Autocomplete Exhibit - 5/10/2012

Last month I was asked to partake in a group exhibit called
Autocomplete: A Collaborative Coloring Book, which is being curated by Maya Drozdz of Visualingual.  The concept of the exhibit is what got me hooked.  The idea is that select Cincinnati area (and beyond) artists would be paired with a Visionaries + Voices artist, more specifically, paired with a black and white print of their work, and we were asked to "color" the piece in our style, while maintaining the integrity of the original piece.  For those unaware of Visionaries + Voices, it is a local arts organization that provides creative opportunities to people with disabilities.  From my experience seeing the work of several V+V artists over the years, I would say that really it's an organization that celebrates abilities, not disabilities.  The power of art as a tool for expression is absolutely evident in the work itself and moreso in the smiles and increased self-esteem of the artists who are a part of V&V.  I am honored and humbled to be a part of this exhibit.

I was paired with Jennifer Dowers (who I've yet to meet) to color in her piece entitled, Cincinnati Reds.  Now I hadn't "colored" anything in a while, save for helping my 3 year old niece now and again, so getting this I admit was a touch intimidating.  The piece I received was obviously a photograph, turned black and white, and not typically something I would work with, in both subject matter and in style.  Frankly, it was the whole "maintaining the integrity of the original piece" part that I was having the most difficulty with.  My natural inclination may have been to tear, burn or cover the entire thing, but again, I had to follow the rules so that was probably a good exercise for me in itself.  Anyway, having just finished my version, I wanted to post a picture of the 2 side by side, so you can see the before and after.

Here it is:

Looking at it, I think I maintained enough of the original while adding my own twist.  I really wanted to incorporate something to reference both the statistics of baseball as well as the sound of a cracking bat, hence the grids and shard of wood.  Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and hope Jennifer does too.  For those that can attend, the opening is Thursday May 10th, from 5-8PM at the V&V Gallery at 3841 Spring Grove Avenue in Northside, and the exhibit runs until Friday June 29th.  Thanks to Maya for including me and best of luck with the event! 

Finally!

Ok, call me dumb, but I've been locked out of my own blog due to email/password mix-ups for a while now.   As you can see it's been a while since I've posted anything!  Well, now that all is right again in the world (for now anyway), I can update my many (few) readers about all that's been going on.

So, it's been a busy year, but mostly with paying work.  Seems that 2010 is following in 2009's footsteps as one that is crap for selling artwork.   I understand that bills come first so I cant complain too much.

I have still been a part of a few shows this fall.  First off, The Clifton Cultural Arts Center had their first "Golden Ticket" art show, which although not the best displayed show I've ever been a part of (putting it nicely because I like the people that put in on), it did have a nice collection of artists and was fun to be a part of and support.  I was also selected as one of the top 100 from the Secret ArtWorks event last December and so will be a part of a group show on October 22nd.  I'll also be submitting again to SecretArtworks this year and am happy to support the organization and all they do for the community.

I plan on being more productive this fall and winter and have been speaking with several local and national gallery owners to get in the queue for shows. Stay tuned!

Secret ArtWorks 2009 - Revealed!

Thanks to all that came out to the Secret ArtWorks event last Friday. It was a smashing success, with a record number of participating artists and attendees. Nice to see in this economy that people will still come out to support the arts. I was happy to run into some friends and fellow artists at the event and it's always cool to try to figure out who did what! Though with over 1000 pieces this year, that took some time. Here are a few pictures from the show and of the 3 pieces I submitted.


Me and artist Tom Lohre



"Back to the Future" - collage and acrylic on canvas board



"EWR" acrylic on wood panel



"SpaceBee 16" acrylic and spraypaint on canvas board

Secret ArtWorks 2009

Every year Cincinnati's Artworks foundation does a cool charity event where they invite participating artists to create and anonymously donate small (5"x7") pieces to be sold to benefit Artworks. This year I have subitted 3 pieces, though I cant show you or else it wouldn't be much of a secret! The opening night is on Friday November 20th and the admission is $100 per person, but with each entry you get 1 piece of your choice to take home! I'll be there and hope to see you too! More details on the event can be found here.

Neolaia/Pathos: new.youth.passion - 9/10/09

Well, I made it in! I had 3 pieces accepted into Chicago's National Hellenic Museum's Neolaia/Pathos: new.youth.passion
show which features the works of emerging Greek-American artists between the ages of 20-40. The opening reception is Thursday, September 10th and the exhibition runs through January 10, 2010.

