ConcART-IV - follow up & See you later Austin!

It's been a while since my last post,... we are now living in Mahopac, NY. It's quite a change compared to Austin, TX. The landscape is very different of course. It rains and the ground stays wet for days. We were living in North Austin where most of it was developed in the last 15 years or so. Here, it's from the 60's (including the house). We live in the suburb of NYC (1 hour by train), but we are in the country on a one acre lot with a well, a septic and an oil tank! Oh, let's not forget about the wild life: black and gray squirrels, a rabbit and a ground hog living under the shed, a skunk somewhere (I haven't seen it yet :), birds, hawks, deer and a COYOTE (saw on in the backyard one morning :)...

Irene greeted us within a week of our move. We were very lucky with only broken (but dead) branches in the yard and we were out of power for 13 hours. Some very close by neighbors had trees broken and were out of power for 6 days! A few days later we got a LOT of rain... enough to help with the drought in Texas, I'm sure. ... but I had no power over that ... :(

I'd like to "close" the chapter on Austin, TX with a follow up on the Farewell ConcART. We were very happy to see some of our friends, neighbors, and collectors one more time before we left. We had 45 people for the (piano) recital and about 10 more people showed up later. It may have been the smallest crowd we had for a ConcART, but it was a good one! I had a moving sale (only my most recent work was marked at a regular price), but collectors were going for pieces that were "talking" to them and rather than the price tag. Lesson learned. I sold four paintings prior to the show, fifteen during the show and a request for a future commission. So these are 19 paintings that found good homes and that we didn't have to move :). ... that is a record for a ConcART!

Thanks a lot to Debbie and Libby for helping out and making the ConcART-IV a success.

Thanks everyone for coming and buying artwork.

Will miss you Austin, TX!

Ken always says something about the  piece he is about to play.  It  is very effective to keep everyone attentive to the play. You can see the paintings displayed on the walls for the show afterward.

Farewell ConcART (IV)

Ken and I are getting ready for our fourth and last ConcART in Austin, Tx this coming Sunday (August 7th, 2011).

We are looking forward to sharing our piano recital and art show with friends one more time before we leave for NY. Ken has a few new pieces that he will add to his biggest hits for the recital and I will also have a mix of old and new paintings for the show.


There will be a moving sale:

- Johanne's artwork (except for the new or small paintings);
- Ken's CDs and DVDs for ConcART I & II;
- picture frames;
- picture frame envelopes and carriers (last year price).


Please feel free to contact me if you like an invitation to the Farewell ConcART. 

ConcART III - follow up

It's been (already) over a week since we had our ConcART III. We can officially say it was the best one so far (again :-). We had somewhat fewer people than last year, but it was a very appreciative crowd.  Considering the ratio of number of people vs the art sold I did better than last year. I will consider doing a "collector preview night" prior to the event next year. So "collectors" would have a better chance at getting their first choice :-)

We have three indispensable people who help during this event. They make the event go smoothly.  Debbie helps with refreshments, putting drinks and food together, making sure they are available at all times to the guests, picking up the trash, etc. She does a great job. Lily was the door manager during the recital. So people get in only in between pieces. And Libby (last but not least) spends most of the afternoon in the office to take care of the sales. Thanks to Debbie, Libby and Lily who helped to make this a success.

Thanks every one who came and showed some interest in ConcART III. We hope to see you all with your friends at ConcART IV next year!

If you've been following my blog for a while, you've seen my artwork, but you can hear Ken here.


Rachmaninoff: Prelude Op.23 No.5 from Ken Barker on Vimeo.

Ken practicing his performance the morning of ConcART III.

ConcART III

Ken and I are (almost) ready for our third ConcART this coming Sunday (November 14th, 2010).

We are looking forward to sharing our piano recital and art show with friends and hopefully we'll make new friends as well. Ken has a complete new piano recital program and I have over 40 new paintings to show.

This year, Ken will also have CDs & DVDs for sale. There is one CD and one DVD for each piano recital he did in ConcART I  and II.

ConcART II - Follow up

I am happy to report that the ConcART II was a success again this year.

Ken gave a great performance on the piano (see/watch below). Everyone was very impressed and enjoyed it very much.

For my part it was interesting to get feedback and find out which paintings were the most popular. I sold more than twice the number of paintings than I did at last year's ConcART. And for the first time I sold to some friend-artists and to people who didn't know me at all. And I'm still selling... someone called me during the week and told me she couldn't get the cherries out of her mind and wanted to buy a painting (and she did). That made me feel very good. This year's dedication to painting is starting to pay off. Someone asked me what is my plan for this year and my answer was: paint more and get better! We'll see :)

You can find the new paintings (the ones in ConcART II) on my home page:
www.JohanneMorin.com

The oil studies:
5 x 7" and 6 x 6" are $35 unframed and $50 framed
6 x 8" are $50 unframed and $75 framed
8 x 10" are $80 unframed and $110 framed

The pastel paintings:
8 x 10" framed: $275
Send me an email for inquiries: jmorin@JohanneMorin.com

Ken warming up before the ConcART II. You can also see on the walls

some of my oil studies and pastel paintings that won awards this year.

Rachmaninoff: Prelude Op.23 No.5 from Ken Barker on Vimeo.