Happy Holidays!

2010 Christmas Design, Christine Marie Art

Thanks to everyone who visited the galleries, shows and open studios this year. Your support is amazing, and appreciated!! Happy holidays to you and your loved ones. I hope to see you next year!

Holiday art for cherished friends and family

 

Just listed this wall art in my etsy shop...part of a little holiday collection...perfect for small spaces! And the best part? 25% OFF through the end of the year with coupon code HOLIDAY25 at checkout.

Love & Laughter : Peace & Joy : Hope & Faith

Holiday Sale on Prints!!

Happy Holidays!! From now through the end of the month I am having a holiday sale of 25% OFF all prints in my Etsy shop. Not only that, but I will be adding new items each day of prints that have never been for sale! So take a peek now and check back often. To redeem the 25% off simply use the coupon code HOLIDAY25 during checkout. Visit http://chrisenc.etsy.com

Something small for Small(er) Works

Just finished these pieces. They are collages made with acrylic monotypes on rice paper, each measuring 10" x 20" x 2". They will be part of a new exhibit of "Small(er) Works" at Galatea Fine Art throughout December. Opening Reception is Friday December 3 from 6 - 8pm during SoWa's First Friday festivities.

Studios and more studios

What a great Open Studios yesterday at the Lydia Pinkham Building in Lynn. Above is the space I work in each day, which I finally set up in a way that looks more like it should. I met many of the other artists in the building, chatted with TONS of visitors, and the best thing is, people were out to buy ART! Thanks go out to Seth Albaum, editor of LynnHappens.com, who is determined to promote all that is happening in the arts in our area, and to Corey Jackson of DowntownLynn.com, who was doing the same.

For more studio vignettes (including mine) check out today's "The Altered Page" where Seth Apter has been documenting "The State of the Art" and today's post is on StudioScapes.

5th Annual Lydia Pinkham Open Studios, November 20

5th Annual Lydia Pinkham Open Studios
Saturday, November 20, 10am - 4pm 
Because my studio is in the Lydia Pinkham Building, I can truly say that this is my FIRST Open Studio event. (I've participated in the SoWa Open Studios, but was set up in the outdoor venue). I'd love to have visitors to my studio on the second floor, Suite 211 to see new original artwork and image transfer demonstrations. Then, of course, visit the many other studio artists throughout the building.
271 Western Avenue, Lynn, MA
Hope to see you all there!!
For directions, parking, and more information about this event visit: http://www.lydia-pinkham.com/location.php
   

One Week Left to See the "Respite" Exhibit -- Meet the Artist!

My exhibit "Respite: Patterns & Places Real & Imagined" at Galatea Fine Art comes down on September 27, and this weekend is a GREAT time to come to the South End and see it. I will be at the gallery on Saturday, September 25 from noon until 6pm and would be happy to discuss the work and techniques.

In addition to the great weather predicted for the weekend, and me being at the gallery, there's another excellent reason to make the trip to SoWa...it's Open Studios Weekend. No doubt it will be a hopping weekend in the South End. Hope to see you there!

A small selection of the pieces in the Respite collection at Galatea Fine Art

These and other digital mixed media pieces I've designed are on display at Galatea Fine Art in Boston's South End through September 27, 2010.

Respite: Patterns & Places, Real & Imagined

Yes it's summer and while vacation is foremost in my mind, I have also been hard at work preparing for my first solo show, coming up in September at Galatea Fine Art. The name "Respite: Patterns & Places, Real & Imagined" stems from feeling  that everywhere I look, there are signs, directions, calls for action. Buy this, write your senator about that. Join our cause. Save the gulf (OK, this I happen to agree with). It's overwhelming. So when I create, I want to make art that allows my eyes to follow their own path, to formulate my own thoughts, and find my own meaning. I want to get lost in a visual where I can hear myself think, where there is no specific agenda.

