Shari Beaubien

Finished!

Here it is... "Dia de los Muertos"!

It took a few more days to paint the sides and varnish, but I did finish the artwork by my goal of last Friday!  Do you like it?  (You can click on the picture to enlarge.)  I'm quite pleased with this piece, although I'm having a devil of a time getting the blue of the background to look right.  It's a gorgeous green/blue in real life.  This image is the result of my scanner and some correction in Photoshop.  When I have time on the weekend, I'll see if I have any better luck with taking an actual photograph.

The plan is to submit this piece for a Day of the Dead show in Long Beach.  I'll let you know how it goes... Fingers crossed!

An Ending and a Beginning...

Remember this purple background?
Well, here's the finished painting...

I still need to paint the sides and apply two coats of varnish, but I was excited to share it with you.  It's 16" x 20" and is entitled "Letting Go".  I painted a lot on Sunday while Steve watched football, which was nice.   My studio (aka our living room) is open to the family room and it was a joy to spend time "together", each doing something we love.

Never one to shy away from a deadline, I've given myself a new challenge this week.  See this 12" x 16" canvas?  Well, the goal is to turn it into a work of art by the end of the week.  There's a "Dia de los Muertos" show I want to enter whose deadline is rapidly approaching.  My idea is already fleshed out in my sketchbook (albeit faintly).  I figure if I can finish the painting by the end of this week, that will give me next week to paint sides, varnish, photograph, and make my submission - just in the nick of time!  I'll keep you updated...

A Glimpse at My Week

Here's a glimpse at my art table this week...

And here are the rest of my works in progress...

When I look at these three pieces lined up in a row, it becomes increasingly apparent to me that my palette has decidedly shifted.  I'm not drawn as readily to the earth tones which predominate my Folk Art series anymore.  Instead, the colors are brighter and more saturated.  Interesting.  It wasn't conscious - just something that evolved.  I do like the change though and find it exciting.  What do you think?

I also wanted to give you some updated info. on the massive Station Fire since I've written about it here more than once these past few weeks.  The latest news measures containment at 75%.  Two firefighters lost their lives when their truck was overrun by flames, causing them to go over a cliff and fall further into the fire.  82 homes and other buildings were destroyed.  More than 250 square miles of Angeles National Forest is now nothing more than ash.  And it has thus far cost the state an estimated 71 million dollars.  Why?  All because of arson.

BEYOND EXCITING NEWS!

It's official...

I am INFINITELY proud and BEYOND excited to announce
that I am now being represented by Wilde Meyer Galleries in Arizona.

This is me and Betty Wilde, one of the owners.  After nearly six weeks of negotiations and planning, I finally got to meet her in person and deliver my artwork this past weekend.  Eighteen paintings in all!

Betty is a delight.  Her staff was warm and welcoming, not to mention organized and professional.  And the space is AWESOME!  I swear I could have bought every single art piece there.  In many ways, it felt like walking into my home.  I think that says a lot about what a perfect fit this is for me.

And here is the rest of the crew - Laura, Betty, Thomas, and Ryan.  I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of Anna, but she was at their Colores location.

That's right... there is more than one location.  In fact, there are three!  Two in Scottsdale and one in Tuscon and Betty plans to show my work in all three spaces.  You can find the skinny on their exact locales here.

And last but not least, check out my info. on the Wilde Meyer website.

I can't help but think of the ArtExpo at this time.  (Remember this post and how it was canceled?)  The timing of everything seems magical in its serendipity.  I mean, the whole point of the expo was to gain exposure and ultimately gallery representation.  No sooner had it been removed from my radar than I was contacted by Wilde Meyer.  (I had sent my portfolio to Wilde Meyer much earlier this year.)  This entire experience just reconfirms for me everything that I believe about The Universe and its power to support you...  When you put the right energy out there, The Universe always answers in kind.

< insert HUGE sigh of satisfaction here > 

Art / Work

I read this informative book a while ago and I've been meaning to share it with you.  A recent comment reminded me how valuable it's been to me.  (Thanks, Adrienne!)

Granted, the cover isn't that imaginative.  (I mean, don't you think a book with "art" in the title could to better than that?)  However, the contents ultimately prove more important and boy, do they deliver!  This book is thorough and insightful and is by far THE BEST book I have in my arsenal on navigating the business side of the art world.  I particularly enjoyed the "real life" experiences sprinkled throughout from curators, artists, gallery owners, and other art professionals.  If you are on a path headed toward a career in art, I hope you'll find it as helpful to you as it has been to me.

The Station Fire - Update

As of this morning, the Station Fire was 22 percent contained.  This number is terrific news following nearly a week of only 5 percent containment.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will turn this grueling corner.

This complete lack of desire to paint (thanks to the fire stress) has proven to be extremely valuable in other areas, however.  I added a lot of new photos to the gallery section of my website as well as updated some recent press.  I also varnished the following painting which I completed last week...

"Prospects"

More detailed information can be found here.

Once again, thank you for all of your support and concern.

The Station Fire

Thank you to everyone who has written or called with concern about the Southern California fires.  The stress of it all is taking it's toll and I'm having a hard time responding individually, so here is the latest update I have...

The Station Fire is the one closest to our house.  As of this morning, the northern flank of the fire was approximately five miles away from us.  So far, this massive inferno has consumed 190 square miles and caused the deaths of two firefighters.

This picture was taken from a hilltop near our home yesterday afternoon.  The community of homes in the bottom of the picture is where I live.  Our home is at the far edge of the neighborhood, bordering the Angeles National Forest.

While we still only have 5 percent containment on this fire, I'm happy to report that it actually SPRINKLED here this morning!  Okay, it was only for four minutes and it was incredibly light, but it's something.  I'm going to hold on to that.

As a result of the fire stress, as you can imagine, there isn't a whole lot in the way of art happening around these parts.  And that's okay.  I've been busy catching up on some computer work and business stuff.

Steve and I did have an awesome day at the Camarillo Art & Jazz Festival this weekend (which was an hour away in the OPPOSITE direction from the fire, so it gave us a nice break from the smoke).  Thanks to all of you who came out to visit me - and you were many!  We got a nice mention in the Ventura County Star.  You can read the article here if you're interested.