New home

"Yellow Mosaic" has just been purchased for a private collection in Tiverton, Rhode Island. It's acrylic on paper on canvas, 30" square, 2014. Yay!

Up to date in Kansas City

AC Westport (Marriott) Hotel in Kansas City, MO, has purchased prints of my paintings, "Scrawl 2" and "Shorthand 3."

To the highest bidder

I'm pleased that my painting "Rosebud Tendrils" has sold at the 25th MassArt Auction, held on April 12.

"Rosebud Tendrils," acrylic on canvas, 20 inches square

Oldies But Goodies, Part 1 in a series

Detail of "Silken Web"

I am adding a new feature to my blog: "Oldies But Goodies." I am now marking my 16th year as a professional artist (1997 being the year I earned my M.F.A. in painting), which means that I have begun to amass a body of work that reflects over a decade of exploration and development. I certainly intend to go on for at least another -- oh, let's say 40 years of art-making. But I thought it might be an interesting blog series to present highlights from the past, that show where I've been.

Below is "Silken Web," made from acrylic paint on fabric on canvas that measures 30" high by 20" wide. It was created in 2007, by squeezing lines of white paint onto a piece of thin polyester (an old curtain lining from Savers) while the fabric was lying on top of a stretched canvas of untreated cotton duck. The double-layered surface made two impressions of the same pattern, which creates a three-dimensional quality.

I am very proud of this painting! It has a soft, hypnotic sense of glowing light that is both simple and complex. It was sold to a Boston condominium soon after it was made and is now on display in one of their public spaces.

"Silken Web," acrylic on fabric on canvas, 30" x 20", 2007

For a complete display of works from each of those 16 years, visit my "painting archive" blog at CarterPaintingArchive.blogspot.com.

Wonderful news

The Boston Public Library has purchased three of my works on paper! Details here.

Five pieces purchased

Great news: just sold five paintings! Details here.

Hotel purchased 10 pieces

Wonderful news! I'm very happy to report that the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston has purchased 10 of my artworks: 3 works on paper and 7 acrylic/fabric collages on board. Here is one of the collages, 10 inches square:



The three works on paper are shown on my Career News blog, here.

My paintings in their new destination!

What a great experience today! My husband Kevin and I went to photograph a grouping of my paintings that were purchased in May by the corporation Berkshire Partners, to hang in the main boardroom of their new suite of offices on the 35th floor of the John Hancock Tower.

The paintings look WONDERFUL in their new home, nice and smart in their new frames:



Here is the amazing view of the city out the window beside the wall the paintings are hanging on:



Of course, I had to pose for the obligatory "Hi, Mom!" shot in front of the work:



I haven't had this much fun since Meditech held its artists' reception in December!

Wonderful news

It turns out that I have sold two paintings, possibly four, to a company that is moving to new office suites in the John Hancock building. Very exciting! Above is one of the works that sold.

Every time I see the John Hancock, I will think of my paintings hanging in there!

Feeling appreciated

How many times have you seen the words "artist appreciation reception" together in a sentence?

If I told you that a large corporation had hosted such a reception, you probably would think I had started in too early and indulgently on my holiday eggnog. But I have the photos to prove that it actually happened.

Meditech Medical Information Technology, a Massachusetts-based medical software company, has done the unusual for years: filling its five locations with original works created by emerging New England-based artists. This year they expanded into a new building in Fall River, built along the bank of South Wattupa Pond, and they purchased 440 works from 50 artists with personal ties to Southcoast Massachusetts to decorate the walls.

But they didn't stop there! Yesterday they invited all of us artists to a reception at their gorgeous new facility, where we were treated to a catered reception and a chance to walk around and view the artworks in their final destinations.

The paintings were beautifully grouped and displayed over individual desk spaces, in conference rooms, and along the walls of public display areas. All of the curatorial decision-making was done with sensitivity to the wide diversity of individual styles, colors and moods.