This collection of digital mixed media has at its core digital photography, which I shot in places as varied as the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the streets of New York City (yes, those vacation places are always foremost in my mind!). Inspired by nature, even in the city, I've layered many of these images together in Photoshop until a new composition is derived. Rather than a literal replication, I've tried to create a memory of the patterns, colors and senses I felt during the visit. The hybrid artworks incorporate this digital imagery and photography with acrylics, collage, and other media through an intuitive process of experimental and alternative printmaking techniques.

The exhibit runs from from September 3 - 27, 2010 at Galatea Fine Art in Boston's South End. An opening reception is scheduled for Friday, September 10 from 6 - 8pm coinciding with the South End First Friday celebration. Hope to see you there!!

From the Studio...a new collage

NY Stroll

Here is the first piece of art completed in my new studio at the Lydia Pinkham Building in Lynn, MA. After working for years in a studio in my home, it's nice to have more space to spread things out and not be afraid to get dirty!

This is a digital mixed media piece. The background is a heavy mixed media paper lightly textured with gesso, random acrylic washes and mark-making. The foreground is a digital collage, comprised of photos I took in Central Park. It was printed with ultrachrome pigment ink on silk gampi tissue paper, and adhered to the background. The silk gampi allows the background to show through -- with a nice depth to it. I would imagine that multiple layers would be fun to play with!

Experimenting with Printing on Mica

Here it is nearly July 4 and we've enjoyed a beautiful spring. So much so that I've already taken a trip to New Hampshire and Maine, and came back with some sheets of mica that I thought I would try printing on. Of course my printer would never pass a warranty test at this point, but such is the life of experimental digital mixed media. I coated the mica with Golden Digital Ground, ran through the printer (on a carrier sheet), and added the printed mica to a work in progress. See...

Art Walk Weekend, June 5 & 6!

Hope to see you at either of these two Art Walks on the first weekend in June! 

SALEM ARTS WALK, JUNE 5

Enjoy a stroll through beautiful and historic Salem, MA and experience the Salem Arts Festival, a celebration all the arts: painting, photography, sculpture, dance, music, writing, new media, performance, poetry, culinary and more! I will be participating for the JUNE 5 Arts Walk at Urban Elements, one of the many Salem businesses graciously hosting artists for the day.  

BEACON HILL ART WALK, JUNE 6

I am also participating in the Beacon Hill Art Walk on JUNE 6 throughout the secret gardens and patios of Beacon Hill. Residents open up their private gardens, alleyways, and courtyards, creating a festive atmosphere with volunteer musicians playing in various gardens throughout the day

SoWa Art Walk Weekend, May 15 & 16

SoWa Art Walk 2010

I'm feeling a little sad that I won't be participating in the SoWa Open Market this year, but am excited that my co-op gallery Galatea Fine Arts is on the SoWa Art Walk, this weekend May 15 &16. So many galleries, studios and the open market... it should be a fantastic weekend in the South End! I plan on stopping in at Galatea, strolling through the market to visit some Boston Handmade friends, and grabbing a cocktail at one of the neighborhood eateries. Will I see you there??

Central Park, In Essence

Feeling slightly abstract this morning. This is a combination of three separate collaged and painted papers, digitally collaged with one of the pictures I took in Central Park. To be transferred to a textured panel at some point. I'm thinking of doing a series of these called "In Essence" because although they are not literal references to a place, to me they capture the essence of the moment when I visited.

Garden by the Sea

You might remember this but in a different configuration...I rearranged the collaged papers into what (to me) looks like a garden by the ocean. Another "different configuration" is the way I'm blogging...I'm sending this from my phone for the first time!
Sent on the Now Network™ from my Sprint® BlackBerry

Remembering Central Park

Digital composition using many of the photos I took in Central Park, combined with one of last year's textured collages.

