Something Different

Here is a painting I finished this morning. Slight departure from my usual landscapes or figures (which I have not posted either).
It was actually fun to take a slightly more realistic approach to painting and still keep the passion and energy too.
As a kid I use to draw in detail and more along the side of realistic rendering - actually with ease and skill. Then along with my regular practice of art in general I only picked it up every so often. So this was fun to incorporate it again in a painting.
Sorry for the low quality - iPhone picture.

I have other paintings to not ready to photo that I am prepping for a show. So I hope to take pictures of them too.

Upcoming Schedule

September 25 - October 15th
Blue Heron Art Gallery - 129 West Main St. Milltown, Indiana
large solo exhibit with local artist support and works showing.
Reception is on September 25th 6 -9 pm

September 18th - December 31st
Water Street Studios "Grand opening"
Multi-artist show
160 S. Water Street, Batavia, IL
630-761-9977
www.waterstreetstudios.com
Reception is September 18th

September 21 - February 2010
Aurora City Hall Exhibit for the Yellow House Artists
44 East Downers Place, Aurora. IL
www.yellowhouseartists.com

Post card for a new gallery opening and show coming this September.
On September 25th I will have approximately 30 pieces exhibited in the Blue Heron Gallery, Milltown IN.

This marks an exciting new event for me not only by having the ability to show the number of pieces, but more importantly to kick off a new gallery in a small town filled with creative and welcoming people. My hope is this event among many others they have planned will spark an interest in the art community not only in the surrounding area, but reach out to collectors and galleries in Louisville to support this new gallery. If nothing else lets have fun, get to know each other have a few drinks and dive into the art which is my passion.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Do not forget to get a reservation at the Blue River Cafe for dinner. The food is incredible and so beyond what I ever anticipated!!!

CHECK IT OUT www.bluerivercafe.com

Promotion Winner TBA

Summer art promotion is over and the winner is... (I will announce their name as soon as they reply with permission to publicize it).

The painting selected to reproduce (hand signed limited number of 100) is "Morning Sea".

The winner will receive #001 matted and professionally framed.

Thank you again for all of you that took the time to participate and support my artwork.

Unframed and hand signed reproductions of "Morning Sea"  will be sold @ $100 each. Approximate image size 13" x 13"

All orders received prior to 9/1/09 will receive an additional 12% off. Please contact me directly with questions or to submit order.

Take care.

John

Ressurecting an old friend

If I painted as much as I thought about painting I would be the most prolific painter in history. However it may be a good thing that I don't and I let the creativity build to a working or action point - not sure I necessarily believe this but it is a good excuse when you are not painting. At least I save on supply cost though.

I actually would prefer to paint for more than I currently do and may need to create a little action - beyond the sketch book - to get that to happen.

Maybe we all do that, hesitate, second guess ourselves, a little too much in our daily lives - speaking for myself of course. If I were to take things a little less serious, not so critical on a made up potential outcome, I could be  freerer (more free) to just do it.

So if the conversation in your head is "I wish I _________ more" maybe you should just do it!

I will begin working on this guy again both in my painting and in my life since it is the same anyway!

Latest painting updates and show updates.

Currently were I am at with this work. There have been many challenges and stopping points for me and most of them can be attributed to life situations and not the painting itself - although these tree are not behaving real well so I assume they will be well worth the extra effort, if not I told them I would turn them into road signs. ha-ha!

Hope you enjoy it so far.

Here are my upcoming shows too. I would love for a solo show to happen soon so keep your eye out and talk to galleries in your area and I would really appreciate it.

CURRENT SHOWS

Selections of John Carman?s work are on display at:
Poe M. Art House
5226 Main Street
Downers Grove, IL 60515
Phone: 630.324.6332
April 1 - April 30, 2009
reception TBD

Elmhurst Art Museum EAG
150 Cottage Hill
Elmhurst, IL 60126
March 28 - May 7, 2009
reception April 10, 7 - 9 p.m.

Allen & Pepa Gallery
8 W. Wilson Street,
Batavia, IL
April 24 - May 30, 2009
reception April 24, 5 - 9 p.m.

Karen Solem Gallery
124 West Park Avenue
Elmhurst, IL
May 1 - May 30, 2009
reception TBD

Promotion #2

I will attempt to make the details cleaner or more direct.

I am looking to obtain some input that will assist me in choosing which painting I am going to have scanned to make high quality limited edition prints. These prints will be approximately 11" x 17".

So I have come up with a promotion that may give me the feedback I need.

My request:

• Go to www.carmanfineart.com
  
• Go to the heading "View John's Work"
  
• There is a Gallery titled "Promotion" select that and view the 4 paintings
  
• Choose your favorite painting of the 4
• Send an email to john@carmanfineart.com with PROMOTION in the subject heading and the title of your choice in the body of the email
• One entry per person 
• Limit of 1000 entries total and I will end the promotion
• By submitting an entry you are also agreeing to be on the carmanfineart.com mailing list  (I do not abuse your inbox , 1 or 2 emails per month max.) You can opt out at any time by emailing me.
• After I tally the total number of entries I will have a drawing to select the winner
• The winner will be notified via email
• The winner will receive the first hand signed limited edition print, professionally framed (actual UPS packing/shipping charges may apply)
• there is a way to receive additional entries for the drawing. Refer this promotion to your friends, family etc... and if they email me and include your email address as a referral with their selection you receive an additional entry - no cap on referrals.
• Contact me if you have any questions.

Thank you.

John