I am really honored to be included in this exhibit and I hope as many of you as are able to make it to Chicago for the opening can do so! For those wondering, the 3 pieces accepted are:

Spring Update

I have not posted in quite some time so I thought I'd better update with what's been going on with me since the last show I did at Red Tree so you wouldn't think I was abducted by aliens or something.

Since mid-February I've been traveling almost weekly. New York, Chicago, Milan, Geneva, Boston, Bentonville, and a few I'm forgetting. While primarily business travel, I've spent as much time as possible trolling galleries and collecting ideas and ephemera for my new work. And catching up on sleep.

I've also recently submitted some work for admission into a really big show in Chicago and I'll find out in early May if I've been accepted. At this point all I can do is cross my fingers and wait. Aside from that, I have been rearranging my current studio and looking for a new space to possibly move to. I need space to work larger and store my inventory.

So, I will be working on new pieces this spring and summer and am also currently planning a private show with a couple of my fellow artists that we'll likely be doing in Cincinnati in late May. I'll post details on that opening when we get it sorted out.

DR

*BTW, the picture above is of an espresso I had in Geneva last month. Mmmm...fuel....

Back on the ball

With the economy being what it is, most of the freetime that I previously used for creating artwork, is now being consumed with work activities and/or drinking. While productive activities in their own way, they are not helping me progress my painting.

I did take a bit of a hiatus after the crazy wave of shows from late 2007 to summer of 2008 where I completed almost 40 pieces in the span of 9 months. I have however resumed sketching, writing and collecting ephemera and thoughts and am ready to get back at it. I am currently submitting work into some upcoming gallery shows and I am looking forward to having the deadlines to keep me focused.

Thanks to all that provided me with so much support through 2008 and I look forward to showing you what inspiration 2009 will bring to my work.

Atelier | Romanos on Facebook

I've recently created a group on Facebook to keep everyone updated on happenings without having to periodically spam people. I dont want to be that guy. If you're on the wonderful world of Facebook, I invite you to visit the group here and join.

Thanks also to everybody that got calendars!

Art Off-Pike 2008 - Part 2

So, last weekend Marcus and I participated in the Art Off-Pike arts and music festival in Covington, KY - which is right across the river from Cincinnati. Covington is sort of our Brooklyn (sort of) and they are really trying to build an arts district, which I give them credit for doing. The potential is high for the area, as it still has tons of historical character, cheap real estate and a growing community of dangerous liberals. This was actually the 4th annual Off-Pike festival, though I'd never heard of it.

There's a place locally called Building Value that sells used building materials. Basically when a house is getting gutted or someone is doing a remodel, you can donate your cabinets, sinks, etc to Building Value for resale and proceeds go to a charity. I wasn't being charitable on the occasion of my visit, but I was on the lookout for some blank, white doors to show our work on. I ended up buying 9 doors and hinged them together in pairs to create some mobile screens to hang up the work.

So, Saturday we met down at our spots and began set-up, which didn't take too long, though those pop-up tents dont exactly just pop up. The doors worked out ok but the uneven pavement required shims to stay marginally stable.

The show only lasted from 11-5 and had about 50 "artists" displaying and selling their work, but after seeing much of it, my conclusion is that the jurying criteria was likely just whether or not submission checks cleared or not.

Although the weather was great, and sitting outside enjoying art and the weather on a Saturday was quite a treat, I was turned off enough by the outdoor show, that I doubted that I would do this fest again next year. Once the wind picked up and blew our work over, I was certain, never again. Not long after though, I actually sold a piece. Granted it was the smallest and cheapest, but a sale is a sale. Not long after that, around 4:30, the committee announced it's award winners, of which I won 2nd place and was handed a check by a guy who looked an awful lot like the Monopoly man.

This now has me reconsidering my 2009 participation as I have learned a few things about outdoor art shows.

1. Even if you sell nothing, it's more fun to sit outside drinking and showing off your artwork than doing house chores.
2. The streets of Covington do not lend themselves to panels that need level flooring to stand securely.
3. The sweet spot price-point for street fair art is under $100 (though I sold mine for $185).
4. The standards for a show like this and their stringent jurying process made victory that much easier.
5. The range of folk that a fest like this can attract is mesmerizing. Seriously.

In closing, thanks to those that came and thanks to those who were genuinely into my work. I know it doesn't appeal to all audiences - which is how I like it.

