where my heART is
Update effective May 2021: Though the causes below are no less dear to me, practicality dictates that I not offer the original incentive forever. I’ve edited this where my heART is blog today to reflect my current policy.
In the Red Rock Shadows 24x57 inches, acrylic on canvas $2325 – where my heART is pricing: $1860
Like all of you, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and watching and thinking and feeling and grieving in response to what’s happening in the world, in our country, and in our community today. And I’ve been wondering how I (as we continue to social distance, mask, and minimize contact with folks outside our immediate “bubble” to protect at-risk family members) can make a difference. I’ve decided to offer all the paintings on my website (purchased directly from me) at 20% off if the collector has donated an equivalent dollar amount to one of the programs/agencies listed below. Alternatively, if a collector purchases directly from me at full-price, I pledge to donate 20% of proceeds. Read on for the whys and hows. Thanks.
I see artists who process their personal pain and their response to the news through their art. I see artists who don’t believe anyone can call themselves an artist right now unless their work is responding directly to the social injustice, and loss, and hatred that are overwhelming the thoughts of every thinking, feeling person alive today. I see artists who continue to create portraits, still lives, landscapes, abstracts, etc. ad infinitum in all their splendor and magic. It’s been suggested to me that it’s impossible to make art right now without what’s happening in the world filtering into your work. I see that it’s possible for all of these to be truths.
We live in such a beautiful, sheltered bubble here in central Oregon. But many days it has been difficult for me to find the motivation to paint with all that is going on in the world now and it has also been hard to give myself the permission to paint. Why spend the time? How does that contribute? How can I make a difference from here? But I’m finding that I really want and need to paint more. Draw more. Record, explore, express, and make marks more. I am probably going to continue being inspired by this amazing place we live, because being out in nature is how I heal and I can recapture those feelings when I paint. And hopefully my paintings help some of you feel that too.
Anyway, I find I have two dilemmas. One part of why I held back from painting more these past months is because, in the height (depths?) of the lockdown, the walls really seemed to be closing in around us, literally, in our little house. Our closets are stuffed with paintings and more lean on any spare wall with a foot of space in front of it. There just isn’t room to store any more. And second, I really do want to make a difference. And I was having trouble feeling like my paintings could do that.
So I’ve decided to offer a 20% discount off any painting purchased directly from me, if you can show me receipt(s) for an equivalent donation (receipts dated since 3-11-2020) to any of the following local non-profits* that have been attracting my support :
Hunger Prevention Coalition (or any of their thirteen partner agencies) hungerpc.org
Deschutes Land Trust @deslandtrust
Kaycee Anseth Legacy Foundation @KALF
Human Dignity Coalition: @humandignitycoalition
The Chuush Fund mrgfoundation.org/the-chuush-fund-water-for-warm-springs
Type 1 Oregon @t1dbuddycamp
JDRF
Alternatively, if you purchase a painting directly from me at full price, I pledge to donate 20% of the proceeds to some combination of the above organizations, as I have been doing. If you’ve read this far, maybe you’re interested. Go to the link in my bio (or click here) for a virtual tour of my work and please be in touch. Thanks so much. We really can make a difference.
#givingback #covidart #theviewfromhere #socialjustice #bendartist #centraloregon #keepitlocal #landscapepainting #acrylicpainting #pastelpainting #wheremyheARTis
*This list is a work-in-progress so please reach out if you want to connect me to a like-thinking organization I haven’t included here! This is also my first blog post and I’d love to know what you think.