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Selecting Lighting for my Painting Studio

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Choosing bulb replacements for perfect lighting in my studio.

Since I have fluorescent fixtures already installed in my painting studio and didn’t want to replace them it narrowed down the search for the type of bulbs i would be looking for. Learning about LED or halogen lighting options, which I might consider if I was designing an entirely new studio, was off my research list. The installed fixtures are 4’ and had a mixture of cool and warm T8 bulbs bought at the local big box store.

Florescent lighting fixture in the studio of Mary Ahern the Artist.

The existing lighting fixtures in my painting studio hold a series of florescent 48″ T8 bulbs.

As soon as I began researching online for the best bulbs for studio lighting I knew the options were very broad and would need more studying. I would need to know what the important specifications would be in selecting the right ambient lighting for working on my paintings and also for proofing digital prints?

In my online searching I stumbled upon a wonderful article by Will Kemp, an Artist & educator from England. He gave some historic references & then went on to explain the technical aspects of lighting.

I learned about the ratings of Kelvin, CRI and Lumens:

K or Kelvin. The color temperature index of cool light at 5500K and a bit warmer light at 4100K seemed to be my goal. I didn’t want to go too cool while creating the Art since most of my work is hung in either residential or corporate lighting environments. Residential incandescent bulbs are in the 2,500K to 3000K range

CRI or color rendering index. I sounded professional when I went to my specialty lighting store and pronounced it correctly, Cree rather than C.R.I. CRI is a measurement of how the lighting reveals colors across the full spectrum when measured against natural daylight. The highest measure is 100 and a good CRI for a painting studio is 85 and up.

Lumens are the measurement of how much light is coming from a bulb. The more lumens the the brighter the light. This differs from wattage which is a measurement of how much energy is used to create the light.

Over the years, as bulbs have burned out in my painting studio fixtures I went to the big box store & bought a warm and a cool fluorescent for each fixture fully well knowing that a more appropriate solution should be available. Recognizing that over the years my lighting had become inconsistent, I decided to bite the bullet & finally do it right.

I was spurred on to optimize my own painting studio by the announcement that the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which I visit regularly to study their paintings, is completely renovating their gallery lighting over the next few years. You can follow the Met’s lighting project here.

I studied the elements of lighting & then went the specialty lighting store that most of the contractors in my area frequent. Initially the gentleman at the counter said that all I needed was an ordinary fluorescent bulb  which I could buy at any box store. Once I began to speak about the technical aspects of the bulbs I was considering, he became interested & spoke with me at length about the options for my studio. We discussed the temperature of the current lighting and the problems I would have if I went to a higher K or color temperature.

So what did I choose?

I chose a bulb with a Kelvin of 4100K rather than 5500K which is often called a daylight bulb. As mentioned earlier, I was considering the rooms in which my paintings are usually displayed after they are purchased. I should also mention that I have a large 10’ north facing window in my painting studio which offers a good deal of natural light.

I also selected a higher than usual CRI number of 85 to give me a more robust range of colors which displays the full complexity of my subtle pigments. Lower CRI’s don’t always show the full spectrum of yellows.

For the lumens my choice was to select 3250 which was brighter than many of the bulbs they were replacing although the wattage remained the same at 32W.

One consideration that I was nervous about was the thickness of the actual bulb. The existing T8 bulbs were thicker than the ones I took home from the lighting store. My consultant assured me that they would be fine in my fixtures and he was right. Less glass didn’t mean less light.

The price for each bulb was a modest $2.40. Well worth the investement!

The lighting is perfect! Great color balance, brightness, range. It was worth the time I took to do the research. As an Artist, I research my subjects, paints, pigments, mediums, brushes, canvas, etc., etc., etc… So now I can add studio lighting to the list of professional choices I’ve made towards producing excellent Art.

This is the choice of replacement T8 florescent lighting bulbs for the correct balanced lighting in my studio. I didn’t pick by brand name but by specifications.

