Take This and Make it Yours

Preparing for the show/sale last week, I uncovered older work, press releases from long ago and reviews that I haven't seen in years.

I had a feeling of satisfaction revisiting years and years of work. Of course I am happy that many of my paintings went to new homes. Visual artists make art to be seen and shared.

One of my favorite paintings done about 1995 - (I wish I would have dated all my work,) reminded me of a comment made to me shortly after I moved to San Miguel de Allende in 2004. After hearing a bit about my previous life, a new friend asked me if I have ever had therapy. The answer was no. It was then that I realized that my art has been my therapy. This painting, see below, is from a series I made called, "Her Journey",about a woman's desire to be self realized, whole, and free from feminine stereotypes. The name of this painting is "My God Has Been Too Small"

I still have the wonderful comments from the International Art Review about this series;

"Ezshwan is one of those rare people who has the ability to take her very personal life experiences and speak them to others in a way that not only allows ownership but encourages it. Her paintings say to you, 'Here, take this and make it yours' They are not threatening, they do not leave you feeling like you are the only person in the room who can not understand. Her work is a warm, comforting embrace"
"I know in the art world what i am about to say cloud almost be considered the kiss of death, but I'm going to say it anyway;Ezshwan's work is beautiful. Ezshwan, I know would argue with me, but I beg to differ. These pieces are works you would want to bring into and incorporate into your lie and home, as many have done. I will concur with Ezshwan that her work porobaly would not match your sofa, but beyond that, who among us has never loved a woman? In her paintings you see your friends, your sisters, maybe yourself. You can not help but to see a profound and deeply personal spiritual journey played out before you."

"Blessed Am I Among women"

I Open My Hand and Let Go

Fireworks At Dawn

I apologize to all to bought my memoir, Fireworks at Dawn for the sloppy editing. I recently re-read the Kindle version and was appalled and embarrassed. Whole paragraphs were missing as well as one paragraph had been repeated twice. The manuscript had been edited for years, not only by me, but by writer friends and a professional.  It was the transfer to Kindle that moved things out of place and left out sentences that helped to hold the story together.   It has been suggested to me that I hire a professional to re-create the manuscript on Kindle. That is an expense that I don't want. I had spent 18 consecutive days working on getting the manuscript into the Kindle form, even following the Kindle book on how to do it.

It has been a few years since I published my memoir. I had been promoting it and receiving positive comments on Amazon. The last one mentioned the poor editing. That was when I went back to read it again. I do not know if every other reviewer was being kind, or things got worse. I unpublished it a few days ago. I will concentrate on painting.

I originally thought that if my story helped just one person to live their dream, even after 60 or 70 years of age, I will have accomplished my purpose. Several people told me it did inspire them not to give up living to the maximum. 

Here is one of the comments that made the years of writing the memoir, worth it:

"I just finished reading your book, Fireworks at Dawn and felt a need to thank you for writing it.  It was an inspiration for me.
I purchased it from Amazon.com for my Kindle and was intriqued by the synopsis they listed on their website.  Your life has had numerous challenges but you always came through with a positive attitude and lesson learned.  Congratulations on living life to the fullest!

I am also living in Mexico...Morelia to be exact...for the last three and a half years.  My struggle is trying to succeed with a business in Mexico during this recessionary times.  Very challenging and that is why your book inspired me to keep going and to visualize a positive goal of success.  I am a Phoenix native so we have that connection also.  Thank you for your creative endeavors that inspire and lift up people." 
 

Expectations

I had worked for weeks getting ready for last weekend's sale. I pulled out every painting I had in storage and the stacks and revisited years of work. Many of the paintings were left from gallery shows. I took home any that had not sold and put away, forgetting about them.

Each painting that I inspected brought back memories and still carried the feelings I had when I made the work. Some were delights and a couple of others I put aside to be painted over.

My assistant and I retouched the edges of the cradled boards and I lovingly polished the surface of the encaustic paintings.

I pulled out drawings that I made in the late 70"s of jazz musicians at various festivals and recording studios. I had a rack of small paintings and prints that I expected would be the big sellers. The sales exceeded my expectations and only the bigger paintings sold. That was a happy surprise.

The best part of the weekend was meeting new collectors and seeing old friends.

I am now relaxing with my second cup of coffee before I rearrange the walls and put back my collection of art from other artists.

Thank you all who came, took time to really look at my work and purchase. I love being an artist and I expect that I will be back to working on my new series soon.

Here are images of my newest work. I need help with what to call the series. Can you help?

This Says It All.

Own a Piece of My Soul

I reluctantly put away the 3 paintings I was working on and began pulling older art out of the stacks. Some of these paintings were like meeting old friends again. It will be a big job getting the gallery and studio ready for my big sale, Sat. July 16 & Sunday July 17, from 1pm to 4pm, both days. Fortunately, I have my assistant to help me. First of all I will choose what paintings will be on display and make sure that they are in perfect condition. Some of the edges of the cradled boards need touch ups after being moved around in the stacks.

 I sincerely believe that visual art is the only art form where a collector can actually buy a piece of the soul of the creator. I hope many people will take advantage for this opportunity to own a piece of my soul at greatly reduced prices.

 If you are not in the area, you can still purchase a sale painting and have them shipped. At the sale price, the collector will pay for the shipping.

I've posted some of the work that will be on sale

I will get back to work on these after the sale

José Luis, my student and assistant

Lots of paintings to check

encaustic sale painting

Heavy textured encaustic

oil on board

encasutic

encasutic

oil and encaustic

Make Angry Art and Become Famous

July 16 & 17th of this month, I am having a sale of almost all of my paintings. This includes encasutic, oil and drawings. There are figurative and abstract paintings. Paintings done before 2014 will be 50 to 60% off. I have posted only a sampling of what will be available. The doors open at 1pm both days and finish at 4:30. Previews by appointment. Directions to my home. studio/ gallery are found on my webiste: http:www.ezshwan.com

Why am I doing this you may ask? I am a painter. It is what I do. I make visual art to be seen. My online galleries are good, but they don't give the collector the chance to experience, or touch the art in person and I have scores of paintings that haven't been seen or at least not for a long time.
 
I sometimes ask myself, Why am I making more art?" I was sent this article by Enrique Martínez Celaya and it expresses how I feel about creating and continuing to make art until I am physically unable to do that. Below are some excerpts from his article:

“Being an artist is not a posture or a profession, but a way of being in the world and in relation to yourself. An artist is revealed in his or her choices.... Understanding who you are as an artist should be thought of as a life-long process inseparable from your work.”

• “How can you stay vital? Study yourself. Study the world. But do not become an authority on either. Something secret, mysterious, must always remain.”
• “The viewer completes the endeavor. There is no work of work of art without the viewer.” 

 

Notes on Ethics
• “Wide acclaim is not needed for something to be true.”

• “The qualities that distinguish great art from the rest are, directly or indirectly, related to ethics. At the heart of great art you will find love and compassion

It was suggested to me that if I wanted to become famous in Mexico I should make angry art. That will never happen.