Month: May 2011

What’s in a name?

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New cityscape, 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas

Like this new painting? Help me name it! This is the first time I’ve ever posted artwork without a title, but I’m at an impasse.

My first idea was “Cashew Apple” after I learned that a tiny red apple grows on top of the cashew, which is naturally in a black shell. It seemed appropriate for the nighttime color scheme, but otherwise unrelated to the image.

Then I considered “Golden Delicious” because it references apples so it touches upon both gold and red, the main tones of this piece. Right now, both options are eliciting a shrug and nose crinkle from me, which means I’m undecided. If you like either of those options or have a suggestion of your own, leave a comment. If you come up with something I like and I use it, I’ll send you a free print of this piece!

To give you some more information about this painting, it features a street scene from San Francisco’s Chinatown near the corner of Grant & Washington. There are a few restaurants, the corner bathed in red light appears to be a bar, and several pedestrians head home through the chilly evening. Here’s a detail shot:

Love those lanterns.

I know you’re creative, so let’s hear those ideas! The “name game” ends in one week- on Tuesday June 7th- so enter a comment before then for a chance to win a free print of the heretofore-unnamed painting. 😉

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Cavalcade of awesomosity

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I’m picking up a psychic transmission from my readers… let’s see if I can make it out. Hmm… sounds like… “we’re bored. You haven’t posted in forever. Show us more art, woman!” Wow. Okay kids, you got it! Today’s post is chocked full of photos, including sneak previews of some in-progress works that will be gracing these digital pages within mere days, so stay tuned!

It rained here recently, which I interpret as nature’s way of telling me to spend a bunch of time in the studio. I’ve also got several showings lined up for the rest of the year, which means most of the work that’s been cluttering up my home and studio will soon be on tour throughout various locations in Northern California- giving me room to make more things, of course. 😉 Check the “news & events” section of my portfolio site, MarianneBland.com, to see up-to-date listings for in-person displays of my art.  But that’s the old stuff (you’ve seen all of it). So, without further ado- new art!

Completed linocut of V. Sattui Winery

Above is the completed test print from the block I showed you the other day, which looks like this:

Finished linocut block

If you’ve never been to V. Sattui Winery, you should treat yourself and go. It’s in St. Helena, which is near Napa, and they have this amazing deli with all kinds of goodies that taste great with their wine. Plus gorgeous grounds, lots of picnic areas and beautiful buildings-like the above stone structure covered in ivy. It’s one of my family’s favorite day trips. I also did a linocut of the Grgich Hills Winery, which has a much prettier garden than implied by their site.

Grgich Hills linocut

And this is what the carved block of linoleum I used to make that print looks like:

Carved linoleum block for Grgich Hills print

If you’re one of those people who changes the channel to avoid seeing movie previews (ahem.. Rob), you may want to stop scrolling now. Otherwise, here are sneak peeks of a few new pieces:

I’m particularly excited about that last one. So much color! 2 cityscapes, 2 abstracts and a big mixed media piece in the works. Want to know what music I’ve been blasting throughout the house to fuel this flurry of artmaking? Check out this sweet playlist I made on Grooveshark  for some nuggets of indie music goodness (no commercials, totally free, I’m in love.) See you again soon, darlings!

Commissions, curators and carvings, oh my!

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Who's the cutie pie? You are!

Sometimes I miss doing the daily art project. And I’ll admit it may someday make a reappearance. It’s exhilarating to be so productive. Then again, this whole art thing is often 50% making and 50% marketing, and those things don’t necessarily split themselves up perfectly each day. So lately I’ve had a show of nearly 30 mixed media abstracts here in Sacramento, I just finished the above commission drawing of an adorable doggie,  I’m also working on some wine country art including these linocuts…

An almost-done linoleum carving of V. Sattui Winery

.. and today I’m heading to the bay area to hang out with my mom, sister and nephew before meeting with 2 curators tomorrow about prospective showings of my cityscapes in Palo Alto and San Francisco.  I also had a couple of serious interviews last week for a job that I think would be just perfect for me, so fingers crossed! I entered some art in the State Fair and will find out within the next few days if it was accepted, and some other contest deadlines are looming, so it seems that the “marketing” thing has really taken hold here lately. Here’s an image of the reference photo I used for the dog portrait:

Not bad, eh?

I’ve never done a solid doggie drawing before, but it’s pretty similar to doing a person portrait. What do you think? Should I start offering pet portrait commissions in my Etsy shop? 😉

Second Saturday Art Walk in Sacramento

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The Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center

Hello lovelies! I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is that I have no new art to show you today- everything I’ve got going is in progress still. The good news (for those of you who live in Sacramento, that is) is that I’ll have some artwork on display locally, starting tomorrow. Yay!

If you’ve been looking for an opportunity to see some of my mixed media abstracts in person, here it is. Swing by the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center at 1927 L St. between 6 -9 pm tomorrow, Saturday May 14th, to view and purchase over 20 small format pieces for $60 or less!

I also published this article on Examiner.com just now, featuring a pre-planned walking route of some of my favorite art venues to check out during Second Saturday in Midtown. 6 spots are on the list, all centrally located within a few blocks, and I’ve included some sweet parking details. It’s a great way to pack the most art viewing into the smallest radius. It’s also the first in a series of mini-maps for Sacramento’s 2nd Saturdays, so stay tuned for new installments by following my articles. Have a great weekend, folks!