Last year ITOYA issued a calendar featuring a dozen of my paintings, and this year they’re back with a 2018 calendar. The calendar is made exclusively for the Japanese market, and ITOYA is in charge of all the sales.
The calendar is large, measuring at 23.5″ x 16.5″ and printed on sturdy, heavy weight paper, the images are big and colorful.
If you’re outside of Japan, try using tenso.com to import the calendar. You can find the calendar on the ITOYA website here.
My thanks to American Art Collector Magazine for the great feature for my exhibition at the George Billis Gallery in New York. It’s always an honour to see ones work appreciated in print.
I traveled to New York to attend the opening reception at the George Billis Gallery for my current exhibition. My son came along for a few days of site seeing. He turned 15 on the day of the reception and I’m glad to say both he and I had a great time.
Receptions, for me, can be a bit of a nerve rattling experience. As a studio painter I spend all of my time in solitude and concentration. Focussing on square inch by square inch on each painting. This is, of course, exactly how I want it. It’s why I’m able to make as much work as I do. I like working toward the deadline of a gallery exhibition. It gives me something to aim towards.
So after spending so much time alone with each painting, it can be an exhilarating experience to see them hanging and lit in a large gallery space. I am especially proud of the way this exhibition turned out. But it can feel a bit exposing for there to suddenly be dozens of people looking so closely. These paintings invite this close scrutiny.
The best part about the receptions is connecting with people who make it a point to come see the paintings in person. I always say that I wish everyone could see them in their natural habitat instead of on a phone, tablet or computer screen.
I am happy to announce that I am now selling small, affordable, collectable limited edition prints on paper direct form my studio.
Find them on my new print website
→ xmarksthestott.com
The vibrantly coloured and crisply detailed prints are on archival matte paper. They look great when framed.
Pleased to share that the George Billis Gallery LA is showing a few of my paintings at Art Palm Springs. The fair runs February 16 – 19, 2017.
This past summer I did an interview with the Bureau of Arts & Culture Magazine. A long interview. My process, my inspirations, all of it is discussed.
So if you really want to know the back story on how and why I do what I do, please take the time to read through.
Month to month, day to day, I spend all my time immersed in my paintings. Each painting takes such a great deal of effort and concentration that I often lose sight of the big picture, literally focussing on only small areas, both in life and the paintings.
Taking some time now to step back and look at 2016 I can see it was a very productive year for me. I count 44 paintings that I completed. That took me by surprise. I have been busy.
Over the past year I have had the good fortune of adding JJ Abrams, Bill Prady and others in the Hollywood area to the list of my collectors.
I have some big goals for 2017 that will keep me focussed in my studio. It’s good to have something to keep oneself occupied. Otherwise you might get distracted by fake news, drowning in social media, macho world leaders Tweeting about nuclear weapons, untimely celebrity deaths, etc., etc. I think I’ll just retreat to painting to see if I can find some joy in the world.
My resolution for 2017 is simple; I’ll remind myself to step back once in a while to see the big picture and gain some perspective. Read more
Several months ago I was approached by ITOYA in Japan and asked to collaborate on a 2017 calendar featuring my paintings. ITOYA operates stationary stores and cafés, the calendar is available exclusively in Japan.
It was a careful process to select the right images, and the designer did a great job. The calendar turned out much better than I anticipated. It is large and represents my paintings well. It is made with high end materials and in limited numbers.
It is printed on a heavy weight, sturdy paper in full color – but I am only sharing black and white sneak peeks here.
If you are outside of Japan, try using tenso.com to get the calendar shipped to you. The calendar can be found here on the ITOYA website.
I had a great time in Los Angeles at the opening reception for my exhibition at the George Billis Gallery LA.
For the most part, being a painter is a solitary experience. One spends a great deal of time focussing and concentrating on making the paintings, then things turn completely and you find yourself sharing the finished pieces with everyone you possibly can. It can be a little jarring to go from solitude and privacy to a public, open space.
But I’m very happy with the way the paintings turned out. And I think the gallery did a great job of displaying the paintings.
The gallery is also showing a few sculptural pieces by John A. Peralta. These exploded camera and projector pieces are fascinating. I see it as a deconstruction / reconstruction way of looking at things. Viewing these exploded objects has the same effect as my paintings – they make the viewer slow down and really investigate the object.
John’s construction of these sculptures is absolutely meticulous. True craftsmanship.
Check out this ad for my exhibition in art ltd. magazine.