A Brief Review of 2016

Overall, 2016 has been a fabulous business year for this artist.  Painting sales were down but I more than made up for the income by teaching glass classes in my studio.  I'm looking forward to adding more workshops to my 2017 agenda and have a few exciting ideas for expanding my teaching opportunities.

"Whispering Grace" - five 20" x 14" fused glass panels

My biggest art achievement for 2016 was landing the five-panel fused glass commission for the Sutter Roseville Oncology Center.  What made it even more meaningful was the fact I knew two people undergoing treatments at the time, and then Cory Huff from The Abundant Artist published this achievement on his blog - you can check out the article here.

Other achievements included being selected to be a founding artist on The Artsy Shark Gallery, an on-line art gallery through the popular Art Marketing blog written by Carolyn Edlund.  Click here to see my on-line shop.  I also created 100 "Zenscapes" for a "100 Day Project" challenge sponsored by an Instagram artist.  These were small 4" x 4" oil paintings that I matted in 8" x 8" mats, and were quite popular gift items for the low price of $45 each.  Here's a collage of some of the Zenscape paintings:

81 of the 100 "Zenscapes" created for "The 100 Day Project" - each is 4" x 4" 

I had a solo show in Benicia with 20+ abstract paintings, and did a show at Sacramento's ArtHouse Gallery called "See It With Words" with Michelle Andres.  For this show, we each created four diptychs and wrote poetry to go along with each set.  Below is "Lost at Sea" - one of my personal favorites.

I also managed to do one "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge that kicked off 2016, and nearly kicked my behind in the process!  Despite catching pneumonia during the month of January, I ended up completing the challenge, which I had named "Reflections" - paint overs of old paintings.  It felt good to give old paintings a new life, and I got to stretch my imagination a bit because I had to try and make the new painting match the old one's name (which was written on the back of each canvas!). Here's a collage of the completed works:

"Reflections" - 30 paintings from January, 2016's "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge

I decided to give myself a break and did not participate in the September 30/30 challenge.  Instead I had my studio open for the 2016 Sac Open Studio Tour.  The tour was successful and I signed up quite a few students for my Holiday Ornament classes, which began in late October through mid December.  I taught over 60 students and some folks took the class more than once.  I honestly don't know who had more fun.....the teacher (moi) or the students!  I learned so much from everyone and felt like a kid on Christmas morning each time I opened the kiln after the previous day's class 😍  

Just a few of the ornaments made in 2016's Holiday Ornament Classes

I also began painting a new series in the Fall of 2016 called "Table Talk," a tribute to our local "Farm to Fork" movement and my grandparents who were farmers in Chico, CA.  I've been enjoying this series immensely and have a show with some of the paintings opening at Mishka's Cafe in Davis, CA on January 1, 2017.  Here's a collage with a few of the paintings I've done for the series:

Some of the paintings from the "Table Talk" series

So overall it's been a busy and creative year for this artist.  I'm on a mission to increase sales and exposure in 2017, and will be kicking off the New Year by participating in yet another "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge.  The theme for this challenge is called "The Wisdom of Winter" and features thirty 24" x 18" limited palette (neutral colors) abstract expressions on paper.  Here's a preview of some of the prep pieces I'm working on now:  

Preview of "The Wisdom of Winter" series - all 30 paintings will be 24" x 18" acrylic on paper

It's nice to do a review of the past year's work because sometimes I feel like I just haven't done enough!  But after writing this post I can see I really DID do a lot and instead of kicking my Self I need to pat my Self on the back and say "well done."  2017 will be my year to work smarter and not necessarily harder - I've got lots of ideas on how to do that and will be sharing more soon.  Happy New Year to all of you, and will touch bases with you in a few days!