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In light of the recent devastation of Vieques and the rest of Puerto Rico, I've been absorbed in the scant news from Vieques as it's trickling in. Since I created my VIEQUES RELIEF GALLERY to support relief efforts, I've been sorting through the (mostly) plein air paintings I have left in my studio that I painted on the island over the years. In fact, I found the very first outdoor painting I made there in 2006 or so!

And, here's an image of the last one I painted in Vieques, about 2 years ago. It's from the bluff that's right around the corner from Casa Violeta, the home Roo and I bought there in 1998.

In 2011 I was honored to show my work in a solo exhibit at El Fortin, the historical fort museum in Vieques, PR. The Artist Statement I created for this show reminds me of the work of an artist and the importance -- particularly for landscape painters -- of the places we paint. It's not our job to paint them as picture postcards, but to see and interpret what's actually there.

VIEQUES VIBRANTE!

If we open our minds, if we open our hearts, we will find that the world is a magical place. It is magical not because it tricks us or changes unexpectedly into something else, but because it can be so vividly and brilliantly.

--Chogyam Trungpa

For those who are other than casual visitors, if Vieques doesn't always seem like Paradise, it can be just such a magical place.

Persistent in asserting what is is and not necessarily what you want it to be, our Isla Neña may be as irritating as a swarm of mosquitoes, as delightful as a gecko on the ventana. Like it and not, Vieques insists that we wake up, take notice: This is not Fantasy Island! Open your eyes and see what's really here: Horse dung on the pitted asphalt and a ripe mango in the lush overhanging tree.

Over and over, the landscape of Vieques as well as her culture proves the principle, "Consciousness loves contrast." Without deep shade you can't begin to appreciate the vivid light. Without its complement, a primary color withholds its brilliance. We're here to experience all those differing parts and their sum!

Alec Moseley first showed me how to work with contrasting elements in the realm of painting: A palm frond shimmers only against the background of branches hidden from the light. Look and you'll find red in those sea grapes and, because of this, beyond their dark silhouette, see how the blue-green ocean dazzles.

Painting here each day is real work -- both inner and outer. And, invariably, the thrum of intense, vibrant opposites startles me to attention. Grateful (and sometimes grumbling), I open to the magic of all that meets the eye and more.

I dedicate this show to the memory of my mother, Charlotte Harold, who first brought me to Puerto Rico in 1980 and Vieques in 1994. Last year, in deep grief over her passing, I went to Coco Beach and, looking up, received great comfort from the wild palms that inspired this exhibit.

                                                                                                                                                                                  Ellie Harold

                                                                                                                                                                                  March, 2011

To my blog readers, please consider donating directly to ViequesLove GoFundMe or treat yourself to a deeply discounted Made in VQS oil painting from which sales I am donating 75% to ViequesLove. I have no doubt that with our help, Vieques will continue to be as vibrant as ever. And, before long, people will offer it to the world a tantalizing Paradise but it will once again end up always simply being itself.

Thanks!

Ellie

Coco Palm 

VIEQUES HURRICANE RELIEF

(Gallery Open Thru October 15, 2017)

Please contact me NOW to put one of my Vieques Jewels to work for this important rescue effort!

Hurricane Maria has made a mess of la Isla Nena, beautiful Vieques, P. R. I first visited Vieques in 1994; Roo and I purchased Casa Violeta in 1998. As a student of Alec (R.A.) Moseley, I got my start in plein air painting there and have painted many Vieques scenes such as the image I've posted here. Scratching my head (while awaiting news from the island) I'm aching to contribute what I can to rebuilding Vieques.  To that end, I'm posting here a link to the ViequesLove GoFundMe donation site that's been created by Kelly Thompson, owner and editor of Vieques Insider and a trusted friend.

Additionally, I'm creating a Vieques Relief Gallery on my website dedicated to my Vieques plein air paintings with special reduced pricing. I will donate 75% of any (unframed) painting sold from the Vieques Relief Gallery to Kelly's ViequesLove GoFundMe effort. Shipping is available. Please contact me directly if you would like to purchase a painting.

