Artist Interview

Hello!

I am excited to share this recent interview, written by author, Jenn Brink. Jennbrink.com

The article was written for the Fort Hood Officers Spouses Club Newsletter.

December’s FHOSC member spotlight is on Christy Tremblay.  Christy is an Army spouse, mother of two, and profound painter.  I met up with Christy over lunch to talk about her art and what inspires her. 

Christy, a Seattle native, says art has always been a part of her.  “I can’t remember not wanting to do art.  It’s an outlet for me.”  She met her husband, before she began painting professionally, while he was stationed at JBLM.  Next thing she knew, she had traded the stability of her childhood for life as an Army spouse.  At first, Christy taught elementary school, sometimes as an art teacher and sometimes as a teacher who used art in daily lessons.  After her oldest was born, she quit teaching and began to take her art more seriously.  Her husband, knowing that art was important to her, easily fell into it making sure that wherever they live she has her art space.

 

Over the years, she has taken classes and workshops to expand her talents and experimented with many different mediums.  Each phase of her journey has lended form to a style all her own.  Christy told me, “I try and see my work as an artist as always in process and working towards my long term goal of one day opening my own art studio/gallery - outside of my home.”  Her paintings tend to be abstract and mixed media.  Although she mostly utilizes canvas, paper, and wood.  She has also painted on metal and other surfaces.   

 

Working to find a way to expand her art, she decided to paint a house every day for six months. Christy started a blog on March 24, 2014 where she posts her day’s painting, along with a quote or statement about the painting.  It has turned into a series.  I had to ask, “Why a house?”  After consideration, Christy explained that she grew up in the same house and always thought that she would give her children the same stability.  As we all know, that is not the life we military families lead.  Her paintings reflect her feelings of what a home is and have become representative of the stability that is there for her and her family, despite moving every couple of years.  Christy believes that, “It is important to keep working on what you’re passionate about and what your goals are for the future...when we as military families get to finally settle in one spot.”

 

If you’re interested in seeing or purchasing the house series or other works by Christy.  She is doing a show at the Salado Winery on January 24, 2015.  She will have all 183 houses that she has painted as well as some of her larger pieces on display and for sale.  The Salado Winery plans to keep her art up and for sale through the Texas Wine and Rogue Art Festival on March 28 and into April.  You can also view her paintings online through her website www.studiotremblay.com

or her blog (no dot after the www) wwwapaintedhouseaday.blogspot.com.

Article by Jenn Brink

 

 

 

Black and White House Series

Christy Tremblay

(c) 2014-2015

 

 

Summer Lanterns House Series

(c)Christy Tremblay 2014-2015

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

Art Show Date - A Painted House A Day - Original House Paintings

Hello!

Thanks for stopping by!

 I am working on finishing framing all my painted houses and preparing for my art show, A Painted House A Day.

 

Today I met with the art coordinator at Salado Winery http://saladowinery.com/, to begin the planning for my art show, A Painted House A Day.

I am so excited to share with you the time and date and hope you can make it!
It's going to a great event!
 

House #1

"Yellow House"

A Painted House A Day

Christy Tremblay

 

The date and time 

for the reception will be...

 

January 24th, 2015

 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
at
Salado Winery
Salado, Texas

The show will run from January 24th, 2015 to April 5th, 2015

 

If you would like a postcard of the show info please email me your address and I will be happy to mail you one.

 

 studiotremblay@gmail.com


I hope you check back to see updates on my progress towards preparing for the show. 

Some of my favorite a painted houses...today...

"Home -- that blessed word, which opens to the human heart the most perfect glimpse of Heaven, and helps to carry it thither, as on an angel's wings".Lydia M. Child







 

Planning your Solo Art Show - Original Paintings

Hi!

 

I am in the midst of planning for my show and am encountering some hurdles, nothing that I can't overcome!

 

I found this great article written by, artist, Rob Scott and wanted to share it for my reference as well as for those of you who may be planning your solo art show.

 Tips on Planning Your Solo Art Show

 

Congratulations! You’ve bravely bared your soul as an artist, you’ve worked hard, and you’re finally ready for a solo gallery show.
As a self-described ARTrepreneur, I’ve always tried to produce great results from a limited budget—and what I’ve learned is that for $250 or less you can plan an exciting two-day exhibit that will make you money, build a following and leave people wanting more. So how do you go about it?
Ideally, you should start planning three months in advance. Your first objectives will be booking a location and setting a date.

What to look for in a location

The location cost will be your greatest expense, but don’t exceed $150 if possible. Search out an area that provides walk-in traffic allowing you access to potential customers unreachable through your advertising.
A great idea would be an empty storefront along a busy street that’s currently waiting to be rented. Many landlords are happy to liven the space up for a couple days in exchange for a few dollars. Local community centres may also have space to rent.
Be creative with this! Don’t be afraid to approach business owners (restaurants, coffee shops, etc) and barter some artwork in return for a location. Your budget is $150, but your goal is to get it as cheaply as possible.

How to choose the right date

Unless you’re located in a popular tourist destination, plan your solo show for the middle of the week and avoid the summer months. If you don’t, you may miss a large portion of your potential audience to vacation and travel.

Coming up with a creative theme

Once you’ve set the date and location you’ll need to develop a theme for your show. Most likely you can do this for under $30, if not for free.
Always present your exhibit in a way that ties in with your artwork and leaves visitors with something they’ll remember. For example, if much of your art is about beaches, oceans or waterscapes, plan your decorations with that in mind.
Bring in buckets of sand, seashells and rocks. Add a beach chair with towels and an umbrella. Play ocean sounds in the background and wear shorts and a t-shirt to top it off. If you’re having fun, others will notice and respond positively.

Cost-effective ways to promote your show

I love no-budget marketing—if you’ve never done a solo show before, you might be surprised how much free advertising is available for artists.

However, you’ll still want to set your budget at $40 to allow for printing costs. Print 100 or more fliers announcing your show and distribute them to businesses and community bulletin boards throughout your area.
Plan to distribute your fliers a month before your show and then take advantage of the free advertising provided by community cable, radio and newspapers along with any other art marketing channels you know of. You can usually give your information online or through a phone number provided by these services.

In addition, contact your local newspaper(s) a week before your show with a press release providing who, what, when, where and why. Remember, editors want stories their readers will be interested in hearing, not a sales pitch—so make it interesting .
Don’t forget to add your contact number and information to the press release. (You can research sample press releases on the net for proper formatting.) Hopefully you’ll be contacted to do an interview, but there’s never any guarantee.
Don’t hesitate to contact individual journalists on your own, either—specifically those who write for the arts and entertainment sections of the paper—if you don’t hear back from the newspaper within a few days.

Last minute details

By now you’ve booked your location, set a date, developed a theme and advertised your show. All you have to do is tie up the loose ends in the final week.
Plan to spend $30 for finger foods and drinks. Don’t go gourmet, but don’t be cheap. This shows your customers you care about them even if they don’t make a purchase.
Make sure your art is completed and ready to hang and everything priced properly. As a bonus, something I highly recommend is writing down the history of each piece of art, along with the name, price, size and medium, and posting it next to your work.
Most of all, keep in mind that when it comes to art, people want to buy more than just an image—they want to buy the experience as well.
If you’re creative and willing to follow the steps outlined above, it’s quite possible to create that experience without breaking the bank.
For more articles by Robb Scott, visit www.robbscottdrawings.com .


These are some great tips and ideas! I will keep you posted on my progress in planning my show. 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Christy Tremblay