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My Garden. My Muse.

My muse, is my garden. Other gardens as well, but my garden in particular. I move in it, feel it, and hear the breezes whisper through it. I watch the lighting during the day as it slides over and around the textured surfaces.

Fire Flame Peony Fine Art Painting by the Artist, Mary Ahern

These Fire Flame Peonies bloom in my garden each year in May at the same time as the color matching azalea.

Lighting so different on days with sun and with clouds. Lighting in the spring with the bright yellow greens of optimistic new growth and lighting by the fall with ambers & tans of a lived life. Morning light offers tender ambiance while afternoon colors not only light the scene from a different direction, the colors are deeper and warmer.

My garden brings consciousness and meaning to me. It keeps me grounded. The ephemeral beauty of an unfertilized blossom studied up close with magnifiers and macro lenses is a representation of a miracle. The world of possibility. The beginning of a story I represent in my Art. I walk through my garden gathering ideas. Stories I want to tell. Suggested ideas I want to convey.

In my garden I spend time designing the landscape or I spend time closely and intimately with a singular specimen at a particular stage of growth. In my studio I may paint a vignette or a full landscape view of a part of the garden I’ve designed, or I may choose to paint a small portion of one flower that has moved me. The minute miracle. This is my work. Outdoors and indoors. These are the stories I tell. This is my Art.

Fire Flame Peony

These Fire Flame Peonies bloom in my garden each year in May at the same time as the color matching azalea.This and other pieces of my Art can be purchased in various sizes on canvas, fine art paper, metal and acrylic in my online Art Shop.

 

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Informational Interview of the Artist, Mary Ahern

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I was asked to do an informational interview by Misty Swan who is working on her college Art degree. Here are her questions and my responses. This interview was done via email.

  1. Please state your name, the name of your business, city and state you live in, and your profession.

Name: Mary Ahern

Business names: Mary Ahern Artist, Reimagined Memories, Fine Art for the Garden and ondesign.com, a website design business.

Place: Northport NY.

Profession: Professional Artist

  1. How long have you been pursuing photography and painting?

I began painting & photography in the mid-1970’s.

  1. What excites you the most about photography and painting?

Creating something out of thin air that no one else had ever seen in the same way that I had.

  1. How much training and education have you received in your field?
  • I graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from Queens College in NY in 1980. During the 70’s, Feminist Art work was on the rise as was Photo-Realism along with many other avant-garde styles. Most of my professors had studios in SOHO, which at the time was the center of the NY art scene. We were encouraged to frequent the galleries, set up interviews with artists and critics and generally be involved in some way with the art scene.
  • After college, and not wanting to starve, I built a career selling computer graphics platforms to the TV broadcast & production industries. In order to sell this technology I had to learn all the graphics & electronic paint systems . Training was provided on the job but I brought my Art background with me.
  • Because of my love of gardens and flowers in 2000 I earned an AAS degree in Ornamental Horticulture exactly twenty years after my BA in Fine Art.
  • To brush up on my drawing skills I returned to school for a 2 year diploma/certification in Botanical Illustration from the New York Botanical Garden graduating in 2004
  • A week never goes by that I don’t take an online webinar in either painting, software or marketing. I have taken so many webinars & seminars over many, many years that it’s too hard to count. I believe in life-long learning.
  • In 2015 I took a 1 year mentorship program in portrait painting from an artist like myself who is based in Louisiana. He pushed me out of my comfort zone to paint people. There is always more to learn, to grow, to expand.
  1. How did you choose your field of photography and painting?

I don’t really understand the question. Do you really choose a field of painting style or does it choose you? My work has evolved as I evolved.

  1. How has the field of photography and painting changed since you started?

This question is really answerable in a dissertation, but here is a snippet.

