Green picture framing | painting update

So much going on on the last day of the month I barely have time to write, and in April things really get busy.

I just finished another custom picture frame moulding project with The Frame Maker, this one with a "green" design angle, for San Diego architect James Brown of Public.

His new show, "The Third Country/El Tercer Pais" opens this week at The Athenaeum in La Jolla. Its the first installment of a three-part exhibition (continuing at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego this summer) that explores "...through models and drawings, the nature of boundary, and linear patterns that might later translate into new strategies of designing the frontier.”

These beautiful little conceptual drawings are presented in moulding I milled for Jim by request from poplar, a sustainable, fast growing timber that Jim has used for many of his project sin the past.



I'm writing more about this project and the green aspects of using this lumber and some of the other materials usedin Jim's frames over on The frame Maker's Design blog, so let me get on to some other fun here.

I am finally finishing a painting project from 2006 that some of you may remember as a chalk project that was one of the first things I wrote about on this blog. I will get into the whole long story in the next few posts, but here's a quick pic from my temporary back yard studio of the almost finished rendering of an Italian master that will be hanging in Little Italy in time for this spring's annual Art Walk event.



Stay tuned for more on ArtWalk over the next month as I roll out my new Artist Services program in conjunction with 2009 ArtWalk event sponsor The Frame Maker, ArtWalk and the SDSU Art Department.

SDSU Children's Center A-is-for-Art comes to The Frame Maker

This is another cool program happening over at San Diego State that I've been able to encourage and assist as the Marketing Director of The Frame Maker.

With the dedicated work of professional artists supporting them, pre-schoolers from 18 months up to five years old at the SDSU Children's Center explore art-making all year long. The program culminates with each group of kids creating a piece of "finished work" that then goes into a group show. The pieces are auctioned off at the show with the proceeds going to fund programming at the Children's Center.

We helped out the A-is-for-Art program last year with a quick frame job for twenty of the canvases. This year not only are we framing up some paintings, but we're hosting a selection of the work in The Frame Maker showroom for the next ten days, too, with a reception on Tuesday evening, March 24, from 5.30-8.00pm, with refreshment courtesy of North Park's Urban Solace. A preview:



So ome check it out in person, meet some of the artists, parents and staff who make this incredible program possible. You can read more about A-is-for-Art at http://as.sdsu.edu/child/aisforart.html . More preview pictures of the new installation at The Frame Maker below.

ECHOES extended @ The Frame Maker

A few posts ago, I wrote about how happy I was with the show ECHOES now at The Frame Maker here in San Diego. I connected and assisted two artists, glass artist Lea de Wit and photographer Maire Scharpegge, create a very successful show.

So successful we've extended ECHOES through April 21st, when we begin preparing for our next show. So if you haven't seen this show yet, here's a picture, and you can scroll down to the past few posts for more. Because of the materials involved (glass and stainless steel) and their unique reflective properties, you should see this show in person.



Both artists have been gracious enough to replace the works we've already sold, so that the show is as robust as at the beginning, even though today there is a piece out on approval. I also want to add that as a mentor in the business-of-art department, I am especially proud of these two for their efforts and follow-through!

(So go visit them online:
glass artist Lea de Wit
photographer Maire Scharpegge)

Business of art mentoring scholarship for SDSU art students

I'm really excited about a new program I've developed with Sandi Cottrell of ArtWalk this year to mentor a SDSU art department student through the process of preparing, presenting and promoting a show of his or her work at ArtWalk as the launch and springboard of his or her business as a professional artist.

I'll write more about details later, today I want to share this pic of our first scholarship winner, Jessica Siemans. Taken last night with her purchase-award piece "Face" in the SDSU art galleries last night after the awards ceremony, this picture only shows a fraction of Jessica's energy and enthusiasm for her work.

It was really a pleasure to meet Jessica and feel the energy and excitement of all the artists present, student and faculty both. Definitely look for more posts about this project through April 25 & 26, the weekend of ArtWalk 2009--I'm really looking forward to the whole process and excitement of an artist getting response to their work and results for their efforts. I'll probably put up links to a new site blog specifically about this project as part of my new Art & Artist Services project with The Frame Maker.

Paintings by Franco Colavecchia

doublehead
Originally uploaded by Franco Colavecchia

I have been reveling in the work of my friend and mentor at NCSA Franco Colavecchia, who has a remarkable body of work assembled on Flickr.

Fortunately for us, Franco began teaching once a year at UCSD shortly after Heather and I moved to San Diego, so we've been able to stay in somewhat regular touch.

This summer is a special treat, because I'll be organizing a show of Franco's work, original paintings and original scenic renderings both, here in San Diego at The Frame Maker.

More on that later, go check out Franco on Flickr.

Not so fast, somebody needs something painted.

Humorously, not long after my last post, I got two different custom painting/faux finishing jobs, one larger (a new office), one smaller (a 6'x 6' painting that needs repaired/ refurbished).

Funny how that works.

Its not like I wasn't utilizing all those skills at The Frame Maker. I'm just posting some details on the Design blog there about some of the custom finishes we created last year for some specific projects, projects I had forgotten about until sorting pictures this past weekend.

The first custom finish post is about a painted wood grain finish I did for a client in a hurry when their first choice moulding was out of stock for far longer than the time frame when they needed them.



In this picture, the corner sample at the back is the goal: a clear finish over a lightly stained softwood with a simple tight grain, kind of a chestnut color. In this profile, we couldn't get that finish in time. What we could get was the same profile in a very dark chocolate-mahogany color ("espresso"). The moulding lengths in the foreground are actually a painted and glazed finish over what began as an almost black translucent wood finish.

The client wasn't just thrilled with the match of the painted faux finish, but with the on time delivery and installation of her framed pieces. The out-of-stock problem which started out of our control ended up providing us with the opportunity to deliver a clutch solution and an absolutely premium level of customer service.

Since that was part of my consulting spec at the time, I'm very pleased with this particular job to this day.

Current faux finish and mural work?

I've had more than a few inquiries from friends asking what I've got going for faux finish and mural projects right now, and the right answer is not one I've ever admitted before.

Right now? None.

I don't have an active contract right now to paint anything for anyone.

Fortunately, this isn't the same concern for me right now it could be otherwise. In the too-rare instance of me practicing what I preach, diversification has allowed me to remain relatively unstressed by economy, media gloom & panicked peers.

Rather, many of the business and marketing skills I had developed over the years to grow my mural and faux-painting business are now much in demand as everyone's business (and outlook) contracts to some degree.

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I've been heavily involved in someone else's business for over a year now at The Frame Maker. I link to their website here because it is my most developed example of helping a business both 1) strengthen its bond with existing clients and 2)actually gain new clients in a shrinking marketplace driven by uncertainty and fear.

Designed and built by my company from scratch, The Frame Maker site and blogs (always featured on the left panel of this blog) help deliver real value to existing clients looking for info and examples and potential clients looking for the best custom picture framer in town.

These new web design and marketing consulting services will be fully documented and presented on their own at some point in the near future, but for the next few months you'll be able to find updates, links and testimonials here as I prepare to officially launch the "Artist Services" part of my "Art & Artist Services" tagline.

Stay tuned.