Thank you in advance for your support of these or any relief efforts!

Ellie

P.S. A trip to my storage area reveals there are way more Vieques jewels than I've posted on my website. If you don't see what you want on the site, please let me know and I'll send pics of the others.

UPDATE: Sold! Sun Bay Shade, 6" x 8," oil on birch panel. If you've been to Vieques, chances are you recognize this spot. It gives me great pleasure to donate 75% of the reduced price sale ($187.50) to ViequesLove.

UPDATE: Sold! Morning Light Caracas. 5" x 7," oil on canvas. $300 to ViequesLove!

I just posted this on Facebook "I was pleased to learn that "Alive!" (36 x 60) has been accepted into the 2017 Oliver Art Center Juried Exhibition. Many thanks to jurors Megan Hildebrandt and Peter Abrami.The opening is this Friday, September 15, from 5 - 7 p.m. Hope to see you there!" I mean it -- I'm happy this painting will hang in the gallery in this renovated Coast Guard building  for a month. It will be seen by a few more visitors than those who might come by my Studio & Gallery located a few blocks away. Yay for "Alive!" (BTW, the painting looks much better in person!!!)

On the other hand, I didn't post this: "I was disappointed to learn that "Garden City" has not been accepted ...." And I mean it -- "Garden City" is a wonderful painting, also worthy of hanging on the walls of a lovely space. I know -- I've been enjoying it on my walls ever since I painted it last winter. But, in the crap shoot world of juried exhibits, the dice didn't roll for "Garden City." Fortunately, because my doors are open to the public, it will be seen. Eventually, its rightful owner will take it home and my part in its creative process will have been accomplished.

So, why am I disappointed that this painting wasn't selected for the juried show? Shouldn't I simply be grateful that one piece was accepted? (Certainly, I could chide myself for being less grateful than I should be, but I'm a firm eschewer of "shoulds" so I won't.) I am pleased on the one hand and, on the other, not so much -- as they say, it is what it is. But what I want to look more closely at what it is.

It represents, to some very childlike self in me, the possibility of getting approval and validation for my painting efforts. Instead of taking my (flawed) drawing to my artist-father for him to pronounce upon it, I now haul my work over the local art center for some others, to whom I've assigned authority, to give me a thumbs up, thumbs down or, as in this recent submission, both. I'm no longer 11 (multiply that by 6 to get current age) but, doggone it, there are those same feelings of rejection, failure, incompetency.  Back in the day, I made decisions to give up, not try again. Today, however, I gratefully know a few better things to do with the information that someone doesn't want my work to hang in their show. I offer these to anyone who gets stung by having their best efforts judged (by perfect strangers, in most cases) and found wanting.

When the jury delivers their verdict, here's some of what I say to myself:

1. Other people may not be the best judge of your art. Of course, it's often pleasant to get good feedback about your work. However, art jurors are definitely not objective! I've known one or two who I suspect played favorites by jurying in their friends, or students; it's understandable since these would reflect their subjective taste, but, still .... I've juried a large show myself and didn't accept (rejected!) half of the submissions. Ouch! (To my credit, I invited anyone who had a question about why their work was not accepted to meet with me privately, although only one person took me up on it. I was new in town so I couldn't play favorites.) Given that other people may not be the best judge of your work, why would you take seriously their judgement. Stop it! Go do your Art.

2. You are your best jury and judge. Your painting is a process, not a product. Your artwork is a record of your process. How's it going? What would you like to do differently next time? Go do it!

3. Who wants to be in a stupid show anyway? The reception is usually awful -- the wine is cheap, the food is rarely worth eating -- and, since exposure is (largely) a myth, why put yourself through the torture? I hope you're not entering a how in hopes of winning prize money. That's  happened to me a few times: The first time I entered a show I won Third Place and $300. I thought that made me hot stuff, but I was wrong. I've earned a lot more $ selling good paintings than by getting prize money. That doesn't make me hot stuff either. The hot stuff comes from making the next painting. The only important thing is to Do Your ART!