I believe that technology has changed the field of photography the most. With the introduction of digital cameras the access to photography has reached a greater cohort of people. Mobile phone cameras have grown the accumulation of images exponentially but not necessarily artistically. The bar has been lowered to what the general public assumes is Art.

The field of painting has been less affected by the introduction of electronic paint systems since they, up until now at least, are still not in general use. Also, all the same rules of painting apply to digital as to traditional. It is just another medium in which to work.

  1. What are the most important skills to have in order to be successful in this field?

I am a great communicator, a salesperson, a marketing person. If I didn’t have these skills my Art would accumulate in my closets.

  1. What do you dislike about this field?

I dislike that many potential clients undervalue our work since they have the insane belief that we paint for fun and relaxation. Those are the ones that don’t understand the difference between a Professional Artist and a person who paints as a hobby.

  1. What is your most interesting photo shoot or painting?

I am always drawn to my garden for inspiration. The closer I paint the flowers the better. The colors are rich, the forms are voluptuous, the textures challenging.

  1. What are the things that keep you passionate and motivated in your field?

I constantly reach to learn more. A week never goes by that I don’t learn something new or refresh my knowledge base. I read Art books, I take webinars, I read Art blogs, I go to Art Shows & museums. I am always in a learning mode.

  1. Do you have any words of wisdom for someone entering this field of work?

One thing I was never taught in Art school was how to make a living from my Art. I used my own mental creativity to zig and zag myself into a career in the visual arts.

It is very rare for painters and photographers to make a really decent living from just the narrow vision of what they view as their Art. I had to step outside of my comfort zone in order to support my family but because I did it creatively, I was able to maintain a career with a tangential relationship to the Arts & also maintain a working studio.

As Artists we are creative people. Living creatively doesn’t mean that one has to be a starving Artist. In fact by thinking creatively and widely, you can have a profitable & emotionally fulfilled career. Enjoy!

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Photoshop is 25 years old this year but I have been digitally painting for 30

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The headlines herald the 25th Birthday of the introduction of Photoshop, the photo editing software that almost everyone has heard about and many have used. Photoshop was released on Thursday February 19, 1990, 25 years ago. I, however, began painting electronically years earlier on the Chyron Chameleon Paint System.

1986 Mary Ahern working on the Chyron Chameleon

1986 Mary Ahern working on the Chyron Chameleon at the Cablevision studios in Woodbury NY.

The Chameleon was a digital painting & editing system complete with dedicated hardware & software aimed at the Broadcast TV & production industry.. Primitive by our current standards but tremendously advanced at that time in the mid-1980’s.

In order to sell a paint system in the ‘80’s, since no one really understood the enormous creative possibilities of computer painting, I did demonstrations & lectures in order to sell this tremendously creative tool. It offered drawing tools & brushes, cut & paste, zoom, a removable hard drive, video outputs and 8 bits of color.

I have made a very good living using Photoshop, amongst other digital imaging programs, but I was able to apply my Artist’s vision first using the tablet & stylus of the Chameleon.

So I wish Photoshop a very Happy 25th Birthday but they are the young kid on the block. I have been digitally painting for 30 years.

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Artist Mother – Mother Artist

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Artist Mother – Mother Artist
One and the same. Complements in name.
Work unending, always tending
To seek the insights needed to know,
to nourish – to form – to grow.

Taken for granted, demands expanded,
Desire for life on a higher standard.
Creative, depletive, rewarding, absorbing.
Continuous rebirth of the most generous kind.

Writing by Mary Ahern Feb. 20, 1978

Artist Mother - Mother ArtistSketch by Mary Ahern October, 27, 2013

 

 

 

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Preparing Prints For an Art Show

Here is a video which I originally created in July of 2013 of how I prepare prints for display and sale at outdoor art festivals .

I took these video clips in my studio as I prepared for the Northport Art in the Park hosted by the Northport Arts Coalition.

