Updates from Terri on Her Art Journey
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Happy to report that my first art show was a moderate success. It was part of “Shop Small” Saturday held in downtown Henderson, Nevada, at City Lights Art Gallery. Honestly, I didn’t make a lot of money, but I made several new friends—what I call “divine appointments”—so I am happy indeed that I participated in the show.
We got to the gallery early to set up for the 10 a.m. opening, but customers (browsers mostly) didn’t start arriving in earnest until late morning. It was well after noon before I made my first sale: an 8” x 8” acrylic painting of three sunflowers. The buyer had to get permission from his wife to pluck the 20 bucks from his wallet (actually, it may have been HER wallet). Anyway, it was exciting to make my first sale to someone other than a friend or family member! My floral art seemed to get the most interest and comments from passersby. Indeed, I sold a second flower painting of purple pansies later in the afternoon. The purchaser of that piece said it reminded her of her college days because the purple pansy was her school’s symbol. Just as I was getting ready to pack it up for the day, a young woman stopped by and bought one of my small seascapes. That painting, she said, reminded her of childhood. It seems that people buy art because it evokes memories of a special time or place. Perhaps that’s why nature is such a popular subject. This is something I need to keep in mind as I work on developing my personal style and artistic voice.
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It’s wonderful to be back in my sunny Las Vegas studio. This is where I’m most productive. And I’m back just in time. This Saturday, November 27, I will be participating in my first art show, God willing. Part of “Shop Small,” it’s being held at City Lights Art Gallery in Henderson, Nevada, just off Water Street. My plan is to set up a table with about two dozen of my small paintings, both watercolors and acrylics. I’ll be displaying several of my floral paintings, as well as a few seascapes, and even some abstract pieces. Prices are quite reasonable. So, if you happen to be in the Las Vegas area on Saturday, please stop by between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. The address is 3 E Army Street, Henderson, NV. Check out the gallery at www.citylightsartgallery.com And may you have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving this Thursday! Now that I have more than three dozen of my “creations” listed on Fine Art America, it’s time to promote sales. Through Facebook, I started getting the word out by regularly posting images of some of my paintings with links to my store at www.territhompsonart.com/terri_thompson_art_store
And people have started to buy! Some of the most popular images include my abstracts, “Windswept,” “Many Colored Squares,” and “Psychedelic Flowers.” But folks aren’t necessarily buying them as wall art, but rather as T-shirts, tote bags, beach towels and spiral notebooks. Coffee mugs and face masks are also a big hit. I’m guessing that many of these purchases are going to be holiday gifts. Now is definitely the time to start shopping for the holidays, especially with the looming supply chain disruptions. So, get your orders in now. And keep an eye out for special sales that Fine Art America occasionally offers. I will continue to post suggestions for you to consider. In the meantime, happy shopping! For the past four months I’ve really enjoyed working in my cute little loft studio located in the Connecticut woods. But last week, when the temperature dropped below freezing (it was only 26 degrees one morning when I woke up!), I realized it was time to get back to sunny, WARM Las Vegas.
So this week I will be busy packing up and closing down this workspace, at least for now, Fortunately, during my time in New England I took plenty of photographs of the gorgeous bucolic scenery. Now, when I get back to my equally lovely “studio” in Las Vegas, I will have lots of reference photos for future landscape paintings. And each one will have a story to tell! One of my goals for this year is to complete five commissioned paintings. Last week I finished my fourth. It was commissioned by my niece, Nikki, who asked me to paint a picture of a family pet, an African Grey parrot named Joey.
Joey has been in my family for generations. My mother adopted him in 1970-something. When Mom was no longer able to take care of him, my sister became his caretaker, and now he lives with her daughter. Joey has moved all over the country—from Iowa to Arizona to Nevada and, most recently, to Washington, outside Seattle. Some might think it cruel to keep a bird in a cage. But the truth is, the average lifespan of an African Grey in the wild is 23 years, while in captivity they can live to be 50 or 60 years of age. Joey is already 50 years old, if not older. And he’s a happy fellow. One of the reasons Joey is so happy is because he gets fussed over a lot, and parrots apparently dig that. In doing some research, I learned that grey parrots are highly intelligent birds, performing at the cognitive level of a four- to six-year old human child. These birds need extensive attention or else they may become distressed. (Feather plucking is a common symptom seen among distressed grey parrots.) Indeed, social isolation hastens stress and aging. Joey seems happiest when he’s surrounded by activity, and when no one is home, my sister keeps him entertained by playing music, mostly country and western, on Alexa. Of course, parrots are well known for their ability to imitate human speech. I heard of one incident in which an escaped pet in Japan was returned to his owner after repeating the owner’s name and address! I doubt Joey can recite his address (after all, he’s moved around a lot over the years), but he can talk up a storm and, boy, can he sing and whistle. Yep, Joey is a real charmer. And it was a treat for me to paint his portrait. I hope Nikki likes it. I’m ready to start my next commissioned painting. It’s an African sunset. In the meantime, if you know of anyone who’d like me to paint a portrait of their favorite pet, please send them my way. I can be reached at tat5@columbia.edu |
AuthorTerri Thompson is a journalist-turned-visual artist, who is on an "art journey" and exploring how to tell her stories through her watercolor and acrylic paintings and photographs. Categories |