Happy Old Year!

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty glad 2010 is over. It had some brilliant moments but there were also some very low points.

The worst were the illness and death of my beloved dog (I still miss the little guy), househunting (a seemingly endless quest), moving, stress and insomnia, moving, and, oh, did I mention moving? I hate moving. (I’m still not done. Ick.) Also there was a fairly disastrous (or at least highly unpleasant) rained-out art show in Beverly Hills. Oh, the vicissitudes of life on the outdoor art show circuit! But that leads me to…

The best parts of 2010! There were some real high points, including my best art show ever (Kings Mountain), our lovely new house, my fabulous (and big!) new studio, and our fantastic new dog. The love and support of my beloved sweetie, particularly during Kings Mountain when he fed and chauffered me, took care of my dog, and even helped with the setup and teardown at the show. (Yeah, he’s a keeper.) We spent some wonderful and meaningful time with family and friends. Very good things indeed, and I am grateful for them all.

I hope to build on the successes of 2010, move past the failures, and enjoy the gifts of life with joy and gratitude.

"Backlit Hills" by Barbara J Carter, 11x14 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2010.

Happy Old Year! Farewell 2010. Onwards and upwards!

Silver Lake Open Studio Tour

For the 3rd year in a row, I’m participating in the annual Silver Lake Art Collective’s annual open studio tour. It’s this weekend, so don’t miss it!

November 13-14, 2010
Saturday & Sunday, 12-5pm
2974 Waverly Drive, Silver Lake (Los Angeles), California

As usual, I’m showing my work at the home studio of friend and fellow SLAC member Fred Chuang (that’s his address above). In addition to the two of us, several other members of the SLAC group are also holding simultaneous open studios in the neighborhood, so you can see a whole bunch of art this weekend! The tour is free and open to the public. More information here.

Besides getting to see our art up close and personal, this is a great chance to hobnob with us, meet other art enthusiasts, munch on Fred’s famous homemade turkey chili (and lots of other goodies), and pat the friendly studio dogs. It’s a fun, relaxed drop-in party. Join us!

Art in Beverly Hills Oct 16-17, 2010

I’m exhibiting my art in this weekend’s art fair in Beverly Hills. Here’s the stats:

Beverly Hills Affaire in the Gardens
Saturday & Sunday, October 16-17, 2010
10am to 5pm
242 N. Beverly Drive (at Santa Monica Blvd), Beverly Hills, California
Free admission and free parking available on neighborhood streets.

Look for me in Booth 170, near the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Rodeo Drive. (Yes, it’s that Rodeo Drive. Pronounced “Roe-DAY-Oh.” Although here there will be art rather than pricey boutiques.)

Can’t make the show? You’ll get one more chance to see me before the end of the year at the Silver Lake Art Collective’s 10th Annual Open Studio Tour, held in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. More info here.

And of course I always list all of my upcoming shows on my website here.

The Art Studio is Moving

My art studio (and all the rest of my life) is moving. Moving! To a bigger space where I will be able to make bigger art, and where I will also be closer to all the cool arty stuff that goes on in Los Angeles.

This is a big step. It was a long time coming. Years of dreaming and looking and wishing, months (many months!) of serious shopping and offering and rejections, and finally several agonizing weeks of negotiating and stress and lousy sleep. At long last it’s a done deal. I’m moving into my new space, and I couldn’t be happier.

I got the keys yesterday:

We start moving this weekend. Yay! So excited.

My art on bus stops

As you might recall, I entered 2 of my paintings into a competition to get my art displayed on local bus stops for a month. Both were selected, and now they’re up!

So of course I had to drive around town and take pictures of them.

Here’s the bus stop where my small (12×9″) painting “Pacheco Tree” is reproduced really HUGE! You can see every single brushstroke. Fun!

And “Satwiwa” is the featured painting at this bus stop. The guy sitting there seemed really confused by my taking photos of the bus stop. I explained that it was my art, but he didn’t seem to get it. Oh well.

The point of these bus-stop posters is to advertise the city’s annual street arts festival (October 2-3, 2010). Part of my prize was a free booth space at the festival. I had planned to participate, but too many problems cropped up so it turns out I’m not going to be in the festival after all.

But hey, I still got my art up on the bus stops. I think that’s pretty cool.

Showing art under the redwoods

I had a spectacularly good art show at the Kings Mountain Art Fair on Labor Day weekend (Sept 4-6, 2010).

