T.H.Pickett Artist

Show at Allied Arts

2010-01-07T00:27:00.000-08:00

Well, let's start the year off right! I’m inviting you to a show of 7 of my new paintings at the Allied Arts gallery in Bellingham. This is a group show and includes some of my friends from the EDGE program, painters; Kristen Gilje, Joy S.Olney, Steve Satushek, Katherine Schneider. myself, and jeweler; Jane Penman. The opening reception is from 6-10pm Friday, January 8 and the show will hang through January 29. The Bellingham art walk is the night of the reception. Hope you can come.

Allied Arts Gallery
1418 Cornwall Avenue
360.676.8548
Gallery hours are Noon - 5pm
Tuesday-Saturday

Title: Landscape in Red and Green
Dimensions: 12h x 25w
Medium: oil on wood panel
Price: $525

End of the Year

2009-12-22T16:11:00.000-08:00

Well it has been an astonishing year. Art-wise I have had a wonderful year. Making art throughout the year and having a great time at the shows and connecting with fellow artists and patrons in the area. I am ending the year busily preparing for the first show of the new year. My friends from the EDGE class are putting together another group show. This time at Allied Arts, 1418 Cornwall Ave, in Bellingham. The opening will be Friday, January 8, 6-8pm. I've posted a new portfolio in the Gallery if you would like a little preview.

May the new year bring us all closer together.

Tide Field Nocturne
T.H.Pickett
27h x 14w
oil on wood
$600

New Works at Pacioni's Restaurant

2009-11-02T18:55:00.000-08:00

Friday, November 13, 6pm - 8pm at Pacioni's Restaurant, 606 S 1st St., downtown Mount Vernon. I have been hanging some paintings there since June of this year and we're going to exchange the existing works with some new ones. So, we decide to have a little opening celebration. There will be a wine tasting, for those wishing to imbibe and music from the excellent, La Rosa Trio. The restaurant will remain open so, orders from the kitchen are possible. It should be a grand evening and everyone's welcome. Come and enjoy.

Title: The Shadow of Leaves
Artist: T.H.Pickett
Medium: oil on wood panel
Dimensions: 18h x 12w
Price: $525

Plein Aire Paint Out Show in Bellingham

2009-10-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

The Plein Aire Paint Out that I was a participant of in August is having it's show at the Blue Horse Gallery, off Bay Street in Bellingham, November 6-30 with the opening reception on Friday November 6, 6pm-8pm.

The Old Town
T.H.Pickett
15h x 24w
oil on masonite panel
$550

Upcoming Show at the Skagit Historical Museum

2009-10-06T12:31:00.001-07:00

I have never had so much response from a painting as I have to “Skagit Icon”, the featured painting for the promotion of the “Paint Me a River” show at the Skagit Historical Museum, October 10 – January 3. I believe it is as much about the amazing distribution that the museum has done as it is painting. The painting was a plein aire piece that I did several years ago (2004). I was at one of my favorite spots, the mouth of the Skagit, looking south towards Mt. Pilchuck. The shapes and curves of the river at that moment seemed so natural, so perfectly in place with the rushes and cattails and the river mud that it became for me an icon of the Pacific Northwest. The opening will be October 10, 4 pm to 7 pm. This is a group show and I have just the one piece in it. Come and enjoy the art, the artists, and the evening.

Plein Aire Weekend Over

2009-08-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend Plein Aire painting in Mount Vernon and Bellingham. It was good to be outside painting. I'm not used to having so many people around but, they were all very encouraging. The results of the Bellingham Plein Aire Paint Out will be on display at the Blue Horse Gallery in Bellingham in November. The opening will be on Friday November, 6, 6:00pm - 9:00pm.

Plein Aire at Juntunen Gardens, August 21

2009-08-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

Myself and several other artists will be giving a plein aire painting demonstration at the Juntunen Gardens in Mount Vernon. This is a benefit event for Seattle Children's Hospital. The gardens are a 51-acre wholesale nursery located off Hickox Rd. The farmhouse and surrounding area feature nine acres of a wide range of gardens from simple, cottage-style to more formal European-inspired designs. I can envision lots of flower paintings.

The Creative Edge at the Blue Horse Gallery

2009-08-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

Friday, August 7, 7-10pm; 9 artists including myself will display our latest works at the Blue Horse Gallery in Bellingham. The Blue Horse is located at 301 W. Holly St. This is a show of new works and I will have 14 new paintings in the show. My paintings will include two encaustic pieces. Encaustic is a wax process that I am very excited about. Also included will be some abstract works which seems to me a natural digression for any artist doing studio work. The show should be great and my colleagues are a fine collection of painters, sculptors, jewelry makers and just good people to hang out with so come to the show!

Paintings Above:

Title: Tree Dance
Dimensions: 18h x 24w
Medium: oil on wood panel
Price: $575

Title: Blue Branches in a Stream
Dimensions:18h x 12q
Medium: oil on wood panel
Price: $525

Ordinary Things at the Edison Eye

2009-07-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of small pieces at the Edison Eye in Edison, WA. The opening is August 1, 5:00-10:00pm. Dana (the owner) likes to do theme shows and this one is called "Ordinary Things". He invited a whole slough of valley artists to participate. An opening at the Edison Eye is always a great party, usually some oysters or salmon on the barbecue, sometimes music or poetry and a lot of artist milling around grousing about the deplorable state of the art world or the deplorable state of the world in general. My kind of people.

These pieces are done on dinnerware. What could be more ordinary? I use small plates as palettes when I'm working with encaustic. I noticed that the wax adheres nicely to the plates when it drys and so... a medium is born.

