I value opportunities to exhibit my artwork, both in traditional and non traditional spaces. Over the years, I've encounter a number of venues where they do not allow holes in the walls. This is 100% fine, however it puts a slight wrinkle in a fine-tuned hook and hammer system.

When "no holes" has been the case, the venue typically supplies some sort of hanging contraption or at the very least a suggestion for how to hang the work. However, using unfamiliar methods can cause mild worry because one always wonders things, such as 'will the work stay up?' and 'how much extra time will this new method take?'

Cut to my most recent "no holes" venue. The venue provided stationary hooks within light sconces and a suggestion of hanging the work with fishing line. Fishing line is a very fiddly material that stretches and bounces and requires special knowledge of knots, else they undo themselves. Also, one can't count on accurate measurements when tying knots -- just imagine trying to get all of the pieces the same height and level. Sounds unnecessarily nightmarish, which brings me to my discovery of STAS Picture Hanging Systems. 

For my purposes, I purchased clear cords with loops and adjustable zipper hooks that hold up to 30 lbs. weight. Hanging the show (pictured below) was literally a breeze! STAS has many hanging solutions with various lengths and weight allowances, so if you find yourself in a "no holes" situation, I highly recommend checking them out. 

From blank canvas to a semifinalist in consideration for the 2018 BP Portrait Award; this is the journey of my piece from creation to London and a behind-the-scenes look at my artist life. 

​Last year, I specially made time over the summer to explore new themes in my portraiture. One hot June evening, I glanced at myself in the mirror and something about the lighting, angle, and mood  created an intense inspiration to paint a large self portrait related to my experience as a female. So began my two month journey creating  Reduction (Self Portrait).

 As I began work on my portrait, I had two goals in mind:

1. Create a work representative of my experience as a woman and artist.
2. Create a portrait I felt was worthy of submitting to the BP Portrait Award.

This piece was challenging to create because its meaning existed within me as a collection of memories, experiences and feelings, rather than something easily articulated. In the early stages of my portrait, I came across a poignant quote by John Berger in Ways of Seeing: "Men act and women appear." My mind went to years spent studying art history and the lack of female representation in Western art as it is taught in school and books. Most nudes are female, but most painters of them are male. The male gaze has dominated our understanding and formed our conception of not only the female form, but of a woman’s value, role within society and view of self. I wanted to challenge this.

I used a limited palette of colors because I wanted to focus on the subject matter. This created simplicity and harmony on my canvas. I used warm and cool representations of each primary color, plus titanium white for tinting and toning. 

From more than 7 weeks I obsessively toiled over my painting. Translating my gut feeling into a composition that articulated my experience both as a woman and an artist proved to be a difficult journey that consumed my every waking moment. Furthermore, I had never painted myself at such a large scale, and the concept was complex. It was hard to put my brushes down finally and declare it done because I am a perfectionist and I knew this was one of my most important paintings to date.

I documented the work on the day of the eclipse, August 21, 2017, only it was overcast so there was nothing to see in the sky. However, the overcast conditions made for excellent lighting to document my painting. A short while after photographing the work, I applied to the 2018 BP Portrait Award, but I didn't tell anyone I had applied because it's such prestigious competition, literally the show for the best contemporary portraits in the world, run by the UK's National Portrait Gallery.

​Fast forward to February 9th, 2018 when just as I was checking my phone before heading to my studio to work I saw the word "congratulations"! It was notification that my painting was one of 215 portraits (out of 2667) selected by the curators at the National Portrait Gallery to travel to London for consideration for the exhibition. I was instantly floored-bouncy-hyper-happy-stunned and then after my brief celebration I realized I had about 2 weeks to:

• Frame my portrait
• Acquire a shipping crate made of the right kind of wood (or else bad things happen)
• Arrange to somehow get my BIG painting to the U.K., through customs and delivered within a 5 day window (or else I'm just straight up eliminated)
• and figure out the insanely complicated, ill instructed, bureaucratic paperwork required for temporarily exporting/importing artwork

Not long after I received the good news, and by not long I mean that same morning, I was off to my framer, Hammerfrier. We looked at frame options, but there was only one clear choice and by some miracle we were able to do the impossible; frame up Reduction (Self Portrait) in a beautiful custom gilded frame in a week's time (it should've taken 4+ weeks minimum). The frame was made on the east coast, and shipped west in a crate that was perfect for sending my painting abroad as well. Whew! Thank you so much to Charly and Glenn at Hammerfrier for all your work and support!

After much research I decided to work with FedEx Air Freight. I had a background check for homeland security purposes while setting up my account and then was set to go... filling out a number of forms, applying for licenses, etc... I was both excited and nervous when FedEx arrived - it was scary to hand over my painting, and I had never shipped such a large piece with such a tight window for delivery. Everything was moving along perfectly as I tracked my painting's progress from Healdsburg to Oakland to Memphis and then Stanstead Airport in the UK and then... it just stayed there for hours and then days. I was held up in customs, but after a number of middle of the night calls to the U.K. everything was squared away and my work made it with two days to spare! 

I had to wait until March 9th to find out the results, and it turned out that ​I was not one of the 48 works selected to exhibit this year, but I'm not feeling too shabby because it is a HUGE honor to have been a finalist and considered by the museum curators - wow. Byron and I celebrated the news straight away with champagne at 6:30am - I'm really proud of my painting, Reduction (Self Portrait), and happy that myself and my painting had such an outstanding opportunity. 

​P.S. I was successful in bringing home my painting too - it just arrived in ship-shape and Bristol fashion on Friday!

About once a week I get together with two painter friends, one of which had the idea that we should each paint Vermeer's Girl with the Pear Earring. I don't paint like the old masters, nor do I know their techniques, nor am I a copyist, but I thought it would be an interesting challenge and a learning experience. I worked on and off on this painting, beginning in summer 2013 and finally saying I'm finished in spring 2014. My greatest lesson learned was the pleasure in keeping a journal of my color palette. When you take a break from a painting, then return to it, it is incredibly helpful to have a little journal with all of your painting specific color recipes in it.  Overall, my painting looks very modern to my eyes and it's not line for line accurate, but I do think it captures some of the spirit of the original work, which truly is a masterpiece! I'll happily hang and enjoy my little painting, knowing it's the closest I'll come to owning a real Vermeer painting.

This morning I enjoyed cutting these gorgeous, peony lookalike roses from my garden for a still life. A friend suggested that I try a time limit when painting, so I set up my easel, and gave myself ninety minutes to start and finish this painting. I found the deadline very motivating. It eliminated dillydallying and forced cutthroat decisions. And when the buzzer chimed, I really felt my work was complete.

♥ Miss Bojambo

Instead of simply posting the finished painting, I thought I would share the pictorial journey of my new snow leopard painting from start to finish. Medium: Gouache