New Art at Natur-Tyme and art classes at Michaels

Natur-Tyme has new art hanging on its wall for the months of March, April, and May!

The gallery is featuring acrylic pouring paintings by Derek Bryant, wildlife photography by Kelley Parker, and my paintings of local trees.

Stop by and check it out!

In addition this month I'm teaching two paintings classes at Michaels in DeWitt, NY.

Painting Class in Acrylic - Magnolia - Intermediate

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

6:30 PM 8:30 PM

Michaels Store in DeWitt

Price: $15 + Materials

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Drawing Class - Still Life

Wednesday, March 14 28, 2018

6:30 PM 8:30 PM

Michaels Store in DeWitt

Price: $15 + Materials

How to plan for a successful art show and opening reception.

My recent opening for Velatura was on Tuesday, April 4th at SUNY Empire State College in East Syracuse, NY, and to my delight, a lot of acquaintances, friends, and family showed up and enjoyed my art.

[A lot of photos were taken by my artist-friend, Karen who wrote a great post about this exhibit! To read her post click here!]

Yet, I believe that after an art opening it is good that every artist (give yourself a couple of days!) examines what factors contributed to the opening's success and what things could have been done differently to make it better. So....

What contributed to my art exhibit's good attendance?

1) Good planning, which included answering these 5 questions:

• Where are you going to show our art?
• When are you going to show your exhibit, and when are you having a reception for it?
• What art are you exhibiting? Is it a series or a retrospective of your work? Is it a solo show or a group show?
• Who are you hoping to reach out to with your art? Who is your target audience besides family and friends? I would recommend inviting art collectors, past clients, and journalists.
• Why are you exhibiting your art? Is it for sharing you passion with the world or for sharing your point of view on a social issue? Is it free and open to the public?

Selected paintings for Velatura: Creating Trees and places with Subtle Layers of Purples, Greens, and Blues.

2) Writing an artist statement specifically for my upcoming exhibition. For tips on how to write your artist statement read my blog post here.

3) Writing a press release which must be sent out to local news contacts at least 2 weeks before the reception. Check out this page on how to write an effective PR.

4) Designing and printing a postcard, or an invitation, to send out to your target audience, friends and family, a week before the opening. Plus, it's important to share the same visual design on social media to keep your brand consistent.

5) Hanging-up the art a couple of days before the opening. Make sure to ask for help from a friend or a partner. Things will move much faster!

6) At the reception make sure to bring:

• refreshments,
• business cards,
• and fine art prints of your work to sell, if it relates with your type of art.
• Also, don't forget to bring your phone or camera. Make sure to take a lot of pictures or ask a friend to document the night. These photos can be later used for promotional purposes!

Yet, there are three things that, if I could go back in time, I would have done differently.

1) I didn't give an artist talk, and that was a mistake because every time I explain my process, I share my passion with the people who enjoy my art or want to learn more. So, the learned lesson is: give an artist's talk every time you have an art show. It will give people an opportunity to further connect with you and your work.

2) I didn't have a e-mail sign-up sheet to collect emails for my arts newsletter, which is one of the most effective and cheapest ways to inform my fan base about upcoming events, promotions and so forth.

3) In addition, another technique I used in the past to draw a bigger crowd and make some money was to have a raffle of my work, I would either give away a framed print or an original painting and sell tickets from $2 to $5 depending on the value of my work.

Maria Rizzo gives an artist talk for her first group art show at The RedHouse Arts Center in 2010.

So yes, I wish I taught of that, too!

I'll make sure to read this blog post again before planning my next art show!!

Maria

The Artist’s Path: Getting Fragmented Hints from the Universe

Do I believe we have a destiny written in the stars? Yes.

Do I believe that we can choose what path we want to follow? Also, Yes.

Let me explain myself, my name is Maria Rizzo, I am a fine artist from Italy who discovered a love for drawing at a young age due to the fact that it was the only thing that made me feel really good about myself because of my being “different.” Yes, I was special, but not in a good way as I had a lot of limitations: one was not being able to retain information and the other one was not being able to verbally communicate with other people until the age of five.  “There,” I thought while drawing, “I have some potential here.”

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My eight years old self in front of my parent's house in Carnate, Italy.

At the young age of eight, after my teacher, a nun, who was also an amazing artist, scolded me by saying: “If only you could apply the same passion that you use for drawing into studying, you would be a phenomenal student!” A light bulb in my brain lit up. That day I knew exactly that I had to become a professional fine artist, and make that profession my living. So after promising myself that that was my destiny, it was ease to ignore all the nay say-ers telling me that I was going to end up as a starving artist. I knew my truth and I wouldn’t let anyone change my mind. I am not going to lie, I was a lucky kid, I grew up in a loving family in the north of Italy, with a father who was a great provider and a mother who loved art and collecting art, and always supported my creative dream from day one. I attended the Liceo Artistico Sperimentale Preziossissimo Sangue in Monza, an artistic high school that taught me five years of art history, drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture and gave me the foundations to grow as a confident fine artist. In the summer of 2007, my mom made the tough decision to move her family back to her native city, East Syracuse, NY, to give her kids a better chance to find a good job after graduation.

In 2008, I met my husband while pursuing a BFA in Painting at SU and in 2009, I made the difficult decision to pause school to focus on my growing family. In 2010, I made another important decision: although a stay-at-home mom I chose to pursue my dream of becoming a professional fine artist. I read many books on how to make it happen, and started my own business. Between 2010 and 2016, I learned a few things about running a business as a visual artist: I created different series of paintings, I learned how to create thematic art shows, I figure out how to get into art competitions, I studied how to pitch to the press to create a wider awareness about my brand and, ultimately, how to sell my art to people. Not an easy task for a shy person like me, even though crucial for running a business!

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2012 - Opening for Tree: Totems of Life at the Maxwell Memorial Library in Camillus, NY.

My take away from this experience is that an artist has to become a brave entrepreneur and build an authentic brand and a professional presence both offline and online. Also, artists have to be always on the look out for opportunities to reach out to their target audience; thus, specializing in a particular field and finding a niche are crucial to find financial stability. I personally still have a way to go!

In 2015, I was asked to teach my very first painting class at Homer Center of the Arts, and scared as I was, I did jump into this new opportunity and fell in love with teaching other adults the in and outs of creating a painting in acrylic. After that positive experience, I started thinking of pursuing a career as an art educator for adults, and more specifically my intention of becoming a painting and drawing professor in a college.  In 2016, I made the important decision to finish my Bachelor degree in Visual Arts at SUNY Emprie State College, and I will graduate in the spring of 2017. This semester I am taking Art Criticism, and my professor suggested I started using my blog as a tool to participate in the conversations relating the local arts and the art world. This class will give me the opportunity to go back out in my art community and see what other contemporary artists are doing on a local level, but also to keep an eye into what’s happening in the art world at large.  In my next blog post I will talk about two art openings in Syracuse, NY that I had the pleasure to experience, and how these art shows made me re-think about my path as a professional fine artist.

I truly believe that our destiny is out there, but it just takes an open mind to notice all the little hints the universe shows us to lead us to the path we truly want to follow.