Thursday, November 5, 2015

New gallery representation through Ugallery

Cloudburst
by Mark Nesmith
Oil on Canvas
12" x 16"
2015
Available through Ugallery.com

Earlier this week I announced Part 1 of my big news for the week. My friend Donna Davis Kurtz pointed out that she hasn't seen Part 2, so here it is:

I'm thrilled to announce that I've been accepted to exhibit online with Ugallery.com. Ugallery.com is a curated online gallery that promotes work in 45 countries worldwide. Ugallery.com has an impressive sales record and garnered lots of great press, including reviews in the Wall Street Journal and a feature on This Old House. They curate every piece shown on the site and take great care to present professional artwork. They also participate in some art fairs and host exhibitions from time to time. They maintain offices in New York and San Francisco. It's a great opportunity for me to expose my work to a wider audience.

My work went live today. Visit marknesmithart.ugallery.com and let me know what you think. I'm very excited and hopeful about this new venture!

P.S. There's a Part 3 to my big news coming up soon :-)

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

New Exhibit at the Texas Artists' Museum and Other Breaking News!

Two Umbrellas
by Mark Nesmith
Oil on Canvas
24" x 24"
2015
On display at the Texas Artists' Museum

I believe in creating your own momentum, and sometimes the universe lends a helping hand. Not long ago I contacted the local museums and art spaces about possible exhibition opportunities. This past Saturday I received a call from the Texas Artists Museum. TAM is a non-profit art space in Port Arthur that exhibits and promotes local and regional artists. They usually feature three artists each month, but one of the artists scheduled to show in November wouldn’t be able to participate due to recent health concerns. They had received my email and viewed my work online and were wondering if there was any possibility I could step in and be part of the November exhibit. Ordinarily a couple of days notice wouldn’t be enough time to put a show together, but I’d recently brought back some work from my two-person show at Davis Gallery in Austin and from my summer shows in Galveston at Third Coast Gallery, most of which hasn’t been shown in SE Texas before. Altogether I had more than two dozen pieces I could show, so Monday afternoon we loaded up the cars and trucks and headed off to Port Arthur to hang the show.

I’d like to invite you all to the artists’ reception on the second Thursday of November, 11/12/2015, from 6 – 8 PM. It’ll be a fun filled night with lots of art and refreshments. TAM was hit hard in the last few hurricanes and is coming back strong. Let’s all help support this great institution in Port Arthur.

That was quite a whirlwind start to my week, but I have more breaking news too! I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve been accepted to exhibit online with Ugallery.com. Ugallery.com is a curated online gallery that promotes work in 45 countries worldwide. Ugallery.com has an impressive sales record and garnered lots of great press, including reviews in the Wall Street Journal and a feature on This Old House. They curate every piece shown on the site and take great care to present professional artwork. They also participate in some art fairs and host exhibitions from time to time. It’s a great opportunity for me to expose my work to a wider audience. My work should be available starting Thursday, November 5, 2015 at marknesmithart.ugallery.com.

A while back I announced that I was negotiating a contract with a large Austin based art publisher interested in producing and selling prints of my paintings. Unfortunately that seems to have fallen through, but as luck would have it I was contacted by a different publisher based out of McKinney, TX. Orisons Décor is a smaller company that sprang to life out of their already successful and long running gallery. They are very artist centered and offered very favorable terms with their contract. They offer reproductions through their online service and also partner with several leading interior design firms. I’ve just completed editing the first batch of graphic files and descriptions we’ll be offering and they should be available through www.orisonsdecor.com soon.  

Thank you all for your continued support and interest in my art. You make it all possible!

Mark


P.S. Don’t forget, if you’re anywhere near SE Texas on Thursday, November 12, 2015 stop by the Texas Artists’ Museum in Port Arthur to see my exhibit and say hello!

Monday, November 2, 2015

New 8" x 10" daily oil painting of the 1877 tall ship Elissa at Galveston, TX

"Lady Elissa"
by Mark Nesmith
Oil on Canvas
8" x 10"
2015

 Click here to bid in the Ebay auction for this painting.

This 8" x 10" oil painting on canvas features the figurehead of the 1877 tall ship Elissa from Galveston, Texas. Elissa was built in Aberdeen, Scotland as a merchant vessel in a time when steamships were overtaking sailing ships. She was originally launched on October 27, 1877. According to the descendants of Henry Fowler Watt, Elissa's builder, she was named for the Queen of Carthage, Elissa, Aeneas' tragic lover in the epic poem The Aeneid.

Since painting this last week I've been commissioned to paint a large 28" x 40" version for Tradewinds Tavern at the MCM Elegante Hotel in Beaumont, Texas. Sometimes little things turn into big things with a little luck and perseverance.

Unexpected Beauty in a Roadside Ditch - NEW Water Lily Painting in Progress by Mark Nesmith

Here’s the view from my easel today. I drew up a couple of large views or water lilies from the drainage ditch past Winnie on the way to ...