Behind the scenes

 

I spend a surprisingly small amount of time at the easel after an auction.  When you think "art studio", you probably see a lot of paint, canvases and works in progress in your mind.  What you might not see is the tape gun, box cutter and lots and lots of cardboard. 

You might not see the rolling cart full of replacement packing tape, sharpies, pencils, postcards and packaging stickers.

When I'm in the mode of putting an auction to bed, my primary focus is getting pieces packaged up and out the door. 

In the last five days, almost 100 gallery canvas prints have been either picked up or shipped out to places as far flung as Happy Valley, Newfoundland and Scottsdale, Arizona.  I had made so many custom shipping boxes that I reached a point where I felt like an automaton, pumping them out, one after the other, without even realizing what I was doing.

As I look around the studio, I see blank walls where prints and boxes had been piled up just hours ago.  It's kind of nice, if I'm being honest.  I can see the results of our work right in front of me.  

I did spend some precious time at the easel yesterday.  Struggling with some detail work, I decided to look into a tool that I've seen other artists use that allows them to steady their hand without touching the canvas.  I don't even know the name of the darn thing, but I did manage to build one of my own. 

Wow!  What a difference it makes when I need to get close in and work on an eye or mouth.  

Meanwhile, the commission requests continue to stack up and the clock keeps ticking toward the holidays.  As always, I do my best to meet customer expectations, but this is the time of year when balancing everything is the most challenging.  

I was grateful to have spent a few days focusing on gifting two families with portraits of their veterans. 

Aloysius "Wish" Gaudet

Usually, I only do one portrait on Remembrance Day, but for some inexplicable reason, I felt inspired to do two in 2020.  I'm so glad I did. 

Ern Abbott

The portraits of Aloysius "Wish" Gaudet and Ern Abbott have been shared far and wide, and I've had lovely messages from both families.  

Two things are happening this week.  First, I'm facilitating a virtual Mindcamp Wave session called "A River Runs Through It" with participants from around the world. 

Second, I'll be setting set up for the Okotoks Elks Christmas Market that happens next Friday (Nov 20) and Saturday (Nov 21) here in Okotoks.  

Stay safe....stay well.