010

to hold the terrible silence at bay

"Speak to me.  Why do you never speak.  Speak."
--T.S. Eliot, "The Waste Land"


For 27 days now, I have endured this nightmare: 27 days of silence.  It is the cruelest silence I have ever known.

Born from this silence are three new paintings, the first of the Dark Night of the Soul series: Anhedonia, Lacrimosa, and Pain's Grey.

dark-night-of-the-soul-seri

So far two are still works in progress, but Anhedonia is complete.


anhedonia

The Payne's Grey has been accented with Mars black and metallic silver, and glazed with graphite powder for an otherworldly sheen.

anhedonia--detail

Anhedonia is a Greek word meaning an inability to experience pleasure.

It measures 12"x16" and is for sale on Etsy for $96 plus shipping.

I hope to awaken from this nightmare soon.  In the meantime, I continue to paint so that I, like the main characters in Waiting for Godot, can "hold the terrible silence at bay."

Saturday, October 9, 2010

More new art for sale

I just added my latest pieces to my Etsy shop.


DSC05027

Choke
grocery bags on canvas
8"x10"
$40


If you like Smother, then you'll love Choke.



adrenaline

Adrenaline
acrylic on LDPE
9"x12"
$54


pandora's aquarium

Pandora's Aquarium

acrylic on LDPE
9"x12"
$54



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And of course my mini paintings are on there now too.  For just $10 you can own one of my originals.  

Thursday, October 7, 2010

October Open Studio Events

As part of a 2 day event for Chicago Artists Month, you will have 2 chances to visit Studio 632F:

Friday, October 8th
5 p.m. - 9 p.m.


Saturday, October 9th
12 p.m. - 4 p.m.


I have several new pieces for sale, including 3"x3" paintings on miniature easels, which will be $10 each.


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dsc04850
See how small they are?

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Aren't they cute?

In addition to my paintings, I will be featuring work by talented painter Minnie Watkins.

Minnie Watkins is a lifelong Chicago resident.  She received her BA in Marketing/Advertising from Columbia College.  It was during her studies that she entered the world of corporate advertising. Minnie directed her creative energy towards print ads. She maintained her interest in painting portraits, landscapes and the surrounding beauty found in her everyday life.  In 2003 Minnie decided to pursue a full-time career in art and had her debut showing and  has continued to paint ever since.


Muddy Waters by Minnie Watkins





 Abstract Squares by Minnie Watkins


 
The address is:

Fine Arts Building
410 S. Michigan Avenue
Studio 632F on the 6th floor
Chicago, IL 60605

Monday, October 4, 2010

Dark Night of the Soul

I don't know if I can paint anymore.
Colors have lost their meaning, food has no flavor.

The past 21 days have been a living nightmare I can't wake up from.

I feel a great and terrible sadness and will never be the same.

My newest series of paintings are all in Pain's I mean Payne's Grey.

Anhedonia by Tiffany Gholar. Acrylic and graphite on recycled paper and carboard


Anhedonia by Tiffany Gholar. Acrylic and graphite on recycled paper and carboard


Anhedonia by Tiffany Gholar. Acrylic and graphite on recycled paper and carboard


This may be my swan song, for I, like a swan, had hoped to mate for life.
I am not sure what is to become of us now.
I do not know if or what I will ever paint again, but I will finish these, at least.

I am painting from deep within the abyss,  from a chasm in my soul.  To see the ugliness of my own actions, to recoil in disgust from what I have done and cannot undo, to wonder why I should ever be forgiven or forgive myself, that is the dark night of my soul.



Lacrimosa dies illa
Qua resurget ex favilla
Judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus:
Pie Jesu Domine,
Dona eis requiem.
Amen.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Weekends just aren't weekends...

I managed to get out to see my work at the opening of the Chicago Artists Month Kickoff Exhibition this evening.  Smother and Midnight Intrigue are there, and can be purchased for $600 each.  They did a great job of hanging everything. 

Chicago Artists Month Kickoff Exhibition

The show will continue through the weekend and features the work of 16 local artists and is sponsored by Gapers Block

Location:
Chicago Arts District
2003 S. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL
 
 
For more information, visit the event's Facebook page.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Shows Must Go On

Despite how I feel, I am still participating in the Chicago Artists Month festivities I'd planned to be a part of in October.  Here are a few opportunities to see my work next month:






Chicago Artists Month Kick Off
Friday, October 1, 2010 6:00pm - 10:00pm
2003 S. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL
 

Celebrate the start of Chicago Artists Month at Opening Night of the Pilsen East Artists Open House. Begin with the reception, sponsored by GapersBlock.com, featuring two curated exhibitions showcasing work by Chicago artists. Then, hit the streets, explore the neighborhood’s galleries and studios, and meet the artists who have made East Pilsen a lively art community for more than 40 years.  Four of my paintings will be on display here.