I used a Canon Power Shot SD3500 IS Digital ELPH, holding it in one hand and demonstrating with the other. I used the audio from the camera which is muffled at times since I put my finger over the microphone. I originally started with 18 minutes of video clips and brought it down to about 4:15.

I edited in iMovie with the end credits created in Photoshop.

Fun little project which I wish I’d given myself more time to perfect but there are always choices to be made. Time being the one thing I can’t seem to stretch.

You can see this and other video on my YouTube Channel: youtube.com/user/MaryAhernArtist

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The Composition of the Matisse Painting of The Dance Influenced my Blue Iris Painting

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Studying Art History seeps into your memory. Countless visits to the many museums and galleries that New York City has to offer has crept into my subconscious. This lifelong study has taken me through so many happy surprises as well as quite a number of dead ends.

Often Artists are asked who their influences have been for their Art style. Trust me,  never would I have answered Matisse. I’ve never appreciated his sketchy use of paint, his lack of detail and apparent lack of a “finished” quality to his work.

And then, when I least expected it, I reimagined Matisse’s iconic painting, “The Dance”.  Using flowers from my own garden, I picked up the exuberant rhythm that makes his work such a delight. This work is so light, buoyant and a wonderful interpretation of what spring means to me.

As I was creating the composition of Irises I remember somewhere, behind my eyes, trying to make the circular floating connections of the frilly irises that was suspended somewhere in my memory. I have stood so often in front of the Matisse painting at the Museum of Modern Art, loving the composition while not liking the paint quality. I’ve returned so often to view that painting in the original hoping to find what I missed.

I absorbed his painting just by being there and looking. And looking again. And again…Mary Ahern Artist and Henri Matisse Painting Composition

“…man is a bundle of relations, a knot of roots,
whose flower and fruitage is the world…”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Mary Ahern Artist - Mixed Media Painting - Light Blue Iris in the Garden

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Some Steps When Curating & Designing an Art Show

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Curating an Art Show takes many steps and stages. The process begins with the organization sponsoring the event. They are responsible for setting the dates and timetables of the show, the selection of Artists and in this case, establishing and maintaining a cooperative working relationship with the owners of the hosting venue.

The organization that is sponsoring the Art Show decides if they are hosting a One-Person Art Show or a Group Exhibit and where the venue will be held. This information is included in their prospectus.

For the Art Show I’m having from August 28 through October 9th, 2012, I downloaded the prospectus from the Northport Arts Coalition (aka NAC) website here. Most organizations now offer their applications & information online.

In this case, I applied for a One-Person Show to be held over a 6-7 week period at the Wine Cellar on Main in downtown Northport NY. I was notified of my acceptance and given about a one-month lead time to prepare for the showing.

Normally the lead time for an opportunity for a large show like this is quite a bit longer but I was pleased with the opportunity to show my work so I quickly accepted their offer.

A view of my studio while staging for the Art Show

Depending on the organization the curating of the actual show is done either by a designated person within that group or the individual Artists whom they’ve selected for a show.

Since I have decades of experience managing and curating my own and other events I have a particular method of working. In another post, I discussed how I started planning & curating my show. Curating in the sense I wrote about is the decision making process of how the show will look and what work I have available to show.

I usually have various paintings of mine in multiple group shows over a wide variety of time slots & locations so I keep comprehensive records of where my Art Work is allocated at any given time & where the work is scheduled to be shown.

I also know what work is in the process of being created & when the work will be available for the next showing.

Curating is many things. These include finding the venues, selecting the Artists, designing the show itself and creating and executing the marketing campaign.

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Strategies for Planning & Curating my Own Art Show

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So I applied and was accepted for a one-person Fine Art Show at the new Wine Cellar on Main in Northport NY from August 28 through October 8th, 2012. The acceptance email was the fun part & then the stress factor hit me within moments.

Yikes. I’m a curator now.

