April Newsletter

My April newsletter just went out tonight. I've attached it in case you aren't on my email list and would like to see it! It only takes me two days to create, figure out how to change file extensions and download :) I sure wish I was a bit more computer savvy! If you can't read it, go to this page

Watercolor Show

I'll be having a Watercolors in Miniature show in June at Crowley Fine Art! Eight paintings to date with many more coming. They are a great value for a beginning collector, priced between $250 and $900, all original matted and framed. Please contact me if there are any you are interested in for pre-sale purchase - makes a great Mother's day present!

Shanna Kunz

shankunz@earthlink.net

801-389-2369

shannakunz.com

Wonderful Break with a tsp. of guilt!

Rainy days and SUNDAYS, perfect day for hanging out with my sweetie! Still recuperating from my Scottsdale stint of every day, three months straight. I have been filling my days with bits of painting, but still not able to completely immerse myself back into it again. This is not like a 9-5 job, well - not for me. Feast or famine! I go down to the studio in the mornings to muster as much discipline as I can and it is still just not quite there. The computer calls to me, my sister calls for coffee, my much-missed friends call to meet for lunch. I feel guilt, such guilt for not jumping back into my obligations the way I should. Distractions.....make them constructive ones.....drive four hours to a gallery to pick up work and come back....make portfolio CD's to send out.......get that website updated......does any of this sound familiar to anyone??? Maybe this is what they mean that an artist must fill ALL of their life in order to paint. Cooking - what sounds interesting tonight, what kind of playlist will help me get my mojo back? Maybe it's a full life experience that we fill ourselves with that makes us want to create. Maybe I'm making excuses. No maybe's about it. Could be that I'm missing the interaction with people every day. Could be the fear of jumping into a painting larger than I've ever done. Could be I just need more discipline to juggle the right brain and left brain. There is this idea knocking around in the back of my head...ooohhh, I am thinking of a great painting.....the muse is knocking at my door....I'll start again tomorrow!

Introspective thoughts on Art

I ran across some writings I did last summer, as I rode the wild ride of my art career through shows, good ones and bad ones, some unbelievable and much appreciated press coverage, some confidence hits and misses and a new life in the making. As I read the writings, they ring true to my heart today as much as ever. I will share, and please feel free to give feedback!!

Each voice is unique. It is only an artists' job to dig deeper, work harder, get more soulful. It is not your job to judge or compare - time and history will tell of excellence or mediocrity. It is just your job to show up and paint, give it ALL you have! Consider all the elements in that painting. Keep to your integrity in each piece, make it the best you can possibly do. The rest is not up to you - what will be will be.

Judging yourself and punishing yourself does not make you better. It serves no purpose. Let go - let God. Pay attention along the way to detours, to people you meet with kindred spirit, and stay with your priorities at all times. A stable, peaceful mind lends itself to better work, a more artistic life well rounded. The ego emits short puffs of elation and long bouts of pain and comparison. Try your hardest to see it for what it is and push on.

Maybe this resonates with you and maybe it doesn't. I know that as individual as we are, as diverse as we are, that every voice matters and that it is your opportunity to find yourself and your voice and THAT will make the difference in this world of ours. Be unique, be honest, and know that somewhere, somehow, you will make a difference!

Online Portfolio

Here is my online portfolio through IWork. I have saved it as a PDF file too.

I can't seem to get a thumbnail for it though - looks a little primitive!

Art Contests

A couple of months ago, I entered Raymar Art Contest and was selected as a finalist with my high key winter piece called Essence. I was honored to be chosen from among SO many fabulous paintings and painters!

Another competition that I regular enter is FASO Boldbrush Art Competition. No winning entry as yet, but.......diligence may pay off down the road. Here is my entry if you are interested in seeing it - and if you like it, please click on the link and hit "like".

These kinds of art competitions, including Randy Higbee Gallery 6x6 shows (should have entered, but missed the deadline) are great ways for an artist to get their work seen. They might be seen by primarily other artists, but the newsletters also go out to galleries and collectors and they are relatively inexpensive ways to advertise one's work! There is the advantage of feedback too - the jurists are always very well-known and well-respected national artists and an award is certainly a feather in one's cap. The Facebook community has proven to be very helpful and encouraging of artists entry and often offer positive critiques.