Title: A Plate Full of Hydrangea I & II
Dimensions: 11h X 11w
Medium: encaustic on dinnerware
Price: $400

Opening Saturday

2009-07-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

Well, the Celebrate Skagit Art 14 show is hung at the La Conner Seaside Gallery and awaiting the opening reception on Saturday 6:30-8:30. This is the benefit show for the Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland that I have been curating for SPF. I have to say the show looks great. I think anyone who sees it will wonder at the diverse collection of very talented artists we have in this area.

Above, is my submission to the show it is titled, "When Trees Mess with Clouds".

Recent works

2009-07-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

I've been working on some studio pieces. They are based on figure studies or glimpses of figures. They're about movement and time but, are also about the texture and a technique of painting with knives and a limited palette that I've been working on.

The painting on the right is titled, "The Scarf". The painting above is title, "The Thought of Future".

Life Gets Busy

2009-06-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot since the last post. I am curating a show for the Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland at the Seaside Gallery in La Conner. This is an annual show that features a wide variety of artists from around the Skagit Valley. The show title is, "Celebrate Skagit Art" and is the 14th time such a celebration has been held. The opening is July 17 and there will be a reception the evening of July 18. The show closes July 26.

I am also in another show opening August 7 at the Blue Horse Gallery, in Bellingham. "The Creative Edge" is the collection of artists I attended class with in November. We're a eclectic group of painters, a sculptor, photographers, an installation artist and a jeweler. Although not everyone is showing it is going to be great show and I'm really happy to be involved with this group.

Also, in August I will be painting pleine aire for a benefit gathering and Juntenun Gardens. This should be fun although, I don't really like being the side show and painting as a performance but, hey there should be an influential audience.

And lastly, I am in a show at the Skagit County History Museum in September. My piece will be used for the postcard. I don't have all of the details yet so, I'll post something more as it get closer.

Geez, I'm busy. I gotta go make some art to fill all these shows.

Art in a Time of Recession

2008-12-03T14:31:00.000-08:00

"Art is not about money", at least that what my friend Clayton says. "Are you making paintings to earn money?" This was a few years ago and he is certainly the walking embodiment of a hard working, life long artist and I was listening when he was challenging my motives but, with economy allegedly teetering on the brink of disaster I'm thinking about money and art and pressing ahead with an art career in an economic bad time.

What does it mean to art and an artist when the art-buying public is dwindling, when discretionary income is being clutched, when an art purchase seems frivolous? What I feel is discouraged. I picked the wrong time to launch a new career is what seeps into my thinking. So how am I going to proceed? ...Go back to school. That's what I am doing. I have been taking an class on artistic professionalism sponsored by The Artists Trust. We've been poring over our portfolios, looking for new sources for funding grants, retreats, fellowships, curating our own shows, finding off-the-path venues and alternative ways to further our careers. We're learning about networking. We're talking about book keeping and tax deductions. And, we're supporting each other. It's been good. It's raising the bar and that's what's happening when I go back into the studio and look at the work I've accumulated.

I realize it is not a time to put less than the very best that I can make out there. That's what the real lesson of this recession time is about. Honing my work to best it can be. Making it shine.

The Show is Over

2008-10-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

The opening that now seems so long ago was well attended by friends and patrons all of whom had something other than buying art on their mind but, were full of encouraging words. Things got worse from there. I'm sure that hanging this show was directly responsible for a number of bank failures, most notably WaMu. Anne assured me that it wasn't the art or the prices which, were ridiculously low but, that the mood in general this year has not been about art. Gee, I wonder why?
Oh well, I press ahead as if making art is the only thing that will correct climate change, fix the economy, elect Obama and instill moral fiber into the hearts and minds of Wall St. ana. My next showing will be in La Conner in November at the Arts Alive weekend. My guess is that they will rename the show, "Arts Dead" after this year. Actually, that sounds like a good name for a theme show. I'm sure I can find a number of artists who could make art that fit that theme.

Big Show, Tonight

2008-09-05T09:56:00.000-07:00

I've been frantically framing and preparing for the opening tonight. There will be 20 paintings at Anne Martin McCool Gallery, although I just noticed that she has not updated her website. Oh, well. I am using three different framing techniques. One is a molding I designed and my brother cut in walnut. It's kind of a fab 60's design that I thought looked good with my more abstract work. I also have a traditional linen matt with a plain dark red frame and a gold filigree, I put that around my more traditional impressionist works and finally a plain dark frame with a poplar wood insert that I really like. Framing is such a chore. I've noticed that a lot of my artist cohorts have pretty much given it up. They hang plain unadorned canvas or paint around the corner of the canvas. As I have been painting on panels, that won't work. I don't think I would sell anything that was just a plain panel. So, I am a framer. Hope something sells.

Welcome

2008-08-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

Here we go. I am now using a blog to keep folks updated of my activities. First things first, shows. I am currently involved in two. I have a single painting hanging at the La Conner Seaside Gallery as part of their invitational show "Le Nu Air". It is a small piece. The bigger news is that I am having a show at Ann Martin McCool's gallery in Anacortes. This will be a show of recent paintings and will include some of my travel paintings. It should be a lot of fun. The opening will be Friday, September, 5, 6:00-9:00pm. The gallery address is:

Anne Martin McCool's Gallery
711 Commercial Ave.
Anacortes, Wa 98221
360 293 3577

Hope you can come. Many of the painting I am now displaying at www.THPickett.com will be available at the show.