What paintings would I show? How many pieces of Art? What size paintings would look right. How would I stage the show hanging? And since it was such short notice, (one-month) how quickly could I pull this whole show together efficiently & still enjoy life?

Here’s what I did.

Site survey of the Wine Cellar on Main with my friend Greg Oleanik’s show in place.

Side wall of Greg Oleanik’s show at the Wine Cellar on Main

I took my point & shoot camera, pencil, paper & a sturdy metal measuring tape & scouted out the available show space. Luckily, my friend Greg Oleanik currently had a show hanging there so I was able to take snapshots of all his work hanging in place.

Mock-up of what size paintings I will need for my upcoming Art Show

Side wall mock-up for my Art Show planning

I measured the height & widths of all the available spaces within the room, keeping them sequentially numbered along with photos of each space.  I spoke with the proprietor, Lindsay Ostrander & we discussed the fact that she had installed a hanging system with rails & rods so that I wouldn’t need to put nails in her walls. This info I took back to my studio & headed for the computer.

I imported the photos into Photoshop. I created a panorama of the interior hanging space with photos of Greg’s show. Then I made a mock-up of the walls & created placeholders for the different sizes of my own Artwork since I know what sizes of Art I generally work in.

With this in place I was able to count how many and what sizes of paintings I would need to have available to put into the Art Show.

I felt calmer already. Next step was planning on how much creating was ahead of me & what I could possibly hope to accomplish in such a short span of time while also leaving me time to publicize the show. I wanted to make sure I left enough time to share the news about the show with family, friends, and with all my past, present & future customers.

 

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Friends of the Delaware Canal Sporting their Mary Ahern Yellow Daffodil T-shirts

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These are the creative and committed women aka “Commuting Women” who took part in the Delaware Canal Festival winning the “Most Beautiful” decorated canoe prize. These women took part in planting thousands of daffodil bulbs along the canal & other prominent locations this past spring.

I was pleased to donate my “Single Daffodil” artwork for use on their team T-Shirts. I applaud their energy, their commitment to the beautification of their community & their sense of humor. Kudos!

Mary Ahern the Artist helping out the Friends of the Delaware by donating her Single Yellow Daffodil image for their T-shirts

Friends of the Delaware Canal sporting their Yellow Daffodil shirts celebrating their planting of thousands of daffodil bulbs along the canal & other prominent Yardley locations.

This is a copy of a letter they sent when they donated their prize money winnings to The Friends of the Delaware Canal.

Friends of the Delaware Canal

The Locktender’s House

145 South Main St.

New Hope PA 18938

Dear Friends,

Enclosed is a check for $75.00 payable to the Friends of the Delaware Canal, representing the prize money the “Commuting Women” won for our “Most Beautiful” decorated canoe in the Yardley Boat Parade as part of the Delaware Canal Festival.

Friends of the Delaware Canal award winning entry in the Yardley Boat Parade

The award by the “Commuting Women” for “Most Beautiful” decorated canoe in the Yardley Boat Parade as part of the Delaware Canal Festival.

Our theme was “Thank You Bucks Beautiful,” celebrating and thanking the Bucks Beautiful organization for planting thousand of daffodil bulbs along the canal and in other prominent Yardley locations. When the daffodils all bloomed this spring, it was a spectacular sight!

Our group is comprised of “mature” women who commute to work in Philadelphia, either currently or in the past, on SEPTA Regional Rail trains. We had lots of fun planning and constructing our boat parade entry, and we are proud of our ingenuity and resourcefulness – using only items we already had on hand around the house. Lots of paper plates, muffin cups, skewers, and plastic tablecloths – as one young observer commented, “That’s a lot of arts and crafts.”

Along the way we made a new friend, Mary Ahern, from Northport NY who generously donated her daffodil art design to our matching parade-day T-shirts.

All in all, a fun and rewarding experience. Thanks for a great day – this is why we chose to live in the small towns along the Delaware Canal. We are happy to donate our prize winnings to the Friends of the Delaware Canal.