Scenes from a Pond triptych

I was gallery sitting yesterday at Galatea Fine Arts and snapped this picture of my "Scenes from a Pond" triptych in the members area. It looked so nice hanging there with all the light streaming in. If you're in the South End, the solo exhibits this month by Philip Gerstein, "About Color" and Elizabeth Hathaway "Between Space" are fantastic - through April 30, 2010.

From the blue acrylic paintings, a digital collage

Here's a new digital collage that came about from the blue collage paintings that I was doing. By scanning the painting, overlaying some of my photos, and blending in Photoshop, this is the result. I'm planning on preparing some panels and transferring the images using Bonny Lhotka's SuperSauce technique. Will post when they're done!

Crystal on Martha Stewart - The Proposal

Just had to share this adorable clip of Crystal Hanehan (Vintage by Crystal from my Boston Handmade group) on Martha Stewart yesterday. It was her second time on the show demonstrating her adorable spun cotton creatures, but this time she had a BIG surprise, on LIVE television. Absolutely adorable. Congrats Crystal and Ben.

http://www.marthastewart.com/clip-of-the-day-the-proposal?video_id=0

Going wherever it leads

 

It's been a while since I've posted anything, or created much, to be honest. Maybe it's the winter, but I've felt pretty uninspired lately. A trip somewhere is definitely needed! But in the meantime I decided to do something...anything...just to see where it lead...and like most of what I do, it lead to the patterns, textures and colors of nature. I used paper, tissue, acrylic and prismacolor marker and came up with these bits of abstract collages and paintings which remind me of ocean, forest, roots, topographic maps. I'm enjoying the "play time" and going wherever it leads.

Winter Collage

 

OK, I give. Enough of winter in New England. 

Mixed Media 2010 at Lynn Arts Gallery

Mixed Media 2010
February 1 - March 12, 2010
Lynn Arts Gallery, Lynn, MA
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 6, 2010, 2-4 pm

Three of my works entitled "Hidden Spaces" have been accepted into this exhibit, curated by one of my favorite art bloggers, Joanne Mattera of Joanne Mattera Art Blog. She is a visiting lecturer in the 2D Department at the Massachusetts College of Art, and the founder/director of the Conference of Encaustic Painting at Montserrat College of Art, in Beverly, MA.

Voices: Mothers Who Create II

Just found out I've been juried into the upcoming exhibit "Voices: Mothers Who Create II" at The Little Gallery Under the Stairs in Lynn, MA. Small in size, but big in impact, the gallery has had some impressive exhibits, and I am pleased to be part of this one...doubly pleased that my image is representing the show on the gallery's website! Opening Reception: February 6, 2010. The show runs through April 10.

Maine Moonscape, digital mixed media collage

This new piece, called "Maine Moonscape" was inspired by the trees, evening sky, and other natural surroundings from one of my annual trips to Maine. Considering the winter we've been having, I'm feeling very nostalgic about a summer trip to the lake right about now!

Anyway, this is a 16x16x2 digital mixed media piece on gessobord. It currently resides in the members gallery at Galatea Fine Art, 460B Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA. Also this month at Galatea there are solo shows by Sean Palmatier "Mutations" {painting}, Alice Shafer & Wilson Hunt Jr. "Color/Form" {painting/photography} January 6 through 30, 2010.

Time to Reflect on...

What's Next...2010 (I will pronounce it "twenty-ten" as opposed to what I've heard others say "two-thousand and ten" ...that's just too long). So let me have my cup of coffee and think about this.

Are goals in order for this decade? Last year my goals were simple...more studio time (check!), get my work into galleries (check!), and license my work (still on the to-do list).

I am still keeping this simple list, but will work at it more aggressively. I now have a schedule of exhibits to submit work to on a regular basis, more gallery connections to pursue, including my own solo show in September 2010 at Galatea in the South End (check!), and a refined list of art shows to apply to, as opposed to art & craft shows. As for licensing, still a vague concept, but I have friends already doing so whose brains I will begin to pick.

Simple goals really, but lots of tasks to work at one at a time. Starting...NOW!