The photo above shows one of my works in a conference room (it looked great sharing the walls with a piece by Jason Fiering). You can see how gratifying it felt to see my painting in this setting by the look on my face!

I also had my work in two other areas of the building. In the image below, I had “my own” conference room, with two of my gold/brown paintings on the walls. (This is why I love seeing what talented consultants and curators do with my work. I never would have thought of putting these two works together, but they really play off of each other even though they’re from different series.)



In the image below, two of my black and white paintings share a wall with two awesome paintings by Shawn Gilheeney.



My deepest thanks to Meditech, for buying our art and for treating us like royalty. I have to admit, it feels great!

Also thanks to my husband Kevin, who documented the space and the event with nice photos like these.

The perfect destination

I just received this cool picture of one of my paintings in its new home! I am delighted with how much the new owners love it; they have designed their living room around the style and colors of the painting. I am honored!

"Pirouette" finds new home

Happily, I have just sold "Pirouette," the painting pictured above. This is made even better by the fact that I know the person who bought it, so I can see it again! I certainly don't mind it when a painting is sold in a situation where I won't see it again (such as a corporation), but it's a bonus when I can view it whenever I visit the person who owns it.

Five works sold

I am happy to report that five of my paintings have been purchased by Meditech Information Technology (one of them, "Ochre Mosaic Square," 30" square, acrylic and paper on canvas, is shown above). The works will be displayed at Meditech's new location in Fall River, Mass.

I'm all for that inner glow that comes from creating a new and wonderful piece of art. But I'll be honest with you ... there's also a glow that comes from selling your work!

Painting in "icons + altars" benefit

My painting "Vine," shown above, will be exhibited in "icons + altars," an annual benefit event held by/for the New Art Center in Newton, MA.

This painting is 14 inches square, made of acrylic and fabric collage on canvas.

The exhibit will be on display from November 16 to December 16. One hundred artists participate in this exhibit at the art center; visitors to the show may purchase a ticket for $225 and are given the opportunity to select any one of the 100 works of art on display during the closing reception on December 16.

For more information, visit the New Art Center's web site.

Keeping the faith

Artists have to have faith that somewhere out there is the perfect destination for each of our paintings, and that we ourselves are seldom the best judges of that destination, even if we like to think we are.

The painting below, "Knot," has finally found its ideal home.



I made it in 2005, as part of a large group of paintings in a similar style, and right away, I knew it was one of the best of the series. I entered it in juried shows, sent it in response to calls for entries from galleries, used it as part of calls for curator applications, all rejected. My gallery at the time sent it to a hotel in New York for approval, but they turned it down and sent it back on their truck. I dropped it off with an art consultant who initially seemed hopeful, but they eventually sent it back too, having received no interest from their clients.

This went on for two years. I felt frustrated, knowing that it was a strong painting, but what else could I do? I had tried numerous times to get it out into the world. The work just seemed destined to sit forever in my storage bin, wrapped in plastic.

Finally last month I hooked up with an art consultant I hadn't worked with before, who asked me to bring by works in series. I grabbed "Knot" and three others from that series, figuring I had nothing to lose. The work had been rejected yet again, just a week before, for a juried show in Chicago.

As soon as the consultant saw this work, she was enthusiastic. (See, I KNEW it was good!) She had a friend who was starting up a biotech company and had decorated the offices in beige tones, so she felt the bright colors in "Knot" would add some dash. And sure enough, this company bought "Knot" and three others from the series.

What a perfect destination for this painting! The colors and the possibilities for the subject matter fit right in with the company's needs. It was a win-win-win situation. And if it had been accepted for that juried show, it wouldn't have been free and available for this client to look at and fall in love with.

So while so much of getting the work out there seems to involve fending off "NOs" in situations where we thought the work SHOULD be, we have to keep believing that there's an unseen benevolent hand, guiding the work to where it ultimately belongs.