Sincerely,

Leslie Jordan

Virginia Hamby, Yardley

Dorothy Judd, Washington Crossing

Jeannette Leighton, Yardley

Mary Ahern the Artist's "Single Yellow Daffodil"

Mary Ahern’s “Single Yellow Daffodil which was used as the image for the Friends of the Delaware Canal T-shirts.

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Huntington Arts Council Silent Auction-December 2010

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I have donated one of my Krinkled Peony Digital/Traditional Mixed Media Paintings to the Huntington Arts Council, annual silent auction fundraiser. This piece is a combination of Digital painting and Traditional Colored Pencils.

The finished mixed media painting is matted & finished in a 16x16" natural wood color frame.
The finished mixed media painting is matted & finished in a 16×16″ natural wood color frame.

Bidding is underway at the Main Street Petite Gallery. Almost 50 artist members of the Huntington Arts Council have donated original work in oils, watercolor, photography, prints, diamond and topaz jewelry, silk and more. Bidding opportunities start at $25, and go until 6 p.m. on Friday, December 4.

This is a great chance to own an original piece of art or purchase one as a gift for a favorite relative or friend. Stop by the gallery at 213 Main Street in Huntington, two blocks east of New York Avenue, to see both the art and all the raffle items.

Poster for the L'Art Pour L'Art Silent Auction for the Huntington Arts Council
Poster for the L’Art Pour L’Art Silent Auction for the Huntington Arts Council

The proceeds support the exhibition programs of the Arts Council’s two galleries. Some of the wonderful raffle items are: a pair of subscription tickets for the Long Island Philharmonic; gift certificates for Besito, Honu, RED Restaurant and others; and theater and movie passes.

The gallery will be open for the duration of the auction Friday evenings until 8 p.m. and from 1 to 5 p.m. on the first three Saturdays of November. A “Rockin’ Sock Puppet Making Workshop” is on tap for kids ages 5 to 11 on Saturday, November 14 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Then on November 21 at 2 p.m., some of the donating artists will be at the gallery to talk about their work.

______________________________

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Huntington Arts Council Spotlight Artist of the Month – Mary Ahern

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Another Type of Canvas

Mary Ahern is an artist member of the Huntington Arts Council. Much of her art is inspired by her garden, a piece of art in its own right that is constantly changing. Her husband, Dave, often comments that her plants seem to be on wheels since Mary is constantly moving her plants from flowerbed to flowerbed. She uses the texture and color of the plants to create beautiful works of art in her garden.

The peonies bloom in June
In Northport NY the peonies bloom in June

Walking through Mary’s garden and listening to her speak about it reveals how much thought was put behind each and every placement. Mary uses her plants to create artwork just as she uses oil paint. Each plant has specific colors or textures that can be used to compliment or contrast the other plants it is put with. Certain beds of flowers are based on the color of those certain plants, i.e., mixing deep reds with frosted greens. Others are based on the texture of the plant, i.e. small leaves, low ground covering, etc.

However it doesn’t stop there. Each of these flowerbeds is incorporated into the garden as a whole and even the pathways that flow between each have been carefully laid out. The flowers that Ahern cultivates influence her artwork greatly. She likes to have samples of the subjects she is working on around her. “I’m not trying to duplicate what a camera can do. I’m interpreting in a realistic style how I see the subject.”

The Krinkled White is a single peony prized for its simplicity
The Krinkled White is a single peony prized for its simplicity

When you step into Mary’s home and studio, it is as though the garden is continuing inside as well. Her art work adorns the walls and upstairs in the studio her love for the garden is transformed into pieces of art.

Mary was first introduced to gardening by her Uncle Teddy who was a gardener himself. “Every time we visited, I loved to help him in the garden and when I acquired my first plant at around the age of five, I made it very clear to everyone in my family that I was the only one allowed to care for it. Since I have always held a passion for the garden, it was only natural that it showed up in my artwork.”

