Thanks to my friend David I have this photo taken at Halcyon which gives you some idea of the scale of the art. The show is up for one more week, and then it will be time to properly photograph and send off/deliver a few of these paintings to their respective new owners.
Since these are some of my first paintings in years, creating original work that exists purely because looking at it makes me (and hopefully others) giddy was my “mission.” I achieved that, and it was probably one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. I took a leap by turning down almost all client work over the past 6 months and focusing on just making art that satisfied me. My drive came from a gut feeling that I needed to do this and the self imposed pressure of a show during SXSW in a high traffic location.
Looking at that gigantic wall at Halcyon now and seeing it dwarfed by the paintings I’ve toiled over for the past year is a great feeling, especially knowing that I didn’t have to hang anything lame just to fill space. I shot some video of the biggest wall there (aka the enemy) months ago and watched it every few days, certain that my work would be no match. There was a pit in my stomach that I’d be building up a silly amount of hype for a mostly bare wall or dramatically unveiling a hodgepodge of old student work. Fortunately neither of those things happened.
The results of this show are just starting to trickle in, and my hunch is that this kind of work could even be a sustainable way to make a living in as little as a year or two. I have no desire to quit design, but I believe I’m happier now that the nature of my freelance design has shifted to partnerships and collaborations rather than typical client-designer relationships. I intend to continue doing both art and design as they influence each other for me.
The people who bought my first new paintings happened to be those who I already know and respect. The fact that they believe in the value of my art enough to buy it is pretty much like the cream cheese icing on my already-delicious brachiosaurus Whole Foods carrot cake.
I also need to give credit where it is due to people who make amazing handmade things for my art. Robert Griffice built my frames, no detail was spared on these and they truly give the work presence on a wall. Industry Screen Print now handles all of my silkscreen work and Tony, Brian, and Randy are at the top of their game. Lastly, my llama cards which never seem to get old are letterpressed by The Mandate Press, where Ben and Sarah have made my vector brushwork work organic, tactile and awesome.
Thanks for reading, and for the moral support that so many of you have given me.
SG
Shyama is a new friend I made when I was at SXSW last week. Her work is awesome, and you can find more of it at shyamagolden.com
