Ocala Art Festival

I'd like to invite you to attend the Ocala Art Festival this weekend. It's located at the McPherson Government Complex, 601 SE 25th Ave in beautiful Ocala, Florida (my home sweet home). Please stop by and visit me in my booth: E33. The weather will be perfect and you can enjoy a leisurely stroll through the rows of compelling and diverse artwork.

Remember, the holidays loom on the horizon and purchasing a special piece of art is a creative gesture of hip thoughtfulness. Way cool. Avoid the big box stores with the same old repetitious merchandise:

BUY ART

"Each time you purchase a piece of art, you're investing in a piece of history and in another person's life. " - Diane Overmyer (well said, Diane)

Like an Old Friend

This original oil on canvas is back in my own studio, VoilART! in downtown Ocala. I won't share with you the why's, from where or who because I guard the privacy of my collectors and galleries. Suffice to say it's great to see it again and I give my old work mixed reviews. Myriad technicalities I would have confronted differently though I'm impressed with the level of power portrayed. I remember how I felt while creating this piece. There's always that one horse with an attitude who can be relied on to behave badly at the worse time. It's dangerous and exhilarating, maddening and glorious.

"Blue Blinkers" oil on canvas, 60"x48"

If you find it interesting, click here for more info.

"A good picture, any picture, has to be bristling with razor blades." - Pablo Picasso

How long did that take?

Someone is looking intently at an artwork, turns to the artist and innocently asks: "How long did it take you to do that?". Ugh.

It makes an artist cringe. Some artists, feeling defensive, reply with a flippant "My whole life!" To an artist, the question insinuates perceived worth. I used to patiently consider the question an ice breaker, a safe way for the viewer to engage in conversation because they are not sure how to approach otherwise. Now I'm suspect.

Time, labor, materials, size. It's frustrating to deal with so much attention to physicality. I don't mind discussing technique. It's the reference to time = $$$ that increasingly annoys. If I say a canvas took me half a day because the painting session was immersed in a zen-like creativity, the reaction is...polite respect. However, numeration involving pained hours and hours (even months) spent on a piece concurs head-nodding monetary merit. Calculating value by the hours expended in a creation of art is not an indication of what it should cost.

"My whole life" really is. Accrued skill takes a lifetime of patience and persistence. It parallels general life experience and evolves into a total package as the artist becomes the art and the art IS the artist.

"The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run." - Henry David Thoreau

Musings About ArtPrize

Twenty-four hours or so remain in the first round of public voting. The top ten (from over 1,700 artists) are announced this Thursday and the voters will continue to choose winners from that drastically whittled list.

This is the second year for the competition and it has attracted some impressively flashy installations containing all-encompassing shows of light, sound and movement. These extravaganzas seem to be the front runners for attention grabbing (and votes) along with varying pieces of incredible originality. News of the quarter million dollar top prize has spread across the planet and this year's entries are on mega-steroids boasting a cast of collaborators. So, what chance has a 2-D traditional oil on canvas (yawn) even if the format is large and multiple and explores boundaries of speed and spatial relationships?

Not much, even if last year's winner was a gigantic oil painting of open water by Ray Ortner. That was last year...this year's entrants include a 25,000 lb. flying pig, after all.

My experience with ArtPrize has been nothing short of amazing. Being chosen by a private curator to exhibit at the DeVos Place Convention Center was an extreme honor. My piece hangs just inside the front doors and is viewable from the street. It's my personal magnum opus and assures me that I CAN be competitive, especially within genre. Yes, I'm already planning for next year. Oh, and I did get a nice shout out on the local news station's website: see it here.

"Some people don't like competition because it makes them work harder, better." - Drew Carey

Vote Up Code: 41451

If you're in Grand Rapids, Michigan for ArtPrize:
AND you love horses and painting:
For your consideration, please see my piece at the DeVos Place Convention Center:

"Diagonal"

It's nine separate canvases joined together to create a cohesive image. My inspiration came from an old found black and white photo. I developed the flow of the canvases to echo the direction of the horses coming around the turn. Total size, approximately 13'6" x 13'6". For more info, click here.
My vote up code is:

41451

Thank you!!