Mary uses many different mediums to create her works of art. They include oils, watercolors, and digital painting. The amount of care and detail incorporated in each piece is absolutely astounding. She creates Digital Flower and Shell Paintings as well as  paintings using Traditional media.

Mary has been digitally designing for over 25 years now. She first started at Chyron Corporation, located in Melville, working in Sales and Marketing Positions. Later, Mary began her own graphic design company called Online Design which, at that time, was one of the few to be 100% digital.

Although Mary Ahern has been painting for over 30 years now, as a young child she never really became interested in the arts. Music was a large influence during her high school years: she was in the band and even conducted, which was rare for a women to do during that time.

It wasn’t until Mary was in her 20’s that she became interested in art, when one of her friends gave her a book about the work of the artist, Georgia O’Keeffe  This influenced her to take a class at the local Y and when she picked up the paintbrush she knew it was her calling. “The paintbrush seemed like an extension of my arm. Since then art has never been a hobby but a part of my life.” She went on from there and got a degree in Fine Arts from Queens College and has been creating ever since.

Four different background treatments of the Krinkled White Peony
Four different background treatments of the Krinkled White Peony

For those interested in pursuing a career in the arts Mary’s advice is to develop business and marketing skills in addition to the skills you develop to create your Art.   The web and social networking sites make marketing available  to everyone. “Whether it’s a website, a blog and alsoTwitter, Facebook or a combination, it is important for potential buyers to see the artist behind the paintings because that also helps to sell your art.”

She believes that a career in the arts is a very tough “glamour” business and you must have entrepreneurial skills as well as lots of determination to be successful. Mary Ahern also states that there are not many things more rewarding then to have someone who has purchased one of her Fine Art pieces tell her how much pleasure they have received every day from seeing her work hanging in their home  It makes her smile.

• To see some of her beautiful artwork, head over to her website,

http://MaryAhernArtist.com.

• Visit her Garden at her blog

The Garden Artist – My Garden, My Art, Where Passions Merge

http://MaryAhernArtist.com/garden-blog/

• View behind the scenes of an Artist on her Art Blog

Art Naturally – Musings Of My Life As An Artist

http://MaryAhernArtist.com/art-blog/

• Mary’s step-daughter Sharon Ruedeman made a video about her garden which you can view on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJTAh3dBrps

This article was derived from an interview with Mary Ahern, The Garden-Artist by Diane Brown and produced by Dianne Matus of the Huntington Arts Council.

______________________________

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Digital Printing Has Killed the Limited Edition Print.

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The historic use of limiting editions of prints was during a time when prints were made from art carved or drawn onto stone, wood or other surfaces that degraded with use. As more impressions were made the surface wore out and the image became less crisp. Limiting the quantity of the printing run helped to control the quality of the print and of course the value.

Digital printing does not suffer from this problem since there is no degradation in resolution, or crispness, from one print to the next. In fact, what can happen as technology evolves and equipment gets better and faster, later prints may be of higher quality then original prints made years earlier in the cycle.

New Technology Offers New Forms of Creativity

So how do I offer my customers a solution to their desire for a unique piece of my Art rather then the Open Edition pieces I generally offer?

red-rose-custom

Custom Art Work Created Just For You

Custom Editions brings my customers into a collaborative effort in the artistic process of helping me to create a unique Art Work specific for their home or office design ideas.

Here’s how:

You select a piece of Art from my array of Standard Digital or Traditional Paintings.

  1. I can print your selection on different surfaces like Fine Arts Paper or Canvas.
  2. I can put different finishes on each canvas print, i.e. Matte, Semi-Gloss or Gloss.
  3. My standard work is designed in a 3×4 aspect ratio, i.e. the height to width relationship. I can customize the composition to fulfill specific sizing.
  4. I can print at any size that would work for the space you have in mind. Super-size up to 64 inches and mini-sizes for grouping.
  5. I can customize the colors, most particularly, the backgrounds, to suit your design ideas.
  6. I can combine traditional paint with your digital print to make a truly one-of-a-kind Art Work.
  7. I can customize framing or do away with framing altogether using the Gallery Wrapped canvas style.