So set aside that painting that makes your heart pitter-patter and give one of these contests a shot! You never know and you have nothing but a few bucks to lose! Come on, what are you waiting for???

Home Sweet Home!

The Celebration has been over for a week now - can't believe it! We tore down on Monday, packed up our personal belongings on Tuesday and headed out of town! First was a stop at the Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale to drop off the two pieces selected for the Salon. That show opens on April 22, 2011 and I am so excited to be juried into a show of such fine quality! Our next move was towards Sedona to drop off work to my NEW gallery Mtn. Trails Gallery in Sedona. If you've never been to Sedona before, it is such a beautiful place - situated in the red rock and cedar mountains! The gallery sits in Tlaquepaque, a village of shops, galleries and fine restaurants that is as quaint and inviting as they come. The gallery is up a flight of stairs and has a wonderful staff and beautiful space. I dropped off eleven pieces and we were back on the road. We stayed in Flagstaff for the night and headed out in the morning for home.
We made it all the way to Salt Lake when the transmission in the Tahoe died! My dad - Jack - to the rescue to come get us and bring our little trailer home. He arrived just as the tow truck arrived to bring our old girl back to Ogden. Poor Marco was heartbroken about the illness of our truck, but she will be back up and running in no time I'm sure.
Since arriving home, we have unpacked, cleaned, redecorated and continually reminded each other how good it feels to be home. Dorothy was right - there's no place like home. I've visited family, went to a birthday party from my girlfriends, puttered and cooked! I have for the most part boycotted makeup for at least another week, worn jammies and comfort clothes, slept in a few days and watched a movie or two! Tomorrow starts a new week and I will organize the studio and get busy on a few commissions and a slew of ideas for new paintings, but for tonight - a little more rest! It's SO good to be home!

Mountain Trails Gallery of Sedona

I am so pleased to announce my new representation with Mtn. Trails Gallery in Sedona, AZ!

I have given them 11 pieces of new work and a little bird has told me they are hanging as I write. The gallery is so beautiful and the staff and owner, Vic Payne, are wonderful. I hope to get back down there soon and do a little plein air painting of the beautiful red rock and cedar. If you happen to be in the area, do stop in and check out the work!

Good Morning!

Well, we are down to the last two weeks of the show! It really has gone by so fast and with a quick trip to Salt Lake for Art and Soup during the last week, I'll be home before I can blink. I'm still working on a few paintings down here and I'll be doing a little plein air Monday and Tuesday with friends. I sure thought I would do more of that while I was here, but seven days a week 8-10 hours a day is tough stuff!

I'm so excited to get my garden going at home! I'm going to bring a few indoor plants home with me too from here in Arizona - JASMINE! Does anyone know if it can be grown indoors? Utah is much too cold to grow it outside, but that smell just mesmerizes me. I have to have some. Can't wait for the Lilly's to come out and maybe a few daffodil bulbs survived the barbs of the tiller last year. I'm going to build a small flower garden for painting a few still life's this summer.

Focus - Shanna - focus! Quit daydreaming about a month from now and get back to the present! Up and at it and back to the tent to get things done. This is the first day of a two week show and it's time to make opportunity happen :) Have a nice day everyone!

Winter Whispers

Winter Whispers

24x36 oil on canvas

Framing Conversations!

I've had quite a few discussions lately with clients about frames. The final presentation is so important - you can say to the world that you are proud of your work, that it has value or you can throw on a cheap frame to get the painting out the door. When putting together a show of a dozen pieces, it's a tough pill to swallow to fork out a few grand for a nice frame. Haven't we all been through this pain before! Consider it an investment in your business, not unlike good tires on a vehicle. Yes, you can buy retread or used, but if you want the best investment with sustainability - get the best that you can reasonably afford! Look for a frame that does not compete with the painting, lines or pattern that bring out the subtleties in a piece. I use a handmade, hand leafed finished corner frame from Rocky Mountain Frames out of Kaysville UT.

We chose to float the piece to give it more weight and pull the painting away from the edge just a bit. It is a metal leaf, rubbed to look like Karat Gold. We also went with a thinner moulder with clean lines to make it a transitional frame - one that would work in a contemporary or traditional setting! I think Tony does a marvelous job and he will design any style to fit an artists look and needs. Check him out when you get a few extra minutes Rocky Mountain Frames.

