Shari Beaubien

Frida Kahlo and San Francisco

Did I mention that the Frida Kahlo exhibit at SFMOMA was fantastic?  Honestly, it surpassed my wildest dreams.  FOUR rooms full of her artwork plus several more contain- ing photographs, letters, and other paraphernalia.  It was inspiring, humbling and incredibly moving.  I feel blessed to have been able to have experienced this in my lifetime.

If you have the opportunity to get to San Francisco, don't miss this exhibit!  (It runs through September 28.)  However, if a trip to the west coast is not in the cards for you at the moment, might I recommend this book as an excellent replacement?

FRIDA KAHLO, published by the Walker Art Center, was created as the companion to the 2007/08 exhibit.  Guest-curator Hayden Herrera and co-curator Elizabeth Carpenter both joined countless others to make this landmark exhibition and publication possible.  You can read more about the official description of this book by clicking here or by clicking the link under "books" in my left sidebar. 

Personally, I can tell you this:  I purchased my copy of the book prior to leaving for San Francisco and was thrilled when I received it.  After visiting the museum in person and then returning home to see the book again, I can assure you it is an absolute treasure trove!  Insofar as I can tell, EVERYTHING that I saw in real life is contained in this book plus much, MUCH more.  Owning the book is like seeing the exhibit, enhanced.  There are more photographs of the artist, more beautifully recreated plates of her artwork, and more commentary about her life.  If you are a Frida enthusiast, I really think you'll enjoy this publication.

Incidentally, I made a list of the paintings I saw at SFMOMA...  Would anyone be interested in reading what was actually a part of the exhibit?  I wasn't sure whether that was Frida overkill and I didn't want to include it if no one was interested.

While in San Francisco, we also happened to time our visit with another really terrific exhibition at the Legion of Honor featuring the lesser-known women impressionists.  Four artists were showcased:  Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt,  Eva Gonzales, and Marie Bracquemond.  This, too, was a wonderful exhibition.  The loose, painterly style of the impressionists has long been a favorite of mine and it was a nice juxtaposition to Frida's more controlled sensibility.  (The women impressionist exhibition runs through September 21.)

And lest you think we spent ALL of our time in various museums, here are some other shots when Steve and I were out and about.

Alcatraz...

the carousel on Pier 39...

 

and the ever-adorable sea lions, also at Pier 39...

 

Can you tell I was smitten?

Aaah, to have not a care in the world...

 

A Give-Away!

Thank you so much to everyone who wrote to say
"I'm sorry you're sick" and "I hope you feel better soon".
Just knowing you're out there and that you care goes a long way
in making me feel not so completely lousy.

Well, I told you I've been wanting to host another give-away
and two things immediately sprang to mind...

First, I want to find my beloved collection of ATC cards a new home.  (97 cards in all!)  Each and every one is unique and special and I've enjoyed trading for them so very much.  The thing that bothers me though is that these ATC's just sit in a box on the top shelf of my closet.  I want to find them a good home, where they will be enjoyed and celebrated anew.  Plus, I feel like the very spirit of ATC's can be found in the sharing, and I can't think of a better way to honor that spirit.

Secondly, I'd like to give away this original painting of mine.  It's a study in both color and loosening up.  The title is "Horizon at Dusk" and it's acrylic on watercolor paper.  It will arrive beautifully packaged in an 11" x 14" matte, just as you see here.  It's ready to pop into a frame of your choosing.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment to this post by Thursday, September 4 at midnight.  (Make sure to include your contact information!)  I'll put the names in a hat and draw two winners randomly on Friday, September 5.  The first name will receive the ATC collection and the second name will receive my original painting.  I'll announce the winners here next Friday, so don't forget to check back!

And here's an extra incentive:  Post a link to this contest on your blog, and I'll enter your name twice!  (Just be sure to tell me you made the link.)

Good luck!!

And do stay tuned...  Since I'm beginning to feel a bit better, I'm planning to wade through my photographs and thoughts on my trip to San Francisco and the Frida Kahlo exhibit.  Barring any unforeseen illness setbacks, I'll have a coherent post about that for you tomorrow.

I'm Home!

Our trip was fantastic.
The Frida Kahlo exhibit was OUTSTANDING!