On My Way to Saratoga

So here's my first racing painting after my self-imposed hiatus. Unfinished and waiting for something. Or someone.

unfinished oil on canvas, 36"x48"

I'm inclined to believe that information is directed to a person constantly and from all manner of sources. As I went into the zone with this one, a voice was incessantly nagging "don't finish it." My intention was indeed to finish in time to take to Saratoga. Fresh off the easel. Michael spurred me on as well.

As time drew close, every manner of interruption manifested to thwart my efforts. Weird. Especially because I'm an over achiever. This painting most certainly should be completed.

I'll hang it on my tent wall and paint "your horse here" or "your silks here".

"There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear." - Buffalo Springfield

Tabletop Art

Here's my answer to the statement: "I don't have any more room on my walls for artwork":

Tabletop art!

These mini canvas giclee fine art reproductions are 5"x7" and suitable for tables, your desk or that tiny wall that just needs "something".


Almost any of my images can be a mini, provided that the size is rectangular in format. Vertical as well as horizontal.

It's not my original idea. My studio partner Jackie sells the heck out of these with images of her Florida landscapes.

Only $25.00. E-mail me if you'd like to add one to your collection. Yes, you DO have room.

Saratoga update: The heavens are conspiring to make my dream a reality. An anonymous donor sent a check off to NYRA for my vendor fee. Another wonderful donor is sponsoring my housing and a couple of angels have provided expense money. I'm SOOO blessed. The $10,000 target I initiated is at $6,500. and I'm confident that I'll realize the balance or pretty darn close through sales, unexpected income, etc. I'm overwhelmed and very, very grateful.

ArtPrize update: The DeVos Place Convention Center has chosen my entered piece "Diagonal" to exhibit in Grand Rapids, Michigan during the ArtPrize competition from Sept. 22nd to Oct. 10th. I'm in great company and honored to be a part of this incredible event.

“What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now.” - unknown

Hello Muses

I can't express how incredible it feels to be back painting thoroughbreds. My face hurts. I haven't smiled this much in eons. I might actually be pleasant to be around.

I'm also back working full bore in the studio.

While my sabbatical from horse racing spawned some interesting paintings - all the jumpers, foxhunters, appaloosas, pintos, yearlings and splashing water horses all resembled thoroughbreds. Replete with long legs, graceful slender necks and the fine features of an inquisitive face.

I could pull the tortured "you have no idea what an artist goes through" spiel, but I think you do. There's inherent danger in turning away from a passion that's firmly rooted in DNA.

In fact, I was quite miserable but I'm much better now.

"So cheat your landlord if you can and must, but do not try to shortchange the Muse. It cannot be done. You can't fake quality any more than you can fake a good meal." - William S. Burroughs

Shark Tank!

I’m throwing myself into the shark tank!

I have been invited by NYRA to exhibit in the artist’s “village” close by the paddock at Saratoga for the entire meet. This is a dream opportunity for me. If you’ve spent time in Saratoga, you know how expensive it is, therefore, I’m seeking some sort of creative financing to assist with my initial expenses. ROI could be in the form of 1. a painting(s) valued for at least the amount of funding but probably much above or 2. interest on a loan or 3. investment and percentage either long or short term in my growing business. My estimated cost is $10,000 covering vendor fee, housing, stocking my inventory of gift items, travel, etc., however any amount is helpful. Along with excellent references and an impressive resume, I consider myself a great ambassador for horse racing. Visit my website to see the professional caliber of my artwork: www.sharoncrute.com.

If you are interested, please contact me at sharon@sharoncrute.com or 352-671-7469

"There are no rules about investment. Sharks can be good. Artist's dung can be good. Oil on canvas can be good." - Charles Saatchi

Reception at FTBOA

She'll Heir winning the Cinderella Stakes at Hollywood

If you're in town for the OBS Two-Year-Olds & Horses of Racing Age sale next week, I'd like to invite you to attend an opening reception for the Equine Art Exhibit at the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders's and Owners' Association. Upstairs in their light and airy gallery, you'll find an diverse selection of artwork along with some fascination racing memorabilia. There are some surprises, I can promise you. Monday afternoon, June 14th from 2-4pm. All welcome.

"Honestly, I expected to get a cold reception because of my subject matter. But when editors took a look at the story I had to tell, and saw that this was not a parochial story at all, they really warmed to it." - Laura Hillenbrand