Last Saturday was the opening reception for "20x20", a small works show at the Eclipse Art Gallery. The show features several High Desert artists, each with 20 works no larger than 8x8". As you can see from the photo, my 20 pieces represent several attempts to work in a series. The big idea was to have all 20 with an ocean/sea/water/beach theme but it didn't quite happen (insert a rant about how impossible it is to find the time to paint with two small kids). I ended up recycling some older paintings and adding some of my Virtual Paintout pieces.

To keep the format the same, I used 6x6" Aquabords, either painting directly on them (the Virtual Paintout street scenes) or mounting completed paintings on watercolor paper or Yupo onto the boards. The mounting part is new to me, though I have been wanting to try it for a while. It was easy, I like it, and I will definitely do more!

Two of the paintings ("Fishing at the Pier" and "Roskilde") sold at the reception. The show will run through the end of the month so I'm hoping for a few more sales. I kept the price a bit lower than usual to fit in with the whole gift-shopping idea of the show. After the show closes, these little beauties will be available through DailyPaintworks and, of course, my website.

On a slightly different note, my Grand Gratitude Giveaway Week was fun. I got to try a few things in terms of marketing (mostly through Facebook, as it was a Facebook-focused event). Participation was great, especially towards the end of the week. People won cards, prints, a calendar with my art, an ACEO (tiny original painting), a portrait study, and an original painting. Did I have a ton of sales? No, but 1) I wasn't counting on them, and 2) It was just nice to give stuff away to people with genuine interest in my work. Many of the winners have supported, motivated, and inspired me for years, and I was happy to give something back. I will most definitely do something like that next year :)