Perfect The First Time

First stretched canvas! Actually Mike did most of it. I really love it. He's holding the canvas, the original is below. That black background is a murphy bed he made in the living room. The long range plan is for me to paint a painting on the black part(bottom of the murphy bed). Daunting. The largest painting I've ever painted is the one you see, Street Magic #5, 44"x21".

Questions about Reproductions

When I reproduce my artwork in smaller formats like the 8"x10"x1" size you see offered for Daylight and An Improvisational Life, I have a color print professionally laminated to 1" thick MDF. The edges are beveled and finished in black matte. Here's how one looks on my wall.

Larger reproductions like Street Magic #5 (36"x18") will be printed on canvas. I'm off to my studio to wrestle with my first attempt at stretching the canvas! I didn't occur to me that maybe I should start smaller....

What's happening with the art fair?

I'm almost finished with my list of 100 favorite artists. The next step is to contact them about participating. I'm so excited that I want to start talking with artists Right Now but I have a few more things on the To Do List before I begin like finish my website, clear the mountain of paper off my desk, write my February newsletter.

Temporary to Permanent

by

Jamie Johnson

Temporary to Permanent is an intention to go from cardboard and waxpaper to cozy rooms with laughter and a cat and piles of books and pictures of family. The keyhole represents that this place is Mine and Permanent, a place to go, a place to dream, a place to paint turquoise, a place of warmth, a place to bake cookies, a place to cry, a place to walk barefoot.
Hold dreams safe. Hold a family safe.

This is my piece for "100 Artists - S.O.S. Show 2007"

Every February Mary Lou Zeek gallery (http://www.zeekgallery.com) in Salem, Oregon does a fundraising art show/auction. This year the auction benefits Salem Outreach Shelter. More information will be in my February newsletter. The show will run from February 6 – March 3, 2007.

Limited Edition Canvas Giclee

Another studio shot. I actually have two studios. The shot of greeting cards in progress was taken in my outside studio---this is where I make cards and do all my shipping. This picture was taken in my painting studio. I just had Street Magic #5 printed on canvas. It is so beautiful---the colors are exactly like the original. Project of the day: learn to stretch canvas!!!

Max

Have you seen a picture of Max lately? His picture on my website is about 5 years old. Here he is today on guard against cats and UPS trucks. He has a sore foot so hasn't been able to play ball in over a week.

Valentine's Day

This was the scene in my studio last week. My studio assistant, Jesse and I made over 200 greeting cards in my Home with Heart image. I print my artist information on ivory colored card stock, cut to a dimension of 7"x10 1/4", score, fold, print Home with Heart image on HP presentation paper, cut, machine stitch onto front of card, sign each one, add envelope, put in cellophane, ship to Philadelphia, Weymouth, Denver, and Portsmouth.

Happy Birthday Erin

It's Erin's birthday! She's 24. Here we are last year in Chicago by the Bean. She moved to Brooklyn, social utopia as she calls it, in August. She is a genius/angel/visionary/party girl artist. Here's her website.

An Improvisational Life

An Improvisational Life, my next painting. Making things up as I go along. Jumping out of bed and starting all over again, maybe the same as yesterday but usually not. In this painting, here I am with the big guys who know what they're doing. I'm in the middle boldly standing on my spindly legs.

My first painting for my art fair

I'm starting to collect paintings to exhibit. These are all new never before seen paintings. This one is called Daylight. Early morning before there's enough light to see color sharply or shapes distinctly. The time when things really do blend together and you can literally see that All Is One. You can purchase a reproduction of this piece from me (8"x10"x1", $48 includes shipping), just email me---I don't know how to put the little Paypal button in here yet! Maybe next week.

First Post

My first blog entry. I'm very nervous about actually having something to say every day. Last year was quite eventful---good and bad in equal amounts. This year I'm hoping for a nice lazy, easy, uneventful, peaceful existance. I named my blog, Jamie's Art Fair because my Big Dream is to have an online art fair. Details will follow later as I create them. For now just dream of walking around my art fair with a mountain of strawberries over flaky shortcake. Ratio: 1 part shortcake to 7 parts strawberries in their own juice to 3 parts real whip cream.