Summer vacation has always been tricky as an artist. My son is home all day, looking for something to do. The garden occupies absorbent amounts of time, going quickly goes from meek and mild to tawdry and unruly overnight. I throw myself into weeding and cultivating like it’s a personal vendetta against the chaos. There are beaches to go to, adventures to have, and family to see. Yes, the studio takes the back burner in the summer months. But … Read More
Art as language When I first started this blog back in the olden days of January, I was a little nervous. Nervous that I would run out of steam, that I would lack things to talk about, or the worst fear of all – that no one would read or care what I wrote. But I had a plan, a way forward, a schedule of what I wanted to say even if I didn’t know how to say it yet. … Read More
One of the first questions I get asked when people find out my vocation is some variation of “How do you start a painting? Do you know what you’re going to paint when you start?” Which is an odd question if you think about it. Of course I do. And of course I don’t. Starting a painting is many things. It’s the excitement of a first date and the anticipation of an exam. It’s the challenge of a Rubix cube … Read More
In my last post I confessed to my fascination with chairs. Writing that post got me thinking about what I surround myself with and why; which in turn got me thinking about what other people surround themselves with and why. And all this thinking led me to a perfectly terrifying realization. If you happen to be an artist, this conversation might do the same for you. Let me start with the obvious. What we surround ourselves with matters. I know … Read More
I recently renovated the attic of my 1885 house into my studio. I evicted the bat squatters, took the entire floor with it’s sloped ceilings and odd angles, and molded it into a sprawling space for creating. An artist studio is a critical indulgence in this vocation – to have a space where I don’t have to worry about being messy or what other people might think about my mental state when they glance in. The space is entirely mine. … Read More
I remember the first time I read John Berger’s Ways of Seeing. I was just starting University and I found an old yellowed copy at the used bookstore nearby. For anyone who doesn’t know, Berger’s work rose out of a British television series in the 70’s of the same title. Throughout the program and book, Berger discusses the many ways we see things, not the physical aspect of it all but the societal and political convention as from which … Read More
Hey RVA, there’s lots of great ways to see some of my new work this fall. Current Art Fair, VA’s Contemporary Art Fair was this past weekend but no worries if you missed it. Art Style Design Richmond is coming up Nov 9&10 at the Highpoint. And ThinkSmall 10 is the same weekend at artspace gallery in Plant Zero! So go see some art and maybe pick up a piece or two.
I am so pleased to announce the opening of an exhibition of my work at a delightful new gallery in Taipei, Taiwan. 嘉俬房 & other Art things will open R. Sawan White on Saturday, September 7, 2019. For more information check out the gallery on facebook or instagram!
It’s great to be at work in the new studio at last. I’ll get around to posting some pictures of it soon, I’m still feeling out the space. In the meantime here’s a new one I quite like. She fell int the story with no words to add, acrylic and pencils on wood, 9″x12″ available for purchase
I realized I never posted photos from ArtTaipei in the fall, so here they are. I was so pleased to exhibit my work alongside amazing artists from around the world. I look forward to working with 丁丁艺术空间 in the future as well.