I’m happy to be included in a number of exhibits this season. In fact, there are more this season than any other. Believe me, I am not complaining. I have a couple of new exhibits, one in California with the National Watercolor Society and one in Kent Ohio with Gallery Ten, an artist cooperative. The remaining three venues are Canton Museum of Art, The Little Art Gallery of the North Canton Public Library and finally, Gallery + in the at 78th Street Studios in Cleveland, my semi permanent exhibit space.
So how can problems result from these exhibits? Many of my paintings are part of my permanent collection and are displayed on my home gallery. My home is my own Art Gallery. During this season, I adjusted the pieces on display. Several taken from storage and several others taken off the walls. It is like a game of fill in the blanks, literally, filling in vacancies on the wall with pieces taken from storage.
The pitfall comes at the moment when a weekly visitor arrives and is shocked that “something” is wrong in your kitchen. Something is different. Truly, a vacant spot routinely filled with one of the 30 Rock paintings is glaringly white. Empty, void of color and shape. I calmed our visitor and thanked her for pointing out the difference. It did seem odd to me too. So off to continue the shuffle of paintings. I checked storage, thinking of a piece that is suitable to fill the spot. There aren’t many available just a large vertical piece of St Mark’s Square in Venice and a Detroit Shoreway pinball piece. Neither seem appropriate. Then a bicycle piece comes to mind. “Starting Line” from the short series of the 5 Boro Bike tour. But, the painting is not in storage. Now the hunt and cross examination begins. Is the painting on exhibit? Is it in Emily’s room, the cat nursery, our bedroom? Then, it dawns on me. Problem solved.
My paintings are standard in size. This makes mats and frames interchangeable. So, I confirmed that I did not lose the painting. I did not exhibit it somewhere and forget to pick it up. I checked in the flat file and the painting was safely sequestered there with other unframed paintings. The frame for “Starting Line” was loaned to another bicycle painting for exhibit at Gallery Ten in Kent Ohio. The frame and mat suited the painting and both paintings are bicycle theme anyway. But, the dilemma continues. I have a vacancy in the kitchen. A large white space.
I settled on another bicycle painting “First Light” presently on display in the living room. That painting was first displayed on that wall when our new kitchen was first unveiled a few years ago. So the kitchen vacancy was filled which created a vacancy in the living room. An abstract piece was chosen to fill the living room vacancy and now the home gallery is back in harmony with nature. And, there is no lack of color….anywhere.