4. Remember apples and oranges. Given that most juried shows will feature a wide variety of submissions from artists of all skill levels, your art is likely to end up hanging near a piece that bears no relation to your work. (I hate when that happens so much I try to submit work that's large enough to command its own wall.) And, if your orange did (or didn't) get into the show, was it because it looked better/worse than that apple beside it? Who knows? Don't worry about it! Be like Cezanne, paint a series of small round things (apples and oranges?) and hang them next to each other in a place of your choosing. Do it now!

5. There are better ways to proclaim the wonders of your creating than entering juried competitions. Do you want to celebrate what you've created? Good! Hang your own juried show and invite people who love you to come to it. Serve delicious homemade refreshments (not from Sam's Club). Give an artist talk about the virtues of your work. Invite your audience to toast the work with a glass of fine wine. Then, start a new series. Do your Art!

I went through a period when I refrained from entering the local juried show. Of late, however, I have been submitting, but not for any sense of validation or accolades that might accrue. I submit if I believe I have a painting that wants to be seen by a larger audience, or seen on larger walls that I have in my own Studio & Gallery. Last year, a large painting that had been juried into the local art center show served as a backdrop for several wedding photos. The newlyweds were all thrilled. It would have been wrong of me to have held back my art for the reasons, like, not wanting to get my feelings hurt. Still, I wonder if the food will be any better at this year's opening ....

Oh, and here's "Garden City," the one that didn't get in .... This may be my favorite painting of the past year!

Now, let's all go do some Art! (And I'd love to  know what you've learned from submitting to juried exhibitions, or from being a judge of one, if you have.)

Love,

Ellie

P.S. If you don't have a copy of my book 7 Habits of Deeply Fulfilled Artists: Your Aesthetic Needs & How to Meet Them, please get one! And, while you're at it, get a copy for your artist friends. They will thank you!

In the midst of all the distressing stuff going on in the world right now, I have a small bit of good news to share with you: I'm thrilled to announce my upcoming participation in the Michigan Medicine Gifts of Art, a program that's dedicated to "bringing the world of art and music to the University of Michigan Health System." I've been invited to show my bird-themed paintings in a large exhibit in one of the GOA galleries from September 18 through December 10, 2017. My work, more than twenty paintings, will fill the better part of eleven 4 x 8 foot panels! We are busy right now packing the paintings for transport to Ann Arbor at the end of next week.

During a period of emotional upset last November, birds began to fly, unbidden, onto my canvas; since then they have continued to inspire a large body of work. As these increasingly colorful birds spontaneously reveal themselves in paint, they seem to act as intuitive messengers of healing and joy. To appreciate the ability of these birds to set hearts aflutter (in a good way), they must be seen firsthand; I'm very pleased that many hospital staff, patients, and visitors (you?!) will have that opportunity over the next few months. May they be a blessing to all who view them!

As the exhibit will hang in a public area, there won't be a formal opening reception. I will, however, be present on Wednesday, September 27 for an informal celebration in the Gifts of Art Gallery at the Taubman Health Center North Lobby, Floor 1, on Wednesday afternoon, September 27, from 3:00 - 5:00p.m. Please join me if you can -- and we can perhaps grab a bite somewhere afterwards .... (Click here for the full directions. )

If you can't join me on the 27th, please stop by if you're in or passing through Ann Arbor. Email me a selfie with your favorite bird(s) or post on Facebook -- I'll do something fun with it! BTW, all of the art will be available for purchase with 35% of proceeds benefiting Michigan Medicine Gifts of Art Program, a worthwhile cause.

With much gratitude for your ongoing interest and encouragement,

Ellie

P.S. My Studio & Gallery will be open this weekend as usual, 11-4 p.m. and by chance or appointment thru Wednesday. Feel free to stop by and see the birds before they fly south to Ann Arbor (as well as new Up North art). We will be closed next Thursday and Friday but open again on Saturday and Sunday.