Announcing "This Must Be The Place" - Show Opening at Firecat Projects July 24
After being an artist for 20 years, I’m excited to announce that my first *solo* gallery show, “This Must Be The Place” opens July 24 at Firecat Projects in my hometown of Chicago. Hope you can make it! RSVP over on Facebook
Opening Reception: Friday, July 24, 2015 - 7 to 10 p.m. Exhibition runs: July 24 – August 22, 2015 Closing Reception & Gallery Talk with author Bill Savage: August 16, 2015 - 3 to 5 p.m. Savage, who teaches Chicago literature at Northwestern University and the Newberry Library, will discuss Accidental Beauties: the Aesthetics and Symbolism of Water Tanks (and Other Antiquated Infrastructure)
Firecat Projects 2124 N. Damen Ave., Chicago IL 60647
The exhibition is generously sponsored by Doug Sohn of HOT DOUG’S.
What is Painting? Project - NeotericART
I'm excited to announce that I was asked to be part of The WIP Project: What is Painting? from NeotericART. NeotericART is a website about painting and drawing and WIP is an ongoing series where they ask artists that simple question: What is Painting?
Hyperallergic Review of Outsider show at Degenerate Gallery
From Outside to Inside on Chicago’s North Side
Special thanks to Philip Hartigan, artist and writer for Hyperallergic, for featuring one of my pieces in his review of the Outsider show at Degenerate Art Gallery. Read the full story here.
Intersections, acrylic, spray paint, collage on panel, 24x24, 2013, $400
Young Art Collectors + Open Studios
The Cornelia Arts Building Open Studios last weekend was fun and we had a great crowd to see the art and enjoy the live music. Some of my cityscape paintings and mixed media prints found new homes too! Thanks to all who attended. I was also interviewed by Eva Voinigescu, a Medill School of Journalism Master of Science Candidate who has been working on an article about how young people collect art. It was an interesting interview and hopefully she got some good information. One thing I try to do is to price my art so that most anyone can afford it. Typically my work ranges from $100 - $1,500 (sometimes more). Sometimes I'll have a secret sale and you can walk away with something for under $25.
The discussion made me think more about open studios and my goals and expectations. I always enjoy talking to people about my art making process which also helps me better understand art collectors and appreciators. Not everyone comes to buy art at the open studios and when they do it tends to be on the smaller/more affordable side. So, I've come to have lower sales expectations and view open studios as just a fun event/party where I can introduce my art to new people.
But more importantly, having people in my studio helps me better understand my own art and how it affects people. By directly interacting with the public, I have learned to explain my work more clearly. I've also learned that everyone interprets images differently. It's always exciting when someone points out something new or different about one of my own pieces and helps me see it in a new way.
Some good art stuff happenin'
It's been a good couple of weeks of art-related stuff - here's a round-up: I finished the commission painting which is now with its owner - author, Holly McDowell. Special thanks to Holly for asking me to create this custom painting for her home!
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I was interviewed by Mike Stephen from Outside the Loop Radio - a weekly radio program that airs on 88.7FM - WLUW in Chicago. We talked about my studio, the Cornelia Arts Building, its history and its place in the Chicago art community. My interview segment comes in around the 5 minute mark - but listen to all of it - it's a great show!
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I created and finished another painting right after completing the commission:
I was asked back to show at Degenerate Art Gallery again in November after a successful October show. It will be group show again and I'll have some abstract paintings on display. Glad to be part of this new gallery in Edgewater not far from where I live. Opening Reception is Saturday November 16, 7-10pm. More info on that to come.
Praeterita Interview, Six of the Best, Part 25: Kevin Swallow
Special thanks to artist, Philip Hartigan, for posting an interview with me on his blog, Praeterita. Check it out here.
Art featured in Blick spring catalog
Today, I got the Blick spring catalog in the mail and found my art featured on page 31 in the Studio artists' boards section.
If you can't read the caption, it says:
"I used to paint primarily on canvas. Now, I use Blick Studio Boards for half of my paintings and mixed media pieces. The pre-gessoed panels make it easy to start painting or collaging. I really like how the paint glides across the surface and how the colors pop when I work on the panels. The durability of the panels also holds up well to many layers of scraping and painting, allowing me to create interesting textures. When I'm finished with a piece, I paint the sides and it's ready to hang."
The Cornelian + reflections on 2012
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As 2012 came to a close, I decided to create a self portrait - The Cornelian. It's based on a photograph taken in front of the Cornelia Arts Building where my studio is located. I haven't done a self portrait for a while, so I figured it would be a good exercise to go through since I've been a full time artist for one year now. I think the portrait reveals a several things: happiness, uncertainty, confidence and a bit of skepticism.
Reflecting back, I'd have to say that 2012 was a very successful year for me; I'm extremely grateful for all of the support I received. I started it off by taking an online class from Alyson Stanfield to work on my business plan and to help focus my priorities as an artist. I sold art consistently throughout the year and completed two commission paintings: West Loop Cityscape and Chicago Lakefront Skyline. I hooked up with Chicago Art Leasing which is giving me more exposure by renting out some of my art to businesses and homes. My studio was featured in the New York art blog, Hyperallergic - A View from the Easel; and I took an Experimental Drawing Techniques class to shake up my creativity.
During the second half of the year, I worked with two different art consultants on various submissions to license my art for hotel redesign projects. Last week, one of them came through -- four of my cityscape photographs will be printed large-scale for the Mile North Chicago hotel downtown. A second project for another hotel is still in the works. In addition to making connections with art consultants around the country, I explored some new online opportunities to help get my work in front of art collectors; such as ArtSlant, ArtBarcs, Chicago Art Database, ArtWorldChicago, Art Takes Times Square, and got my art represented in Xanadu's Online Gallery. I continue to show at the Writers Workspace and Transistor and will be exploring a lot more show and art licensing opportunities next year.
One last thing I'm proud of is helping my wife start up the Chicago Writers Conference. We ran a successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign where some of my art went to some generous contributors. I volunteered on the Board of Directors, created the marketing and communications plan, developed website content, created a mobile app, and shot photos of the speakers and reading events. It was a challenge to say the least but very rewarding and we learned a lot. We'll continue CWC with a series of workshops throughout the year and the second annual conference in October.
In early 2013, I'll be launching a new website redesign and I look forward to experimenting with oils to begin taking my art in some new directions.
Happy New Year!
-Kevin
