Home   -   Credentials   -   Reading Room  

Take Care

As I write, my eye catches sight of a small, brilliant oil painting propped on the left of the armoire.  Its position here is temporary.  Or is it?  It certainly adds interest to the cabinet.  I can’t seem to keep my eye of it.  It complements the painting hanging next to and the ceramics arranged in front of it. 

This small oil is one of six featured in a recent show that shared gallery space with my own work.  On behalf of the colleague who created and helped hang the show but couldn’t take the works down herself, I did the favor of de-installing it and the other five canvases with my own artwork.  Serendipitously, the show’s closing coincided with the end of the calendar quarter and the opening of a show at the space I curate.  As the second exhibit went up, I realized I could use the small paintings, though not all six, at the newer venue.  Over the phone, I asked my colleague to do me the favor of exhibiting five of the six paintings in the newer show.  She agreed.

Within days I went from being a participating artist, to taking complete responsibility for a new show’s success. For the second exhibit to be successful I turned to work and maker I knew.  I asked the artist to regard the confidence she had in me, to trust me to transport, hang, store and return her artwork. 

Confidence builds through action over time.  Here’s what I did for this recent experience. 

I photographed the works after hanging them at the second show.  They were photographed as they appeared in the space beginning with Object #1 and I created a page for each piece that contains the following information:

Re:                                                       Object #                                 

Title:  _________________________ Subject:

Description:                                                                                 unframed framed 

                                                                                                          (circle one)

Distinguishing Features:  _____________________________

Medium:  ______________________

Dimensions:     _______________               

Condition:            _____________________                  date:                 Price:  ______

Notes:

Artist’s full contact info, return and or purchase information on reverse. 

I learned through our phone conversations that the artist had photographs of the paintings but didn’t have a paper inventory.  For her and others I suggest a page similar to the above with space for publication, exhibition and photographic information. These sheets can be punched with three holes for a binder.  In my studio, I number each object as well as title them.  Occasionally I change the title but the object #, also on the object, is firm.

Object #                                 

Title:  _________________________

Subject: 

Description:                                                                       unframed framed  (circle one)

Distinguishing Features: ________________________________________

Medium:    ___________________

Dimensions:    _____________

Shown: 

Published:                                                        

Storage Location: _______________

Condition:            ______________________                                                    date:

Price: 

Photography:

Notes:

Update:  I learned my colleague will visit before year’s end.  I will wrap all unsold paintings, store them in a safe place and have them ready for her to pick up. 

Take Care, Everyone.

Object #                                  

Title:  _________________________

Subject: 

Description:                                                                       unframed framed  (circle one)

Distinguishing Features: ________________________________________

Medium:    ___________________

Dimensions:    _____________

Shown: 

Published:                                                        

Storage Location: _______________

Condition:            ______________________                                                    date:

Price: 

Photography:

Notes: 

Lynn Carlson                                                                                                    lynncarlson.us  

Crystal Lake                                                                                                     Winter 2010

Lynn Carlson, M.A., M.S.