November 2023 Updates
I'm grateful y'all!
The Artist’s Memo
It feels like October came and went (or, maybe I just posted last month’s memo way too late. OOPS!). And for as much as I’ve been pushing the brakes, what a fruitful month it’s been!
To those of you who subscribed to my mailing list after the Kearny Halloween PAWrade or from my call on Instagram, welcome to my public diary! And to my Kearny folks specifically, THANK YOU for making that event so awesome. I was so busy that I had to start a long waitlist for my live pet portraits, and the folks at the Kearny Urban Enterprise Zone already have me on their list to return for next year!
The great news is that for the foreseeable future, I will continue to take pet portrait commissions (and can even hand-deliver them in the area) and will be honoring the same sliding scale price range that I did at the PAWrade! If you missed out on your chance last Saturday or know someone who would have loved one but couldn’t be there, shoot me a message on Instagram or email me at ian.e.kingart@gmail.com with some reference photos and a shipping address.
Other than that, there’s not much else to say about this month! I do have some small updates below. Stay tuned to my Instagram for a million questions about moving out to Newark, as I’ve promised and alluded to, if you’re from around here, because I am just about to start hunting for places to live. Life is good. Peace. Thanks in advance!
Visions of Lyndhurst
One of my old oil paintings (top row, far left corner in the second photo) is on display from now until January at the Lyndhurst Public Library as a part of the Art Association of Rutherford’s first-ever group show in this space. You can stop in to see it now, and if you’re up early enough on a weekend, we encourage you to come by on November 18th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for our opening reception!
For “Visions of Lyndhurst,” the idea was to display work featuring scenes in and around the town – which, despite living 5 minutes away for literally my entire life, I don’t have. So, the piece I submitted is New Jersey scenery in general: a painting of a sunrise I saw on the beach early one morning in Cape May (one of my top 10 favorite places in the world). I was listening to my favorite Bonnie “Prince” Billy album with the wind in my hair and not a worry in the world.
(And for those who are new here, if you or someone you know is an artist or even just a hobbyist and live in this immediate area, look into becoming an AAR member! At this month’s meeting on the 9th, we will be hosting a pastel demo by the incredible, award-winning Judith Leeds.)
ARTISTS! Donate work to SJU Muse’s Artists for Aid Pop-Up Shop
SJU Muse, the art club at my alma mater, is hosting another pop-up shop on campus this fall and accepting donations of artwork, prints, or designs to be printed onto stickers and buttons to be sold at their table during the event. 100% of the proceeds for any of these items will go directly towards the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. In fact, once I send this memo out, I will be hunkering down for the night and working on my own design submission! Even if you are not connected to the school in any way, donate if you can, or at the very least share so this call creates a greater footprint online. There’s strength in numbers, and these students are our future, so supporting them in all of these brave fundraising efforts in spite of administrators’ backlash should be fully supported. If you feel compelled to support this cause but don’t know where to begin learning the history, refer to this informational site and follow the live reports of journalists in Gaza.