Newly Revised Autumn Shore

Sometimes, a painting that previously seemed finished, calls out for something more. Autumn Shore is just that piece! The more I lived with it, the more it called for more mood, more nuances. Here is the piece in it's final state. I am so happy with this version!

Workshop Paintings!

Well, here they are! Cacti :) Inside joke around here about me painting Cactus - Marco's been trying to get me to do them forever and the only way I knew I would like it was if I was plein-air painting. So the workshop with Matt Smith was the best option and I had a ball! Especially with my newfound friend, sister from another mother Liz. I am going to get out and do a few more while I'm here, especially when things really start getting green. Until then.......

Well, I'm back from Sun Valley, Utah and Tucson - a week away from the tent was good for my head! I loved painting in Tucson, even if it was cactus, lol. I have actually started to really appreciate the beauty of the desert, for a mountain girl that is. The skies here are tremendous, the sunsets trump anywhere else! I met some really great people, all working artists and substantial in their own right and I really found a kindred spirit in my new friendship with Liz Robbins. She is such an amazing artist and person and it was so nice to meet up with someone so in tune with life experience and how that influences artistic life.

Four weeks left at the Celebration show and probably the most intense. Four weeks to make the best art that I possibly can - nothing intimidating there! I've picked up a couple of galleries after the show and looking for one more. I need to get the portfolio ready again, the bio updated, contacts made and the website updated. All in a few days work!

NEW WORK

I've been painting up a storm the last few weeks and all with a nice and warm palette reflecting the beautiful weather here in Scottsdale! Now off to Sun Valley tomorrow and snow and maybe there will be snow paintings to follow :) The reception for the Kneeland Gallery show is Friday night 5-8. Please stop by if you are in the area!

Check out this link for my first online portfolio - please remember I'm a rookie!

Shanna Kunz Portfolio

Great News!

I found out today that two of my paintings were accepted into the Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art hosted by the Legacy Gallery in April! Yes, doing cartwheels out in the parking lot of the celebration :) Here is the Link if you would like to see the list of amazing artists chosen along with their artwork : http://www.scottsdalesalonoffineart.com/category/artists-and-artwork. I'm very happy that some of my "coworkers" here at the celebration are included in that list : Richard Hall, Jennifer O'Cualain, Josh Claire - all AMAZING!

I'm staying home from the tent today to work on some watercolors, do some cooking, a few loads of laundry, and investigate a few future shows and galleries that I might apply for - in other words, be on the computer most of the day! So what else is new? I would really like to pick up a couple of galleries to my repertoire. There are a few irons in the fire and alot of new work! It is so hard on one's emotional head to sell your own work seven days a week for three months so this day off will truly help me do some AA - attitude adjustment! Now off to research recipes for creative cooking :) Have a great day!

"Pastures"

24x30 oil on canvas

available through the Kneeland Gallery

Celebration Work Time

One of the many advantages of doing the Celebration of Fine Art is the focused quality and quantity of time available for working! I am surrounded by approximately 100 creative, hard working artists all hard-at-it painting, sculpting, creating in their medium of choice! Though the weather this last week has brought out an early "Spring Fever" for me, I have been working and have actually finished a painting, with a good start on another. Eight to ten pieces brought down here will be taken up to the Kneeland Gallery next week for my show reception on Feb. 18, 2011 and I will be left with a few empty spots to fill, and I am feeling the pressure to get some good work up there - and it has to be substantial work for me to feel good about the show! This year the Celebration is even better than ever, adding a few new artists working in the representational arena that are fabulous!

Marco and I have also decided that the small watercolor drawing was a great way to get our email newsletter up and going, so we will be choosing from all the new sign-ups from Jan 1st to the drawing. If you are interested in a beautiful small watercolor, please sign up for our email newsletter off the website (shannakunz.com)! I send out the newsletter every other month, not too frequently as to bombard people with email junk, just enough to announce show schedules, juried exhibits and new work.

I will keep you updated with news and events from the show a little more regularly! The last few months have been pretty busy and not much time for blogging, but I will try and do better!