Posts Tagged: Melynda Van Zee
Featured Artwork-Springfield Art Fair Community Project
“Spheres of Completion” ©Melynda Van Zee
I’m pleased to announce that my painting “Spheres of Completion” will be the featured artwork for the Community Project at the upcoming 57th Springfield, IL Old Capitol Art Fair on May 19 and 20, 2018. An image of my painting “Spheres of Completion” will be enlarged to 6 ft x 10 ft and then divided into 308 5 in x 5 in squares. Each one of these squares will be painted by the public and adhered to magnetic tiles at the art fair. Then, piece-by-piece the painted squares will be reassembled on a large magnetic board. The completed community project piece will be on display at the Illinois State Museum for the next year and at the 2019 art fair. I’m looking forward to seeing cooperation and creativity in action as festival goers participate in this interactive project by painting their very own section of the finished piece! Come join the fun this Saturday, May 19 from 10am-5pm and Sunday, May 20 from 10-4pm.
In celebration of the community project at the Old Capitol Art Fair, I’ve created a series of mini-works inspired by the original painting “Spheres of Completion”. Stop by Booth #95 to see the original “Spheres of Completion” painting and see the inspired mini-works in a similar rainbow color palette which will be available for purchase. There will be so much color for everyone to enjoy!
New Shows and New Work
New work in Progress
This is the time of year when the anticipation starts mounting-I’ve been working in the studio preparing for a new art fair show year. This involves much sketching, journaling, sorting, organizing, preparing canvases, dealing with filing taxes and show applications. And, after all the many hours of preparation, the fits and starts, painting a new body of work.
More new color from the studio
I’m so excited to share this new work as I hit the road traveling. We will be spreading our art fair wings this year- traveling to three new shows in Springfield, IL, Topeka, KS and Aspen, CO. Can’t wait to meet new art friends out on the road. We are also looking forward to returning to several previous shows. The schedule isn’t finalized yet so keep checking back to see if we might be able to connect again in person this year.
- Old Capitol Art Fair, Springfield, IL May 19-20, 2018 Booth #95
- Mulvane Art Fair, Topeka, KS June 2-3, 2018
- Spring Green Arts and Crafts Fair, Spring Green, WI June 23-24, 2018
- Aspen Art Festival, Aspen, CO July 21-22, 2018
- Rockbrook Village Art Fair, Omaha, NE September 8-9, 2018
Collaboration is Key to Creativity
You Are Light 60×40(2) © Melynda Van Zee 2018
I recently created several colorful paintings for a lovely home. One of the great joys of working on this project was the opportunity to collaborate with the owners of this home. I really enjoyed working closely with this family as they studied my work and decided which colors and sizes they would like for their original paintings. After we discussed the many options and possibilities and made final decisions, I went to work in the studio to dive into making their vision come to life.
You Are Light 60×40 © Melynda Van Zee 2018
One facet of the commission process that I particularly enjoy is that my clients become like an art director for the project. Their likes and desires and favorite colors and settings all play into the creative process. Together we envision the finished work. Collaboration is a key to creativity!
Wind and Waves 48 x 36 © Melynda Van Zee 2018
I’ve had so many fabulous experiences as I’ve collaborated to create unique and personalized original work with the insight and direction of my clients.
Wind and Waves Detail 48×36 © Melynda Van Zee 2018
If you are looking for more color and gorgeous artwork in your work or living spaces, please contact me here in the studio at [email protected]. I’d love to collaborate with you to add inspiration to your life.
Deep Focus
Illumination #3 36×36 2017©Melynda Van Zee
In this new year I’ve been thinking about deep focus- how sometimes I achieve it and sometimes I wander so far from the path. I accomplished some big tasks over the last season of creating art and sharing my work at art fairs and exhibits. Some of my work is more visible from the outside and some of it is unground and deeper quiet work that is much harder to detect. I was so struck by the words of Carol Green who so eloquently said, “Ultimately, what takes an artist to the next level is the integrity and presence of the art they make.” (Carol Green of Green Naftali Gallery in NY) She captures in succinct language the type of art that I believe flows out of periods of deep concentration and focus.
Deep focus is an all too rare commodity in our culture today. We are well aware of the many distractions that can so easily pull us out of places of flow and concentration no matter the type of work we do. I’ll admit that over the past two months I have experienced competing forces pulling for my time and attention and I allowed some things to fall off my schedule. It is easy for creatives to battle feelings of guilt when they drop out of activities for periods of time instead of celebrating focused attention to the large work at hand. The message our culture sends is that you have to be more, share more, do it all…when in reality these activities may be in direct opposition to the activities that will actually help you create the deep and meaningful work you long to produce. I don’t think the works of presence and integrity that our society so desperately needs in so many fields of study can occur without this ongoing deep focus of mind, spirit and heart.