GalleryFCB Opening - pics

I'm still in the afterglow from the reception on Saturday night. Even torrential downpours and the pride parade blocking 23rd couldn't dampen the spirits. It was awesome to have so many people come out to see the work and support us! There were old friends, new friends, family, colleagues, some surprise out-of-towners and just random art lovers.

So, with that, here are some pics from the opening. My next post will have my work from the show.


Set-up on Saturday morning





Lots of people enjoying the show and awesome sangria.



Marcus and I in front of our interpretations of Kim Nickoson's photograph.



Gallery director Oliver Werner and photographer Kim Nickoson.



Artist Marcus Fletcher and photographer Kim Nickoson.



Good friends, John Devanney (left) and Clint Bottoni.



Me in front of my painting entitled asphalt interruption.

GalleryFCB Opening Reception

Last night's show opening was just awesome! We had an incredible turnout, the space looked fantastic, the work was strong and the support from everyone was overwhelming. Thanks to everyone that was able to make it last night and extra special thanks to: Oliver Werner for giving us the opportunity, Marcus Fletcher for being a great partner in our artistic endeavors and my amazing wife Erin, who has been unbelievably supportive and patient as I've been preparing my work for the last several months.

I'm still in NYC right now, but will upload more photos of the show (as well as finally showing the work) next week, so check back!

DR

GALLERYFCB Opening - Saturday 6/28/08 6-10pm

The long awaited paintings show at GalleryFCB is finally upon us. Everyone is invited to the opening reception on Saturday 6/28/08 from 6-10pm. The work we've prepared for this show is all new and personally speaking, worth coming to see.

PartnerUp Interview

I was interviewed recently by Megan Dorn at PartnerUp and they wanted to know my take on product development. Might not be the most interesting thing for many people, but if you want to read it, you can check it out here.

NYC Show - Opening Reception

Please join us for our opening reception on Saturday June 7th from 8-10pm at Grounded , West Village - NYC. This show features all new collage pieces by Demetrius Romanos and Marcus Fletcher. We hope to see you there!

NYC Show Dates

Well, the 2 New York shows are official, with opening dates and everything! The collage show at Grounded will run the month of June with the opening on Saturday, June 7th. The paintings show at GalleryFCB will run the month of July, with that opening Thursday July 3rd. Now we just have to get our work done!

See you there!

Newspaper Article

I have been really busy with work and painting this month and have been noticeably negligent in new blog posts. However, our office was just featured in the local paper and I thought this might be of interest to some of you.

Read the article here.

On another note, I will have a bunch of paintings up at Brutopia in Cincinnati starting Monday for the full month of April, so feel free to check it out and have a fantastic cappuccino. This is select work from '07 and older. I need to clear some room in my studio since I'm madly producing for the 2 NYC shows in June!

Current Projects

I mentioned a couple of posts ago, that Marcus and I have 2 upcoming shows in NYC, one on May and one in June. The May show at GalleryFCB will be all paintings and the June show at Grounded will be all collage. Normally I like to have a mixture of new and old pieces at my shows, but these 2 shows will be of all new stuff. In order to build some level of anticipation as to what it is that we're working on, I wont be posting any new work here until May. If I do some work that is new, but not for the shows specifically, then I wont mind posting those. Although I wont likely be posting images for a while, I will be writing about what it is that I'm working on.

With that said, much of my painting work right now is still fairly dark in palette and also very atmospheric, with geometry to help bring things together. The themes are building on my constant fascination and inspiration of light, dark, space and flight. I have taken so many photographs lately that I am breaking down and drawing inspiration from, that I have more ideas than time to execute them. Good probelm to have I suppose.

On the collage side, when just in Paris I may have spent more time looking down at the ground than looking at the sites, all in search of great ephemera to incorporate into my work. I'm always in search of artifacts to either build stories around or to add context with. Marcus and I have also been spending time at the Poverty Barn looking for interesting things to incorporate into our work.

Overall, I would have to say that we're both on a good pace to generate about 25 total pieces (per person) and we continually push and inspire one another.

Paris

I just returned from a week in Paris where my wife and I were visiting friends. Being my favorite city in the world, it's not hard to get inspired to do more work when I return home. A couple of nights ago I toured through a local art exhibit which happens to be right across the street from where my friends live and there were a couple of artists who were really good and was glad I spent a bit of time speaking with them. I got a chance to speak with a gallery rep as well which was great as I look to both expand my network and maybe have a showing in Paris somtime in the future.

For now, I am back to preparing for the two shows that Marcus and I will be doing in New York in May and June. I'll be posting some of this new work as I get things completed, so keep checking back!