Blog | Annie Mason

A whim turns a win.

3 min read

Isn't it something when something you are tempted to do turns into something else?

One of the hardest things for an artist to do is to determine the price of their own artwork. I talk about this in an earlier post: Commissions, Sales, and Gifts; oh my. There is so much to consider: the materials you purchased, the canvas or watercolor papers, the photography that you might work from, the amount of time and days that the artist worked, never mind the reworking if things didn't go quite right. Framed, or unframed. Sitter's fee if you do portrait work from life. Some people think we price by size. If so, my 5 x 7-inch watercolors can't compare to 20 x 30-inch canvases. Are oils worth more than watercolors?

I don't expect to have any answers today. I did however decide to at least compare my price base with some local artists. A quick google for local galleries would be my first interest. The first one that popped up was LibertyTown Arts Workshop. Great! There are a number of local artists who have their paintings (oil, watercolor, acrylics) along with weaving, pottery, jewelry, and glasswork here in this 13,000 square foot building.

I'm ashamed to say that I had only visited this gallery once or twice in the 30 + years that I have lived in Fredericksburg. The website had a lot of information. Then one item caught my eye. "Looking for Artists" was a tab. On a whim, I clicked it. An upcoming exhibition called "Feast for the Eyes" was coming up in just a week. The subject matter was "FOOD." Take it to any length you wished, said the prospectus.

Why I DO paint food, and have plenty of yummy images in my drawing portfolio! I immediately thought about the works that I had sitting on the shelves in my artist studio. I decided to enter three art pieces.

"Kitchen Garden" by Annie Mason 4 fruits and veggie paintings

The work above is actually 4 different watercolors. I found a nice "window" frame in our local Michael's

It shaped up nicely and I did the necessary paperwork.

Again, I checked my drawing portfolio for works going back over three years. I came up with another three "juicy" images: a pineapple, strawberries, and grapes. I framed that one up for delivery.

pineapple, strawberries, grapes — Juicy by Annie Mason. watercolor (3) 5x7s

My third choice was a given. I had already framed this one and it was on display for sale at Heather Boutique where I sell my artwork. It had not sold so I figured, why not.

Again, these are three illustrations in watercolor framed together.

Vintage Botanicals [after Pierre-Joseph Redouté] by Annie Mason watercolor

I completed the artworks for presentation and brought these into the gallery. I was told that the Juried announcement for submission would be in a few days. I received a notice that two out of the three entries would be in the month-long show and be up for sale, as required, The one not selected was the pineapple, strawberries, and grapes threesome.

LibertyTown presented a Facebook live stream the afternoon of opening the exhibit. I luckily was on Facebook and came in as a viewer a bit after it started. I watched as the gallery owner was moving through the entries and described each art piece in detail. As the video was winding down she mentioned a few "honorable mentions" and I realized that the jury had picked the awarded artworks.

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WOW! I was shocked and humbled that the "Vintage Botanicals" was awarded FIRST PLACE.

Later that evening my family attended opening night. While we were standing nearby, an employee at the gallery came near the wall display, she walked by, phone in one hand, clipboard in the other. She placed a small red dot on the label. The artwork had been sold.

All this in a range of just a few days. Life is good.

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New York Artists - Sculpture, Rebellion, and Photography

Annie Mason

3 min read

This series introduces artists associated with certain states; this one features the state of New York.

I'll begin with a rare nod to a female artist from an early era.

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney

b. 1875 d. 1942

Born in New York City to Cornelius Vanderbilt, Gertrude kept up with her brothers and

sister in the opulence of the family status and the norms of private tutors. Small drawings and watercolor paintings were among her journals at a young age. Able to attend prestigious art schools, including Paris where she was influenced by Auguste Rodin. Sculpture later became her media of choice.

Gertrude was prolific in getting commissions in New York City, where much of her sculptures still stand today. Her great wealth offered her the opportunity to become a patron of the arts and her collections. These early gallery pieces became the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Dutch governor Peter Stuyversant stands in NYC

This sculpture of Peter Stuyvesant is among the many that Whitney produced for memorials in New York City. Stuyvesant was a Dutch Governor.

Historically, groups of artists with the styles of the period will create a movement that reflects a particular genre. During the era, Whitney would have been among what was called the Ashcan School (1930s), early twentieth century American urban realist painters.

Robert Henri

b. 1865 d. 1929

Robert Henri, in some ways the spiritual father of this school, "wanted art to be akin to journalism... he wanted paint to be as real as mud, as the clods of horse-shit and snow, that froze on Broadway in the winter..."

The name "Ashcan school" is a tongue-in-cheek reference to other "schools of art". Ashcan works were generally darker in tone and more roughly painted. It was generally a reaction to American Impressionalism. Instead of the soft, light tones of the Impressionist works, the palette was dark, and the application of paint was heavy.

Boy wearing a blue tam painting by Robert Henri 1918 — The Blue Tam by Robert Henri 1918

At this same time, a similar path transforms the perception of photography in the early twentieth century. Social and cultural change—on a massive, unprecedented scale. prevailed and like everyone else, artists were radically affected by industrialization, political revolution, trench warfare, airplanes, talking motion pictures, radios, automobiles, and much more—and they wanted to create art that was as radical and “new” as modern life itself.

Experimentation exploded in the arts. Dadaism challenged the boundaries of traditional art with performances, poetry, installations, and photomontage that use the materials of everyday culture instead of paint, ink, canvas, or bronze.

Alfred Eisenstaedt

b. 1898 d. 1995

Eisenstaedt was a staff photographer for Life magazine after moving to the United States from Germany. Life featured more than 90 covers by the photographer. Among the most famous photographs by Eisenstaedt is one is taken on V-day at the end of WWII.

The photographer never got the couple's names but they were known to be complete strangers. [The man and woman remained anonymous for decades. (Details from Wiki)

V-Day in Times Square by Eisenstaedt Dec 14, 1945

Garry Winogrand

b.1928 d.1984

Moving to the mid-20th century, the theme continued to be urban culture. In the 1960s and 1970s, this "street photographer" defined his images with more of an attitude and a style in his photos of New York City. A lesson in every frame is gritty, in-your-face realism.

Present Day

Jen Lewin

Coming full circle, we find Jen Lewin, a contemporary artist who has a virtual piece that she installed in New York City [ended March 28, 2022]. It comprised over 100 interactive circular pads activated by visitors' touch and constituted an artistic "pool." The field of concentric circles uses a technology developed by Lewin herself that allows individuals to create their own light and color show by simply stepping, dancing, or jumping on each pad.

See her fabulous website here: Jen Lewin Studio.

Thank you for joining this look at New York Artists.

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Books on the posted artists:

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Robert Henri Alfred Eisenstaedt Garry Winogrand

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Gift your crafter | artist MOM

Annie Mason

2 min read

My mom loved crafts. She was a professional cake decorator by trade but also loved floral crafts, knitting, crochet, wreath making, and anything she saw that looked FUN to make. Our basement area shelves were stacked full of boxes of yarn, candle wax, needles, and ribbon; you get the picture.

I know, I know...it's hard to buy for someone else's wish list, especially if they have tools that they love. That's when a few questions to the artist/crafter in your life might be helpful. The products below are some of my favorites and I think universal in the art field.

*As an Amazon Associate,

I earn a small commission from links to products with no extra cost to you, the buyer. Most of the items are similar to those that I use or that I am familiar with as quality suggestions. Thank you.