Two Years and Two Months

Charley's Hideaway

Just before the Governor shut out state down and declared the arts non-essential I had been given the honor of displaying my paintings in the Angel Fire Library. Of course in the two years of the pandemic I sold nothing. But I hung some of my work in the vrbo when I finished it a year ago.

Then came the Calf Canyon and Hermit's Peak Fire. And my evacuation to Eagle Nest. And all the questions about was I taking all my art with me? I have an Explorer but there was the dog and Thicke and their necessities. Then my various electronics and their accessories. And all the various backups. I had just gotten the Mac when the Windows 10 Acer failed. Fortunately I had the backup of that hard drive.

But today as I became aware I was going to participate in the Angel Fire Studio Tour, September 24 and 25, 2022 and I needed to submit photos for brochure and website, panic set in. Seemed there was a hole in my backups of work.

Music From Angel Fire Intermission Display

Yes, I had done paintings. Yes, I had taken photographs of them. But where were they? This morning I dug into the two cases all packed up from evacuation, and still packed, but out of the Explorer. But not far out of the escape capsule. Spoke seemed appropriately named. Memory pods lined up on the desk I proceeded to learn how to upload data to MyMac. And what all those little icons at the bottom of the screen but not yet needed meant. The blue and white smiley face to the far left proved helpful.

Soon half the day had passed but I seemed to have found all my art except for the End of Day Series. But luckily they were still in my possession. Not sold. I have managed to sell a goodly number of works in the last year. And fortunately I had photos of those.

But oddly I seem most attached to my End of Days series. The last two years and two months seems very much like the end of days. So after copying my photographic record to MyMac I proceeded to take photos of the End of Days. One of them will be going to the library soon as it will be replacing Venue of Ravens which is being sold. 

Venue of Ravens

Photography and jump drives and external hard drives are the only way to save your art from fires.

Week Four - 2017 in Photographs

Day 22

For the love of trees. As a child I was the first in my class to draw trees with branches; not the trunk with a balloon of green over the top. Or even the trunk with limbs coming off at right angles. For some reason even as young as five I knew there was an intricate pattern to the branches on trees. And decades later I still love drawing trees. And photographing them. Even the conifers which never bare their branches. But there is a pattern to their needle covered limbs. And the snow can define that.

This week I focused on trees: singly or in groups but all with snow. Trees in winter do well in a black and white treatment. And they are suited for a vertical composition. I need a vertical photograph or two or three for a Music From Angel Fire competition I am entering.

Week five will no doubt have more trees and more vertical compositions.

Day 23

Day 24

Day 25

Day 26

Day 27

Day 28

Confessions of a Competition Junkie

Been There. Done That

I was raised to compete though to be entirely honest I hate it. I ended up going into every sport which was not competitive and giving up all that were. Later, when I was confronting my demons, I competed in dog shows. Skywalker and I retired shortly after his first third place finish. He liked competing. I did not. I would from time to time run him around a park and pin a ribbon to his collar.

I got lured back into competitions when applying for art fairs. Four hundred artists trying for 200 booths is a competition. I was getting the booths once I learned the rules. Winning, as it were, is all about the rules. My art vita listed all which I could count on being in. And when I stopped going to art fairs I started competing for places in exhibitions. I told myself it was advertising. It got my name out there. So does shooting at a cop in Ferguson, Missouri.

Like I used to get in fairs I always got into exhibits. And I won ribbons, and certificates and prize money. All my wins went on the Art Vita. I was a competition junkie like Skywalker. But it seemed rather hallow. I was about to give it up when my sister went big time into photography and I joined her in competing in photographic competitions. For her, of course. She always beat me. (That may be why I gave up competing in sports). One show the two of us got three of the four prizes. Heady. But the truth of the matter is only winners like competitions. And most losers hate the winners.

Been there. Done That. was my first ribbon in photography. It received a second. At the time that was one of my lower prizes. But it holds one more distinction: It is the only prize winner to have been sold. And not at the exhibition where it won second. But I got three pieces in that particular exhibit and one of the others sold. One that didn't even get honorable mention. I have sold multiple copies of both photographs after the competition.

In fact, I have never sold a winner at any competition exhibit. My losers do far better. So why enter a competition? Several recent articles I have read, including one by a gallery owner, says you shouldn't. And one by an artist of some note said they are all stacked against you. Competitions are only for the benefit of the gallery or organization putting it on. And in my competition history (including the dog shows) I know that is true more often than not. I do not care what they say about the judges not knowing the artists at the time of judging. It just isn't true. Masked signatures are just a rouse. Most judges know the leading artists' work even without the signature. And they will vote for the known over the unknown every time. I am sure we could do a blind study to prove that. This is not sour grapes. I mostly win ribbons but I lose something too.

What competitions do for me is they make me think about the quality of my work be it painting or photography and they spur my creativity. I came to especially like themed contests because it often got me thinking along new subjects. But I do not need a competition to do that. Just like Skywalker did not need the other dogs. I can challenge myself.

Glorious
Loser in the MFAF Art Competion

But I recently entered another competition. I recently entered the above mixed media work in my first competition in over a year. I was depressed immediately. I felt like a Judas Goat because I did it to inspire others to enter. To get rid of that slimy feeling (maybe why I left competing) I painted what I wanted to paint.

Conspiracy of Ravens
19 x 44 Mixed Media on Canvas

I love my ravens. Working on the sketch for yet another in the series. No deadline, no entry fees, no rules on subject or size. I heard today that Glorious lost. The artist I knew would win won.

The Conversation
18 x 30 Mixed Media on Canvas

But I have hopes for Glorious. She is a loser and my losers almost always sell. The winners hang on my walls. Next to their ribbons. And she was the sourdough starter for my ravens.

In dog shows I quickly got to the point I could guess the winner by knowing the judge's name and the breeders Skywalker would be up against. Never even had to enter the ring. It was fun only while I was learning the rules like never wear slacks when showing your dog or watching your dog being shown by a hired handler.

If you want to see the winners and losers go to the other pages in this blog or visit Binford-Bell Studio on Facebook or in Black Lake.