If you can think of it I can probably do it.

Let’s get started on your Custom Editions collaboration. Visit my website for additional information.

Call me, Mary Ahern at 631-757-9459

Or email me at mary@MaryAhernArtist.com

Let’s make Art together!

______________________________

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Westhampton Beach Fine Arts Festival. Day 2.

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Today was the second and last day of the 37th Annual Greater Westhampton Chamber of Commerce Mary O. Fritchie Outdoor Juried Art Show

The overcast weather encouraged many customers to come out and enjoy purchasing Art

The overcast weather encouraged many customers not to go to the beach but to come out and enjoy purchasing ArtThe weather took quite a change from yesterday’s very sunny and overly hot and humid conditions. The humidity stayed but the sun and extreme heat disappeared.

The show opened officially at 10am and was very busy for quite a few hours. People were in a buoyant and buying mood, which was very nice to see. The current economic environment is still oppressive but many folks seemed to be carrying home their treasured purchases, large and small.

Behind the scenes is my husband Dave prepping additional Designer Prints for sale

I enjoyed so much seeing customer/friends who stopped by to catch up on life. Some of these collectors began buying work from me when I was showing my traditional Botanical mixed media paintings at Art Shows and Festivals. That was quite some years ago. I love hearing that they’re still enjoying seeing my Art hanging in their homes!

About 3:30 while standing talking to visitors, I could feel the weather abruptly change. Apparently so did many others since there was a slow but steady departure of customers over the course of the next half hour. After checking by phone with various friends living around Long Island, we knew a storm was coming through.

The weather changed and you could feel rain coming even before the drizzle started

I made the decision to break down an hour earlier than the official end of the show. Good thing we did. My husband Dave and I have the set-up and take down very well coordinated and we packaged the Art, the furniture and the tent very quickly. We completed the dissembling and loading of the trailer in an hour and a half. By the time all was loaded into the trailer and I was sitting in the truck starting the engine, the rain came down in full force.

We knew the storm was coming and the customers weren’t so we packed our things and left.

We were both soaked but the Art wasn’t. We drove towards home through torrential rain and pulled safely into our flooded driveway. The storm was traveling from west to east so as we got closer to home the rain had begun to subside. By the time we showered and changed, the sun was out again. We went to eat at a restaurant with an outdoor terrace and celebrated another great Art Show.

Life is sweet!

____________________

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Westhampton Beach Fine Arts Festival – Day 1

Art Naturally Posted on by
Mary Ahern artist booth at Westhampton Beach art show.

The customers came to see the show early in the day before or later, after they visited the beach

Today, August 2009 was the first day of the 37th Annual Greater Westhampton Chamber of Commerce Mary O. Fritchie Outdoor Juried Art Show

The weather was very humid and in the high 80’sF which made it extremely uncomfortable when bringing in the Art from the trailer and setting it up in the festival booth. We brought in the furniture which helps to complete the showroom aspect of the booth. I bought the desk from Pro Panels, the print racks from Richeson via Blick and the bookcases Home Decorators.

We hung the awnings to keep the sun off the Art and the Artist but it really didn’t provide any relief from the heat. If I didn’t move at all I could tolerate the heat but that didn’t happen for most of the day.

The bad thing about a sunny day in the Hamptons is that the customers spend most of their time at the beach rather than shopping. Traffic was heavy when the show opened at ten and again at 3 when the heat started to calm down.

It is very tricky to do an Art Show in a vacation beach resort. You want slightly overcast so no one goes to the beach but no rain or wind. It is hard to book the exact perfect weather for an Art Show, but I keep trying.

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