Expose Yourself 2013! A Public Hanging of Oregon Artists 'Exposing Themselves?' Sandi Whetzel Exposes Three Wine Inspired Paintings During A Public Hanging of Oregon Artists

"Stroked Ego" 16x20 acrylic©Sandi Whetzel

'A public hanging of Oregon Artists exposing themselves' ... Now if that doesn't get your attention, I don't know what will. Sounds frightful and maybe a little distasteful to me, but of course, Umpqua Valley Arts Association doesn't mean that literally.  It's UVA's biennial "Expose Yourself" exhibit of Oregon artists and it is free and open to the public from January 18 through February 28, 2013.  It is actually billed as "A Public Hanging of Oregon Artists", though.  I didn't make that up.

Please forgive my paraphrasing ploy to get your attention.  If you're reading this far, I guess it worked. It's kind of like what I do with my art.  I have to get your attention and hold it long enough to engage you on some level.  Everything I paint is designed to do that and more. My art has to make you feel good, or inspired, or peaceful, or grounded; entertain you, impress you and those who see it on your walls, spark conversation and make you feel glad that you have it hanging on your wall.

My art is a reflection of some part of me that resonates with some part of you.  I work very hard on that reflection of myself. I guess I'm in an "expose yourself" mood, but I just couldn't resist sharing that little tidbit before a captive audience.  Before I lose you, though, I'd love to see you at the opening reception of "Expose Yourself" at Umpqua Valley Arts Association, from 5-7 pm, Friday, January 18, 2013.  It is located at 1624 W. Harvard Ave. in Roseburg, Oregon.

My three wine paintings will be competing for "Best Use of Humor", "Most Innovative Use of Material", "Size Matters", and "Best Title".  I created these paintings without this competition in mind, but they do meet the criterion for the categories, so who knows.  The main thing is, it should be a fun evening, seeing all the submissions and taking part in the refreshments offered.

I shared this stylized self-portrait, "Stroked Ego", in this post because I don't often get the opportunity to share it and it just seemed to fit the "Expose Yourself" theme. This is the only self portrait I have done.  I enjoyed painting it. It hangs in my office and I can look up from my computer and see her smiling at me whenever I want.  She makes me feel good about myself and she never judges me. To see the actual photo of me that inspired it and read the story behind the painting, click here .

Late breaking news!!  I have a new website to order high quality reproductions of my art printed on various substrates; paper, gallery wrapped canvas, metal, or on acrylic panel, as well as greeting card art.  You can now order online and have them shipped directly to you. The company that reproduces the art has 40 years experience producing museum quality prints.  Fine Art America offers a 100% money-back guarantee of satisfaction.  Matting and Framing of the reproductions are available, too, so you can see how those options will look before you purchase.

You can see all the wine art reproductions (and original art) at my new website  .  (If you want to make note of it, it is Sandi-Whetzel.artistwebsites.com.)  Time permitting, I'll be adding all my floras to the website, too.  Please keep this affordable art option in mind for your gift-giving and personal art collection. I'd love it if you share the website with your friends and relatives.

Other news:  Once again the "Greatest of the Grape" has picked one of my images to promote the event March 2, 2013. This is the third time they have used my image for this prestigious event. My "Grape de Menthe" painting is on the posters, postcards and tickets to promote the event.  A high qualityhand-embellished reproduction on gallery wrapped canvas will be auctioned off during the evening gala.  I am the featured artist hanging my wine art at the event.  For event and ticket information click here                                                           
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 To see more of Sandi's art, visit her website .




       

"Stroked Ego" is Sandi Whetzel's Self Portrait for the "How I See Myself" Self Portrait Exhibit at UVAA

Stroked Ego 20x16 acrylic ©Sandi Whetzel

It was such a kick painting my first ever self portrait for the upcoming exhibit at UVAA in Roseburg, OR. The goal of this exhibit was to challenge artists to stretch and to think outside their box while using every tool and technique to portray "themselves" however they were inspired. UVAA wanted to put a show together that had the possibility of pushing limits while displaying skill.

I did not have much time to execute my painting so I was glad that a realistic painting was not required. I did not want to paint myself in an unflattering, outlandish manner, either. As an artist, I am about bold color, curvy, graceful lines and compelling design. Due to time constraints I decided to simply outline my features in black on the white canvas and then use color and design to render my likeness in a flat, poster-like style, devoid of any realistic shading that would give depth to the contours of my features.   (That would have been too realistic in style.)  I was striving for a somewhat abstract style.

I don't have many photos of myself that I like, but I used a photo of me holding two of my young grandsons, aged three and the three month old baby asleep in my arms, as the inspiration for my portrait. It's one of the few photos of me that I like; possibly because I was in a more relaxed mode when it was taken six years ago.

I was not sure what the outcome would be, but once I got a likeness in black brush strokes on the white canvas, I began to get excited about the painting. Something about the simple but accurate brushed drawing without any shading that defined the forms of my features made me see myself in a whole different way. My countenance was reduced to just the basic structure, without any character lines or my natural coloring. We are so used to seeing ourselves in a three-dimensional way with all the colors, shadows and highlights that form us. There was something almost cathartic about seeing just the very basic lines of structure of me that I found refreshing. It was me, definitely, but in the simplest description. I remember thinking, "Everyone should do a simple brush drawing of themselves. They just might like or accept themselves better."

Early in the process I decided to add my hand holding a paintbrush, stroking on the last of my cheekline next to my mouth. I saw myself painting myself.  Then came the red orange tresses that describe the way I style my hair most often. I chose that color not because I've always wanted to be a redhead, but because it would be a bold color, but not too freaky. The green polka dotted shirt was chosen to lend to the cartoon-like feel of the painting, as well as the black, curvy stripes of the background. The icing on the cake was using green to color my eyes instead of my natural hazel.

I'm glad I got juried into the exhibit. There were 100 images submitted from 54 different artists and a total of 40 images were chosen from 33 different artists. I can't wait to see how every other artist was inspired to portray themselves and to see the reactions of everyone to the works.  The exhibit runs from November 6, 2009 through January 8, 2010 at the Umpqua Valley Arts Association, 1624 West Harvard, Roseburg, OR. The opening reception is from 5-7 pm, November 6th.

Every one that has seen my Stroked Ego portrait has loved it as I do. Wish I could really look that young, sassy and pert. It's the closest I have of a stylized, glamour shot.  Maybe I should dye my hair and trade in my contact lenses for green ones. Naaw. It's been said that art imitates life, but I'm not sure that life can imitate art that well.