October Open Studio Events






As part of a 2 day event for Chicago Artists Month, you will have 2
chances to visit Studio 632F. In addition to my artwork, I will be
featuring work by talented painter
Minnie Watkins.

Friday, October 8th
5 p.m.-9 p.m.

Saturday October 9th
12 p.m.-4 p.m.

Fine Arts Building
410 S. Michigan Avenue
Studio 632F
Chicago IL

Saturday, September 25, 2010

pain's grey

What is the color of regret?
What is the color of self-abasement?
What color is "it's complicated?"
What color is the feeling of being alone in a crowd?
What is the color of ceaseless yearning?
What color is the call of a mourning dove?

I think it could be Payne's Grey.  Named after late 18th century watercolorist William Payne, it is homophonous  of a my particular feelings at the moment.  The bright colors I usually favor seem to mock the misery I feel.  They assail my eyes and appear garishly inappropriate now.

And so my latest pieces are in this somber hue.  They are stormy skies and withered leaves and dangerous waters.





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DSC04832

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Pain's grey is all that's left when the rainbow is enough.

And because I try to make sure nothing is wasted in my studio practice, with the water I used to remove the Payne's Grey from my brush, I created a small portrait.

Cameron in blue






Art history professors seem to have different opinions on the cave paintings at Lascaux, but the explanation I recall is one of sympathetic magic.  Ancient artists painted the bison herds in the hope of having a successful hunt. In a similar expression of wishful artistry,  I have painted the likeness of someone whose return I desperately await.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

The blog formerly known as "Brooding Beauty"

A little over a year ago, I wrote, "when I finally get to do the kind of work I am qualified for, I will no longer have an axe to grind"  and that I would change the title of my blog when that happened.  Now that I have my own art studio and design atelier, I have decided to name my blog after its suite number.  

Speaking of my studio, I'd rather be there than sitting at home blogging, so I will conclude this post now.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Small is the new big

It's funny, as an undergrad, 12" x 16" seemed like a large enough format for a painting.  But then in grad school, I was required to think bigger, and 30" x 40" was the minimum size my paintings could be.  Now that I'm out on my own, I want to be able to offer art at various price points, which is why I am working on 8" x 10" and 9" x 12" pieces.  I am still working on these 3, but here is what I have so far:


Pandora's Aquarium by Tiffany Gholar. Acrylic on foam packing material

Adrenaline! by Tiffany Gholar. Acrylic on foam packing material

Yellow by Tiffany Gholar. Acrylic paint and paint skins on canvas

Studio 632F

DSC04822

It's been a long time.  Too long. 


At first I didn't blog because nothing was going on, then later I didn't blog because I was too busy.  But now I'm back with some very good news:

I just moved into my very own art studio.

"Studio" is a Latin word.  it means "I work" or "I study."  It is my hope that my studio will be a place of both work and study.  A place that inspires.


The style is whimsical and eclectic.  The color scheme is a rainbow.  My Kaleidoscope House, which I plan to move to my studio, was my inspiration. Taking my cues from its multicolored transparent panes, I decided to put multicolored window films on the twelve glass panes in my studio door.  The color block motif is repeated in my Urban Outfitters curtains and my color bar pillow from CB2.


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I am still in the process of finalizing my studio design.  I look forward to showing you the finished product.

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Sunday, May 2, 2010

Art under $1000

If you've been looking to collect original artwork, my pieces are for sale, and all of them cost less than $1000.  The locations where you can see them and the prices I am selling them for are below.


Three Peas Art Lounge
75 East 16th Street
Chicago, IL 60616-1279
(312) 624-9414
Until May 31



Untitled (Red and Black)

Untitled (Red and Black, $880



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Adaptive Reuse, $700


Adaptive Reuse 2, $700


DSC03591

Smother, $700


Quinacridone Embrace

Quinacridone Embrace, $700


Transcendental Violet

Transcendental Violet, $814





Chicago Art Open
River East Art Center
435 E. Illinois Street
Chicago, IL
Until May 7th


Fuchsia Sublime


Fuschia Sublime, $580




PlayfulZen Gallery
2147 S Lumber St.
Loft 516
Chicago, IL

Until May 9th


Fever Dream

Fever Dream, $600


Chloroplast Blast

Chloroplast Blast, $600




These are not currently in any shows, but are available for purchase:



DSC02063

Untitled (Red), $360


Untitled (Blue and Green)

Untitled (Blue and Green), $495


Gholar_Tiffany_11

Untitled (Olive Green, $360





My paintings need new homes. Buy one today!
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