Oliver's Blog (10)

I took several of the recent image posts at the Bayou City Art Festival. The on site public relations chair asked me to thank vendor artists, other volunteers and customers and said I could hand out business card/flyers if I wanted to. I emailed about the content, but specifically chose portraits, which does not really compete with artists selling work at festivals in general – except in the sense money and wall space is scarce. Most art at art festivals is not made to order, and is not custom… Continue

There is a meet the new head Honcho of Houston Arts Alliance coming up at Diverse Works. So I thought I'd swing by the web site and check out mission statements, grants and etc.

Well the About Us language says things like, "The arts sector is a critical element of the economic and cultural vitality of the Greater Houston region." - but to qualify for a grant or fellowship from them there is a residency requirement. Interesting

… Continue

Questions of Balance –

Balancing time?

Making new images, Administering them (copies, filing back up copies), marketing, getting supplies, keeping abreast of what is going on in the world….

Lisa, my wife helps, with everything but the creation, and is almost always the first to comment on new work.

I’m told I’m very prolific – I try and average 1 new image brought to final a week.

I’m very behind on my web work and etc --- I have to finish file and something

… Continue

Robert Genn's Twice weekly letter was about Maslow - I referred to him yesterday .... Guess this time of year makes you think about needs and want fufillment.

So anyway Genn's post and my response follow:

Getting to your must create is important.

Getting to your audience's must have is important for your sales. Typically this means they must want it for personal expression on their walls (sometimes in a book for education etc). Their creativity being in the sel

… Continue

Thanksgiving – giving thanks. In the United States this holiday has deeply religious roots – but with a cross-cultural sharing. The history/mythology says the Pilgrims, religious refugees organized a feast with the local natives/neighbors to give thanks to God and their neighbors for a bountiful harvest.

Harvest festivals are common. Thanking the higher spirit is common. Sharing thanks with your neighbors who have different cultural background and beliefs, is not I think, quite so comm

… Continue

The processes used to make art under go change over time. Often there is a or set of dominate processes and a host of alternatives – some historical some coming.

If measured by the number of viewers, users etc., television has to be the dominate media in the world today, and it didn’t even exist 100 years ago. Ultimately a derivative of film and photography it is viewed by millions of people each day, worked on by scores. Film is even often repeated

… Continue

The Salon has come to me to mean the art establishment, decision makers and the influential – the gallery owners, the museum and non profit curators, the art teachers. The historical "discussion" between the French Salon and the Impressionists give the name – although Renoir knew the painters ultimately needed the Salon. I guess what he didn’t realize at the time was that he, his peers and students were to become part of or indeed the Salon.

Not so monolithic today, the Salon is evolvi

… Continue

Got some new work done. Yea!

Getting ready for the holidays. Fighting with large companies to get things done or them to honor their commitments under warranty etc.

Photo Forum tonight! It is voting night. There are some really good things this year. Overall more than a little heavy on the documentary or photo journalistic influenced for an "art" collection though. As always from the perspective of photography, very good choices....

So Lisa and I voted before the Nan Gold

… Continue

Well my wife's work seems to be turning into a hot spot of sales -- great! But proof prints of selections take time..... Thats fine - throw me in that briar patch!!!!!

Found a couple of other things that at the last moment needed to be done .... as few calls as I respond to had one today -- email submission - not even an auto response "we got it" With the attachments kind of big and a lot of hosts killing big emails - followed up and etc. Made me feel like a pest and chewed up time. It

… Continue

I don't respond much to call for entries any more.

Got the same one from 2 places

The title of Backlight 2008 is:

Tickle Attack

Tickle Attack is about Humor, Laughter, Irony, Paradox and Absurd. Artists should submit

… Continue