Sherburne Show Wraps Up

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Sherburne Show Wraps Up
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KieferArt display in the lobby of
Sherburne County Gov't Center

Thanks so much to all of you who came to see my show! Without an opening reception, how could I get your feedback? I decided to set up a display table which included a comments book and a ballot box where you could cast your vote for your favorite painting. I didn't open the box until a few days after the show came down. I felt like a kid opening a birthday present. In addition to your ballots, some of you wrote beautiful, affirming comments in my book. Your opinions mean a great deal to me. They help me evolve as a painter.

These are the results of your ballots for favorite painting:

1st Place: "Freed"

2nd Place: "Recumbent Alter Ego", "Eminent Domain" and "Wingspan of a Moose"

3rd Place: "You Talkin' to ME?", "All American Upper Middle Class Wedgie", "High Wire Act", "Exit Strategy", "On the Rocks", "Fret", "Marina Mates", "Like Buttuh"

(Scroll down to see pix of all winners.)

One person wrote on their ballot "lady painting". Not quite sure which one that refers to since about 70% of my paintings were of "ladies", but thank you anyway. Another ballot read "It's like saying which kid I like best. They're all wonderful." I was plain giddy at that one. "Freed", though, was the clear favorite of those of you who voted. It's a very new painting, having varnished it just before the show. As you can see it's vivid RED, a real eye catcher to be sure. The subject is one of my students (you can find a few paintings she worked on in my class by clicking here.) Her name is Anne Bodnar and is on her way to being a formidable painter. The day she was here working on a still life, I noticed the light from her easel was making the top of her hair glow, as if it had become a light source in itself. I sat behind her trying to capture this light play in a sketch then took a few photos. Later I realized that there were several light sources coming in from various windows in the studio. It was my job to reduce them to just 3 in the painting so that the shadows weren't too conflicting. At one point I was having difficulty dealing with a shadow caused by one of those light sources. Anne actually pointed out a thing or two about it and I was on my way (thank you, Anne). I think the thing I like most about the image is the composition that was formed by all of those shadows. They created my "big shape" in the painting. The train of light, starting with the easel light then over right to the still life light then down to the pool of light on the floor which sweeps us back up to the easel light, produced fluid, contained motion within the piece. I'm not exactly sure why each of you who voted for this one liked it, but something must've drawn you to it more than the 47 other paintings in the show. Your responses have made me feel as though I've climbed up onto another plateau. If you had favored older paintings, I would've felt differently.

In short, the show was a great success in my book due to your enthusiastic and thoughtful responses.

Many thanks to all of you for taking the time out of your busy day and, in some cases, driving long distances to come and see the show! I'm humbled by your support.

"Freed"

"Recumbent Alter Ego"

"Eminent Domain"

"Wingspan of a Moose" (sold)

"You Talkin' ta ME?" (sold)

"All American Upper Middle Class Wedgie"

"High Wire Act"

"Exit Strategy"

"On the Rocks" (sold)

"Fret"

"Marina Mates"

"Like Buttuh"

This was fun. Quite a lot of folks didn't vote, but I appreciate those of you who did. Asking you to embrace 48 works of art, read each painting's back story, write comments and then vote was really stretching my hopes, so I am tickled pink at the number of written responses I got. If you'd like more information on any of these paintings (or others seen in the show), most all of them are detailed either on the FINE ART or PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS pages. There you will find dimension and price information. All KieferArt paintings will eventually be available in affordable print form, so please check back if you are considering purchasing a print in the near future. Thanks for supporting the arts.