Visiting Mexico, Playa del Carmen

At last I am off on vacation in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  It is hot, hot, hot!  The sea is teaming with creatures, so far I have snorkeled above a sea turtle in Akumal, and saw my first lion fish, and a sea cucumber 4 feet long.  They have a gorgeous lagoon there, very peaceful and serene.  I have been enjoying the layed back, walking barefoot feeling of an island vacation.  As my feet sink into the claylike sandy beach, I contemplate if I could do this full time, actually reside in such a place.

What about health care, a car, an income?  OK, one has to have dreams in order to survive the everyday existance they find themselves in.  Art is my escapism, my way of disappearing for awhile into a dream state.  Just as movies transport, so does art.

Tomorrow my vacation ends.  I return home tanner and maybe more relaxed, only the stress of travel will tell.  For now, I am off to snorkel and dream.  ~ Callie

Seeing Art, NYC

Heard by Nick Cave at Grand Central, wow!  The MTA, Arts for Transit
program put on this wild show and the dancers from Alvin Ailey made it come to life.

Then I headed West to Chelsea, where Gagosian Gallery 

is putting on a amazing show of paintings by Basquiat.

Then on Sunday, I headed out to the Brooklyn Museum to 

see the exhibit of Ghana artist, El Anatsui.  His use of recycled metal to create beautiful metal quilts that hang from the ceiling, as massive paitings on the walls, and large scale sculptures on the floor.

Some wonderful samples of his work.  The exhibit was truly intriguing.  They have videos throughout sharing the artist's vision.

Nautical Devotion in Mungbeing Magazine

Zines are a wonderful way to share your art and be part of a network of writers, poets and visual artists.  Mungbeing Magazine, is created by Mark who is the editor-in-chief and a really sweet guy.  He is a man with many hats; all being artistic endeavors that he devotes his life and time to. The owner of a publishing company called Pelekinesis and a member of the avant garde rock band Wckr Spgt for the last 30 years.

The newest Issue #48: Devotion - "We dedicate our lives and loves to so many things."  I have three images under the title: Nautical Devotion.  Blue Octopus, Blue Moon and Feeding Frenzy are three works of mine in this issue. As an artist, you really need to put yourself out there to create more exposure and seek out new fans for your art.  This magazine requires commitment to submitting new art every issue.  I feel extremely lucky to have been accepted as part of this collective and meet every deadline as soon as it is announced.  The myth of irresponsible and scattered artist is just that, a myth.  I am thankful for all artist opportunities that come my way and respond in a responsible and consistent way.  Having a full time job, not in the arts, generates an importance for me to really focus on art opportunities that come my way.  The reality is, I want to devote my life to creating art, and hope someday to be able to support myself doing so.  

Thank you for reading, Callie

Bats at an Aquarium?

Bats and sloths can be found at the Long Island Aquarium

I am an aquarium nerd; my dream being to visit every aquarium that exists in the world.  You never know what they have on exhibit, and the surprises are wonderful.  Take for example my recent trip to the Long Island Aquarium.  I had no idea that they were going to have the Flamboyant Cuttlefish, three in fact that were born in captivity (third generation!).  I was super impressed; I stared at them, mesmerized, for quite some time.  

The cuttlefish is my favorite fish at the moment, last year it was the Nudibranch family of sea creatures.  They include sea cucumbers, sea slugs, and sea angels.  In a wonderful assortment of colors, from leopard stripes to bright pinks, some wearing flowers on the outside of their bodies.  Again, the sea never ceases to amaze me.  Yes, I am a scuba diver, but have not gone in quite some time.

Here are photos from my visit!  Enjoy.

the Long Island Aquarium

Commissioned Artwork

Tree in Oil, 2013  86" x 42" by Callie Hirsch

Working on a commissioned piece is never easy, but getting paid for your art makes it totally worthwhile.  Not only do I build the canvas to suit the size the client wants, I also deliver and hang the artwork.  This is a full service commission and well worth the effort.  In the end we are all happy and I can go home thinking that I did a good job.

To start, I invite the potential buyer/s over to my studio.  There they can view my current projects and get an idea of what it is they would like to live with.  Later I will visit them and analyze the colors I am working with, such as painted walls, and the couch color, where the painting will reside over.  After we agree on a size, I get to work.  I purchase the canvas and the stretchers to the size decided upon.  I paint the background to the piece on the floor.  It is more of a paint rubbing and the floor is a strong support, to build the sky.  I let that dry and then stretch the canvas on stretchers to finish the piece.

During the painting process, I send the buyer updated photos to make sure I am going in a direction they like.  About 75% completed, I will have the buyer over to see the colors in person and make sure that we are still heading in a good direction.  Upon completion, and if agreed upon, I deliver the piece for final inspection.  At that point it is hung, so that it does not sit in a corner for weeks until someone has enough energy to go through the efforts.  And we are done, the painting is transforming the room, and warmth and color bring the joy of a check in hand.

I then create a purchase receipt with a photo of the painting included and send that off to the buyer as proof of sale and artist. That completed, I also now have a copy for my taxes and art records of sales.

Artist Residencies

An adventure like no other.

It is a huge thrill to be accepted into an artist residency.  The competition is fierce and getting out of work to spend a month creating art full-time is no easy feat to accomplish.  But is it worth  a shot, if accepted, it will add to your life's experiences.

An artist residency is a truly wonderful way to meet other artists with like minded creative vision and passion.  I wish I can spend my life going to them.  Always a challenge in one way or another, and you walk away with life experiences that you could not have anticipated.

That is me with the founder/director, Beata Szechy.

The Hungarian Multicultural Center, the INTERNATIONAL ARTIST-In-RESIDENCY PROGRAM, founded in 1995, allows artists from around the world a unique opportunity to reside and work as a resident artist in an atmosphere designed to stimulate personal vision and encourage new and exciting artistic expressions.

Seven artists spent four weeks living in a music school near Balatonfured Hungary, a beautiful resort town on Lake Balaton (a few hours west of Budapest). The residency is is run by Hungarian born, world renowned painter Beata Szechy, founder/director.
A link to my photos at the residency.

The "About" page for your website

Fancy Shrimp

The "About" page on your website acts to demystify who you are and why you do what you do, as well as sharing your accomplishments.  It is a page of sharing who you are and what your about.  Focus in on what inspires you, where it takes you and why.

I just did mine after having a website up for over ten years.  I simply forgot that it was necessary, for I had the "Bio" page and thought that would be plenty informative.  But recently I read in one of my art magazines about the relevance of the "About" page.  Mine is about my passions, what inspires me to paint, where I would like to go with it.   You can view this new page at:  CallieArt - About

The Fancy Shrimp image is on the page with a few other pieces relevant to the topic, the sea.   I speak of my passion and use back-up support of the work itself for emphasis.

Happy Abouting!  ~ callie