Remodel

October 26, 2020 Lydia Black

It’s a weird thing to sell a painting. It feels really validating to have something I put out into the world not only be admired, but wanted. And then, I’m left with an empty spot on the wall and fresh motivation to make something new.

So this happened really fast. By that, I mean that it took about a year.

I love meeting people at open studios, and it’s been a great way to meet new collectors and keep in touch with people who have been buying art in the bay area for years. I have started to display my social media handles where they’re visible, so that people can find me easily on Instagram or Facebook. I prefer this method to business cards, because I know how I am with business cards, and I tend to pick one up of an artist whose work I like, tuck it into my purse, and maybe six months later, take it out and look them up online. If someone visits my studio and begins following me on Instagram, it’s a much better way to keep them informed of who I am and what I’m working on, rather than hope that they look up my business card six months later and don’t accidentally put it through the laundry.

At our Fall Open Studios, the Alameda Artworks generally selects a charity to benefit, and so we all donate a portion of our sales. In 2019, we had a great turnout, in part because Sacred Heart charities does a fantastic job of outreach to their donors. And I had this new painting on display, freshly returned from the California State Fair in Sacramento.

“Remodel” 33” x 29” Oil on Panel, 2019 — “Remodel”
33” x 29”
Oil on Panel, 2019

I like this painting. It’s a perfect size without being too big, and the lines of composition really worked out to bounce the eye around it in a way that hits all my favorite spots.

This last week I got a message through Instagram from someone who was thinking about this painting, and she asked if it was still available. We masked up, met at my studio, and she took it home. She’d seen it last year, during the November open studios benefit, so it seems only fair that I give some of the money to charity.

500,000 people get food assistance in Santa Clara County every month. This number has doubled since the start of the pandemic. So I’m doing something to help out. If I could encourage a moratorium on evictions to last at least until next year, or expand unemployment assistance, I would, and I’m certainly voting that way for the foreseeable future. But I’m also throwing money at the problem, because I can.

Thanks for reading.

Sunday Update

October 18, 2020 Lydia Black

Leigh Weimer’s Award Winner:

I am a winner of the San Jose Rotary Club’s Leigh Weimer’s Emerging Artist Grant. Grant winners can use the grant money for any type of expense they would like. This award is so helpful, and will allow me to do more framing and pay for a couple more tools I’ve been itching to try.

As the only visual artist this year, I’m immensely gratified by the committee’s decision, as I know there were several applicants. This is my second time applying, and I feel so validated by all the years of work I’ve committed to painting.

Please check out the other artists who applied, they are all incredible, kind people.

Alex Arango

Amy D.

Justin Keys

About Painting Abandoned Houses (Video):

In which I talk about my inspirations and painting philosophy (5:32):

The 100 Day Project:

This year I decided to start a major project as soon as Santa Clara County began Shelter in Place. It’s one of those serendipitous occasions when my stockpiling tendency (which looks a little bit like a dragon’s hoard of blank canvases, sketchbooks, panels, and an overflowing junk drawer) comes in so handy that it looks like I planned to spend a month indoors without access to any other supplies or resources.

I began working on my art at the kitchen table while my son finished 4th grade via Zoom. This was good for both of us, In part because I had to make sure that he was staying on task, but also because it was a wonderful gift to be with him every week and hear him respond to his classmates. However, it’s not very tidy, and I more-or-less ended up painting our kitchen table.

The 100 Day Project felt like a wonderful way to stretch my creativity and adapt as rapidly as possible. The only restraint I’ve applied to the works has been the restriction of a 6” x 6” size. So far, I’m on number 74, as I’ve suffered somewhat from the doldrums of indoor life. But I have more than ten in progress and am confident that I’ll be finishing the project by the end of the year.

I’ll be expanding the 50/50 section of my website to include the Hundred Day project, so keep your eyes peeled. They’re also being posted as they’re completed, over on my Instagram.

Schedule:

In the coming weeks I’m hoping to stick to a strenuous schedule of artwork making, website posting, and social media outreach. Why do I say “strenuous?” Because I feel as though I need to have a bit of pressure in order to carve my way through the rest of this year, and making myself accountable seems like the way to do it. So I’m doing something with my artwork every day of the week.

My idols all eat, sleep, and breathe their art, and a lot of the artists I’m proud to call my friends do the same. So it’s time to acutely devote myself to creative work, and put it out there for people to see on the internet.

Because it’s still going to be a while before we’re safe enough to do anything in person. Now, off to the woods to breathe some fresh air.

2015 Left Coast Annual

July 4, 2015 Lydia Black

The juror for Left Coast Annual at the Sanchez Art Center this year was Cathy Kimball, Executive Director and Chief Curator for the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. Kimball had the unenviable task of selecting 52 artworks from the almost 900 works submitted by 375 artists from California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii.

Two of my paintings were selected to show. While Dunce 2 is a larger version of a very small painting done in 2011, Burnside Schoolhouse 2 is a differing view of the main room of a disused school in Burnside, Mississippi. I have painted scenes from this place a few times and have plans to return this year to document the further deterioration of the site.