The only problem is that I seem to have caught a REALLY nasty bug.  I feel like I got run over by a trash truck and then was dragged for a few blocks only to have the truck's full load of trash dump out on top of me.  Bear with me while I crawl back under the covers for a few days to wait this thing out.  I promise to give you a better update when I'm feeling more myself.  And we'll have that give-away I mentioned, too.

Thanks for your understanding...

New Works

Remember the paintings from this post?
Well, here they are complete!

Tranquil Passage
22" x 28"

"Eli"
12" x 16"

These are both new pieces for my "Carnival of Dreams" series.
I'd love to hear what you think...

Thank you, too, for all of the positive feedback on my little "Birds of a Feather" paintings.  You've made me feel so good about them!  I'm slowly easing into creating mostly larger canvases, but these are such a sweet size and so much fun to paint that I may just have to revisit the 5" x 5"s on a yearly basis.

I'm off to San Francisco on Thursday to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit at SFMOMA.  I've waited well over a year for this and I am BEYOND excited!  To celebrate, I think it's time for another give-away when I return!  I'll be back early next week, so don't forget to check back!

Birds of a Feather (the last ten)

Here are the last ten canvases to my little
"Birds of a Feather" series!

(click any photo to enlarge)

You can see the first ten here.

Now I'm just working on painting the sides, which is something I enjoy immensely.  There's something really soothing and peaceful about getting into the zenish rhythm of side-painting.  And with twenty-four canvases times four sides each times two or three coats, I'll be able to relish that rhythm for a few days!  After the side painting, all I have left to do is vanish and inventory and then I'll be able to pack these babies up for their trip north!

Incidentally, you may be wondering about my math abilities since I reported the need to paint twenty-FOUR canvases instead of just twenty.  Well, the last four are brand new canvases to my "Carnival of Dreams" series.  I showed you the early stages of two of them in this post.  Well, now they're completely finished and I can't wait to get them photographed and scanned so that I can show you!  Stay tuned...

The Dog Days of Summer...

challenging the Pacific surf...

relaxing in the pool...

waiting for the cabana boy to arrive with  a cocktail...

What a life, huh?

Birds of a Feather (the first ten)

So here they are!!...
the first ten canvases from my little "Birds of a Feather" series.
I'm really excited to share them with you...

(click on any photo to enlarge)

These little guys will be making their debut at Art and Soul in Portland come October.  I'm hoping I get to see at least of few of you there!!

Birds of a Feather

I've been making progress on those 5"x5" canvases...

Here are a handful of them, nearly complete now.  I'm calling this little series "Birds of a Feather".  There will be ten canvases featuring a white bird and ten featuring a black bird.  I'm enjoying the yin-yang sensibility of that.  I'll be sure to post photos of the completed pieces once I get there.  In the meantime, these have been a tremendous amount of fun to work on as each one is unique.

The Annual Frida Kahlo Art Exhibit 2008

I wanted to share with you some of the photos I took from the Frida show this past weekend.  I couldn't believe how many wonderful works of art honoring Frida Kahlo were on display in this little space!  It was a treat to be there, and I certainly wasn't the only one who thought so!  The reception was PACKED to the point that you could barely circulate, with the overflow crowd spilling onto the sidewalk.  What a great problem to have, don't you think? 

Enjoy...

Here's Steve (below) doing his living impersonation
of the Frida sculpture in the foreground.
Not really, but it looks like it, don't you think?
(He's going to be thrilled with me for posting this...)

Painting, Etsy and Ebay, Oh My!

So... I've been making some progress on those twenty 5" x 5" canvases I showed you initially here.  (I'm creating these especially for vendor night at Art and Soul in Portland this October.)  This picture (left) shows my initial background collage.

And the shot below gives you a look at my first layers of color application.  All of the painting was done using Golden's Fluid Acrylics.

I also devoted some time this weekend to my Etsy shop.  You've been asking for more original artwork, and I listened!  Below you'll find four new paintings that were just added.  These are among my favorites from my art fair inventory.  (Hop on over to Etsy to learn the details.)

SOLD:

By the way, if you're in the market for photo albums or know someone who is, I have an ebay auction which starts tonight at 7:30 pm.  You can find it here.

Phew!  How's that for info.!?!?  Hope I didn't overwhelm you this morning... and I haven't even had my first cup of coffee yet!!