New Work

Two new paintings have been recently added to my In Our Veins series.  One you may recall I posted a progress shot of not too long ago and is now finally finished.  Systems is an acrylic on canvas, 6″ x 6″ and Unity is also an acrylic on canvas, 4″w x 6″h.  Systems was originally started in February of 2010 and as I stated earlier, it was one of those moments that I needed to step back from it for awhile.  I am particularly fascinated by the commonalities found in nature.  In Systems my focus was on the similarities between ant colonies and the human body, the intestines replaced by tunnels of ants as both serve as transports for nourishment among their other functions.  While Unity focuses on the connections between all life with butterflies representing life itself- beautiful, fragile, and here for a short time.  Both paintings can be found online here: http://www.amyguidry.com/systems.html and here: http://www.amyguidry.com/unity.html.

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Fine Line Magazine

Fine Line Magazine feature: Amy Guidry

I’m honored to be a featured artist on Fine Line Magazine’s site.  Editor Cassandra Smith wrote, “Awesome, surrealist paintings by Louisiana artist Amy Guidry. Through her series “In Our Veins”, Guidry explores themes of life, death and our relationships to each other and the natural world.”  Check out the feature here: http://finelinemagazine.tumblr.com/post/36596233835/amyguidry.

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Sold

One of my New Realm paintings and one of my In Our Veins paintings have recently found a new home.  Ladybug was one of the few remaining small paintings from the New Realm series.  It is an acrylic on canvas, 5″ x 5.”  Transient is one of the more recent paintings from the In Our Veins series and is an acrylic on canvas, 6″ wide by 4″ high.  View more from each series here and here.

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New Work

 

I’ve just added two new paintings to my In Our Veins series.  The first is Synthesis, an acrylic on canvas, 4″ x 4.”  The next painting is Division, also an acrylic on canvas, 4″ x 4.”  Synthesis has just sold and currently on its way to its new home but Division is currently available.  I have more new paintings to feature as well, including the piece I posted in progress earlier in the month, so be on the lookout.  In the meantime, I have the current new work posted on my Facebook Fan Page which you can view here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amy-Guidry/51953219932?sk=photos_stream.

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Before and After

My tiny brushes- before and after

I get asked pretty often how I paint such small details.  I always tell people that I use small paintbrushes and work on one square inch area at a time, but I don’t think that really quite explains it.  Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words so I thought I should take a before and after of my brushes.  Now, these are actually in better condition than most since I’ve been working on small paintings lately.  Usually I use these on some larger canvases and those bad boys destroy the bristles.  Regardless, you get the idea.  The new brush is on the right- crisp, pristine and miniscule compared to a dime.  The group on the left are my “afters” with the bristles splayed out in different directions or completely curved which does not work very well for fine details.  I go through roughly a brush a day, sometimes I can eek out two days, depending on the painting.  Now just imagine taking that to a 30 inch tall painting: http://www.amyguidry.com/wild_west.html.

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Artwalk

Amy Guidry and Dutch Kepler at his 2011 show at Gallery 549

Looking forward to this weekend’s Artwalk. The 2nd Saturday Artwalk in downtown Lafayette will be held this Saturday, November 10th from 6-9pm. Lots of new exhibits up this month and it’s all free to attend! So here is the schedule:

Acadiana Center for the Arts– 101 W. Vermilion St. / 337-233-7060
Main Gallery: November 10, 2012 – January 12, 2013- Passion: the art of collecting, From the collection of the Georgia Museum of Art on loan from Giuliano M. Ceseri
Side Gallery: November 10, 2012 – January 5, 2013- Cynthia Scott
James S. Mallia Galleria: November 10, 2012 – January 5, 2013- Deck the Halls: skateboard canvases by The Drink and Draw Social Club
Coca-Cola Studio: October 13, 2012 – December 1, 2012- Bradley Sabin
Vault Series: November 10, 2012 – December 15, 2012- Deborah Simeral & Carolyn Marino

Arts Co-op– 535 1/2 Jefferson St. / 337-344-8657
Tony Bernard, Camilla Drobish, Kai Drobish, Krystel Ivy, and Susan Leger

The Ballet Academie-200 Polk Street / 337-280-0964
Herb Roe

Cajun Spice– 535 Jefferson St / 337-232-3061
Bryant Benoit

Cité des Arts– 109 Vine St. / 337-291-1122
Tom Secrest

Creations by Fire– 100 E. Vermilion St., Suite 140 / 225-235-2957
Heather Delahoussaye

Gallery 549– 549 Jefferson St. / 337-593-0796
Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture by Donald LeBlanc. Also featured ROSWELL ROOTS: Paintings by Dutch Kepler

Galerie Lafayette– 538 Jefferson St. / 337-261-5787
Bob Adams

Gallery R (at The Russo Group)- 116 E. Congress St. / 337-769-1530
30 year collection of Downtown Alive! posters

Lounge Art Gallery– 402 S. Buchanan St. / 337-236-5570
Fifty Under Five Hundred group exhibition

Sans Souci Gallery– 219 E. Vermilion St. / 337-266-7999
Michael Hayman

Whoojoo Stained Glass– 532 Jefferson St. / 337-269-9310
David Alpha, Whitney Gounsoulin, Tom Ladousa,and Craig McCullen

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Juried Shows

I see a lot of questions regarding juried art exhibitions- to enter or not to enter, and what to enter, and which ones to enter…  I thought I’d give my two cents on the issue.  Personally, I like them and think they can be a great opportunity, as long as you do your homework.

Be choosey.  If it’s a show in the middle of nowhere and juried by someone you’ve never heard of, pass it up.  Focus your efforts on the shows that matter most to you.

That said, if you are just starting out and need to build up some exhibition experience, it may be worthwhile as long as you are spending little to nothing on entry fees or shipping.

Where is the exhibit being held?  Look for a good venue, perhaps a space you’ve been interested in showing or maybe it’s a particular city of interest.

Who is the juror?  Is it someone you’ve been wanting to meet or you admire their work?

What are the fees?  Some juried shows have outrageous fees or some have high fees and require a high commission on top of that.  Look for those that strike a balance between fees and commission rates, if there is one.

Is the work insured?  If the venue does not automatically insure the work, you probably shouldn’t enter.  Good venues have insurance.  It’s just good business.

Shipping?  This will kill it for some people, but if you want to show your work, you’re going to have to pay shipping.  Find the safest, most economical way to ship your work.  This will take some research and will be different for everyone depending on how you pack it and what you pack, your location, and the shipping carrier, but once you determine this, you can use that info for all other aspects of your art business.

Stay away from vanity galleries.  I can’t stress this one enough.  Some vanity galleries hold “competitions” and will look for a way to sucker you in to paying them thousands of dollars for your own solo exhibition.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Focus on galleries and venues with solid reputations- yes, this means it will be harder to get in and the competition will be fierce, but they are legit.

Presentation is everything.  Make sure you follow all directions, dot your i’s and cross your t’s.  Submit your best work, make sure that if there is more than one entry, all works are consistent in style, technique, and content.  Remember, the juror is seeing this out of context- they don’t know the background behind the art.  What you are submitting needs to make sense to someone just getting a small peek inside your world.

Follow up.  If you get into a show or better yet, win an award, be sure to send out press releases to the local media.  There certainly isn’t enough art in the news, so take the opportunity to get your work featured.

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