So many people came to the show, and so many enjoyed looking at my art, and so many bought my paintings that I started worrying about running out of art! I didn’t run out, but I’ll admit to having a somewhat reduced selection at the moment. (Don’t worry, I’m painting more.)

If you’re in the area (southern San Francisco Bay Area, California) and haven’t been to the show, you really must go (whether I’m there or not). It’s a sight to behold. Here, let me show you.

Deep in a dense redwood forest, for three days once a year, something magical takes place.

A village of white tents springs from the forest floor, like mushrooms after a rain.

In each tent you’ll find something different and unique. Sparkling jewelry, handthrown pottery, blown glass, carved wood, photography, paintings.

But wait, whose tent is this? Whose paintings are these?

Ah, there she is! The artist herself.

Grinning from ear to ear at her spectacular good fortune, to be included in this fabulous art show. See you there next year!

Gearing up for the big art show

I’ve been quietly painting this summer. Now that my next big art show is just around the corner, the painting is taking on a certain urgency. I can only take finished paintings to the show, so now I’m pushing to finish up several paintings that I’ve been working on. It remains to be seen how many actually get finished in time!

Here’s a sneak peek at two of the paintings I’m working on right now. These two are done, or close enough that they’ll definitely make the cut.

My big show coming up is in northern California: Kings Mountain Art Fair. It’s September 4-6, 2010 (Labor Day Weekend). You should go!

You can always see my art show schedule here.

New dot painting: “Mandala”

My latest painting, “Mandala.”

"Mandala" painting by Barbara J Carter, 2010, 10x10 inches, acrylic on canvas

This was a really fun painting to make. I didn’t have any set idea about it when I started, other than it being a mandala. I just began in the center and worked my way out. I’m very pleased with the results.

This points me in yet another new direction to be explored. Because apparently the neo-Pointillist landscapes, the “Sun in Trees” series, the geometric dot paintings, the big dot paintings and the little-bitty dot paintings aren’t enough projects for me right now. Ahem.

Click image for purchasing information.

By popular demand, another dot painting

“Halo Dots” painting by Barbara J Carter (detail view)

A couple years ago I painted some large experimental abstract dot paintings. One in particular seemed to catch people’s fancy. I showed it to a group of artists for an informal critique and they really liked it. Actually, they kind of gushed over it. I was a little embarrassed because I didn’t really think it was that amazing. But it was nice that they liked it.

And then I put it away and didn’t think much about it.

It wasn’t like my “usual” work (the landscapes), so I didn’t bring it to any of my art shows or even put it on my art website. I liked it OK, but it didn’t strike me as all that amazing. Indeed, I felt some aspects of it were rather derivative. I wanted to do better.

Anyway, a few months ago I had some extra space in my art show booth so I brought it along and hung it up just to fill the space.

Ha ha, the joke’s on me. It was the one painting that I sold that weekend!

So I painted another one like it just in time to show it at my next show, two weeks later. That one got a huge amount of attention. It was by far the most popular painting I had hanging in my booth, and not too surprisingly it sold. People came up to me as I was wrapping it up, asking if I had any more like it. I promised I would make more. I painted another one after the show, and it sold. Yikes!

Now I’ve painted yet another one (shown below). It hasn’t sold… yet!

“Halo Dots” by Barbara J Carter, acrylic on canvas, 18×24″ framed to 24×30″

If it hasn’t sold by this fall, I’ll bring it to my next art show, Kings Mountain, in northern California. (If you’re in the Bay Area on Labor Day weekend, you definitely should come to this show. It’s a good one.)

I plan to paint a few more in this vein. It seems to be in demand. I might be a little slow on the uptake sometimes, but I think I finally got the message. Thank you to all the people who admired, said “wow!”, surreptitiously touched (I saw that!), and especially the ones who bought, these paintings. You are the reason I’m doing this.

You can always see all my available paintings (and some of the sold ones) on my art website, and my art show schedule is constantly being updated.

Little-Bitty Dot Painting “Dots 16”

I haven’t completed one of these little guys in a while. (I call ’em “little bitty” paintings, you can see more here.) It’s high time for a new one, I think.

“Dots 16″ by Barbara J Carter, 5×7”, acrylic on canvasboard.

The end result reminded me of a nebula (a bunch of stars or a glowing clump of interstellar gas), so I’m calling it “Nebula” as its alternate title. As per usual, it’s an experimental piece, just a way for me to work out some ideas and see what happens. The dots are nicely raised; it’s fun to run your fingertips over them.

Update: It sold quickly! You can see all my other paintings, including those still available, here.