Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009 - 2010 Looking Forward and Looking Back


This photo appeared in the Syracuse Post Standard in 1997 with an article about our show "Twelve Years After", a 12 year retrospective exhibition at the Salmon River Arts Center. It's Hard to believe, but we have just put another 12 years behind us!

It's time once again for my New Year's post, where I take a stroll down memory lane and remember some of the highlights and in the case of 2009 low lights of the year we leave behind.

2009 was indeed a difficult year. The recession took a toll on our business and also our art. Framing orders were down nearly 50% over past years. That was a huge hit to our finances.

I began the year with several sculpture commissions lined up. All were put on hold. I hope at least some will still be realized when the economy improves.

Thank goodness art sales didn't tank quite as much. Not really sure why that is. It almost seems that logic might dictate otherwise.

The year was not without some high points. The best of all was our son returning home after a two year absence. It has been great to have him and our granddaughter around.

We enjoyed success at a couple of shows during the spring. Deb and I both sold well at the Art Literally show in Watertown and the St. David's Celebration of the Arts. We also sold a number of Edward Elhoff paintings and works by others through our gallery. We shipped a large Jeanne Dupre Painting to a customer in Florida and internet sales to a variety of states including Washington, Georgia, Virginia, Massachusetts and Canada.

Deb finished the year strong with a half dozen paintings sold through our gallery and sales in other galleries in Canandaigua and Vermont. We were once again included in a couple of prestigious regional invitationals.

Despite the economy, we soldier on, inspired by our many long time supporters who offer encouragement and patronage. We are grateful to have them.


2010 is full of promise as each new year is. We can only hope that things will improve as we move through the winter months and into spring.

We are once again scheduled to participate in Art Literally and St. David's and we will be hanging a two person show at Edgewood Gallery in Dewitt for the month of June. We also have several other tentative group shows lined up and Deb will as every year enter the Northeast National Pastel Show at Old Forge.

I expect to participate in the shows at the Gear Factory in Syracuse and will also again enter the Everson Biennial as well as other opportunities that always come along.

2010 will be the 25th anniversary year of our gallery and we plan to host a retrospective exhibition of our work sometime in the fall. Something we have never done in all these years.

Today we say goodbye, tomorrow we say hello.

We are planning to spend the long weekend in the studio, full of energy and new ideas.

Happy New Year! May we all have health, prosperity, peace and happiness!

Monday, December 28, 2009

"Turner to Cezanne" - Everson Museum, Syracuse




Well we finally made it to this much vaunted exhibition. We were not disappointed the show was everything and more than we had expected. There is something profoundly moving to stand before some of the greatest works of impressionist art ever created by the worlds most lauded artists.

Monet, Manet, Pissaro, Renoir, VanGogh and on and on. A veritable whos' who of impressionist painters. The Everson Museum is fortunate to be one of five museums in North America to host this exhibition. A considerable achievement for a small city art museum.

My only regret was that we waited to go on the Sunday afternoon following Christmas, and so it seems did everyone else. The exhibition has been well attended since opening in October, but this particular day was the busiest I have ever seen the Everson. I do not know, but would not be surprised if they set a single day attendance record. Deb and I have been to many shows and functions at the Everson over the last twenty five years and have never seen a crowd like that.

On the one hand it was wonderful to see so many turn out for the show, on the other it made it difficult to really take the time to fully absorb the art the way I would have liked to. It was at times difficult to basically nudge your way to a place where you had a decent view.

The show is up for one more week and I highly recommend seeing it if you have not already, however, go during the week if you can. Just a thought!

For more information see my earlier post Everson Museum - Turner to Cezanne below.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Give The Gift of Art



Visit Abbott's Fine Art & Framing in Central Square or shop us on-line at http://abbottsstudio.com/

Original artwork by top artisans from Central New York, the Adirondacks and the Tug Hill region. Prints, pottery, unique jewelry and more. Complete custom picture framing services.

Abbott's serving central New York since 1985. 624 So. Main St., Central Square 315-668-9459

Mon - Fri 10 - 6, Sat 10 -3 and by appointment.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Everson Museum - Turner to Cezanne

Turner to Cézanne:

Masterpieces from the Davies Collection, National Museum Wales
Through January 3

Hours
Tuesday & Wednesday: Noon - 6.00pm
Thursday & Friday: Noon - 9.00pm
Saturday & Sunday: 9.00am - 6.00pm
Closed Monday

Holiday Hours
December 24 (Christmas Eve): Noon - 6.00pm
December 25 (Christmas Day): CLOSED
December 31 (New Year's Eve): Noon - 6.00pm
January 1 (New Year's Day): CLOSED


This collection is comprised of an extraordinary group of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century paintings collected largely between 1908 and 1923 by sisters Margaret and Gwendoline Davies. By 1914, the Davies sisters had assembled one of the finest collections of European modern art in Britain, with works from artists such as Paul Cézanne, Camille Corot, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Joseph M.W. Turner, among several others.

Tickets to this extraordinary exhibition cost $15 Adults; $12 children under 18, students (with college ID), Armed Forces (with ID), and seniors (65+); $10 Everson Members; children ages 5 and under are free. A special family rate of $50 (including 2 adults and 4 dependent children) is also available.

Docent-led tours are available Tuesday and Thursday at 2.00pm and Saturdays at 10.00am and 3.00pm. These tours are complimentary with exhibition admission, and no reservation is required. A complimentary cell phone audio tour is available to all visitors.

The exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and National Museum Wales. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

The presentation of Turner to Cézanne at the Everson Museum of Art is made possible through generous support by: exhibition sponsor M&T Bank, co-sponsor Hiscock & Barclay, LLP, education sponsor The Dorothy & Marshall M. Reisman Foundation, and gallery sponsors The Post-Standard and NationalGrid.


Additional support provided by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation grant made possible by Senator John DeFrancisco; the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York grant made possible by Assemblyman William Magnarelli; the Everson Museum of Art Members' Council; The Gifford Foundation; WCNY-TV; Arthur and Cheryl Grant; Dr. Paul E. Phillips and Ms. Sharon Sullivan; and Syracuse-area businesses, organizations and individuals.

Please thank our donors for their support!