Art Review

It occured to me that I've been remiss in posting magazine, social media and newspaper reviews of my work. So, that being said, I'll begin posting

now.

I spent a little time grabbing a few photos from the documentary: "Never Surrender: Galaxy Quest" of amazing actor "Enrico Colantoni" wearing my "Redneck Teddy" t-shirt design. The documentary is almost a couple of years old but I just viewed it, so it's new to me. I guess now I can say, "As seen in film and on tv." Enjoy the photos.

Boating on the Thames

You know, it occurred to me that even though I have 3 websites where anyone can go and view my art. You all may not be aware of the stories behind some of my art. You're all probably familiar with my teddys, but how much do you know about my other art? So, I'm going to rectify that. I'll post a painting a week with the story behind the piece. Hopefully, you'll get more insight into my art and to me as an artist. Here's the first piece. This piece is called "Boating on the Thames" (3 Black Swans). When I was working in England, for the first 3 months I lived in a mechanics cottage on the estate of some English Lord in a little town called "Bourne End". Parts of it looked like something right out of a Harry Potter film. Anyway, when I wasn't working (doing computer graphics), I had the time to take a little dingy that was moored to a little wharf near my cottage and row from this little tributary out onto the Thames River. This painting is a photograph of a scene I saw while rowing on the Thames. Now you may say to yourself, while there are some mountains and hilly areas in England, there certainly aren't any near the Thames This is true but an artist does have an artist license to improve a scene and make it more interesting. It's painted in acrylic and is 24 X 30.

Video from Intersections Exhibit

A link to the video that was taken at the Korean Cultural Center for the exhibit "Intersections". Out of 200 artist submitting 500 entries, they chose 44 pieces from 23 artists. I had two pieces in the exhibit. See if you can find my teddys. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GguPk9Z2Rc&feature=youtu.be

Just wanted to share with you all, some of the activities at NudeArt L.A., opening Sept. 8th:

Been very active for the past few months. Wish I could afford a P.A. I had an exhibit reception Friday night, I had one last night, I drop off a painting on Mon. for a reception the following Sun. and I drop off 2 paintings for a reception at the Korean Cultural Center for a reception the following week and I'll have several pieces in the Nude Art L.A. exhibit coming up in Sept. plus I'm making a few t-shirt sales on my Merch by Amazon site and I'll soon have a Google business listing. Plus attending a few business workshops/seminars and making some connections to promote my teddys. I'm tired just reading all the stuff I've been doing lately. Oh yeah, and I teach art lessons 3 days a week in Pasadena. Whew!!

Been a while since I've posted and this post has nothing to do with my teddys. I just thought it was funny and wanted to share this story.Funny story but a little background first. I purchase a vitamin pak called Animal Pak from Universal Nutrition. At one time, they ran a promotion. which included a yellow t-shirt with the word Animal printed on the front, free with one's order. Now, that being said, i wore the shirt to my Physical Therapy office today. Did my routine and then as I was leaving, an elderly woman in her mid-70's, walking with a cane, had just entered the therapy area. She stared at my shirt and said," Ahn-ni-mal, Oh! Animal, Well, look at you, And then in a sort of sexy voice, said, "Yes, you are". and then she giggled to herself. We both started laughing. Made my day.

Hello Everyone, This is a very, very last minutes invitation. I found out about this show a couple of days ago. They liked what I submitted, so I have two of my digital pieces in the show. If you happen to be out Alhambra Way, stop by for a visit. It's also a fundraiser for a charitable cause. Best, Preston

July is turning out to be a busy month in a line of successive months. I attended the LIMA Expo in Las Vegas to get some exposure for my Twisted Teddys and to make some connection. Wow! it was a lot of information; a bit overwhelming at times but I met some great people and feel that I made some good contacts.Spending lots of time promoting, promoting and promoting. For my art other than my teddys, I have 4 pieces in a small gallery in the SFV Museum. The reception was held yesterday 07/16/16. It was fairly well attended, was good fun and made a couple of great contacts. The food was great as well. I will be dropping off 4 pieces on 07/26/16 for another show in Hawthorne at The Gallery in Hawthorne. It's a portrait show so it should be a great exhibit. In addition, I have two other gallery spaces that have expressed an interest in hosting a couple of my pieces. I'm just waiting to hear if they decided to select my work for the shows. Busy, busy, busy. On top of all of this, I'm working on carving out some time to work on my novel and do some freelance illustration work. I also teach one day a week in Pasadena at an arty prep academy for elementary aged to high school kids. More to come. Stay tuned.

Link to an exhibit I am participating in in Berkeley,CA. Out of 700 entries, 46 were picked. Mine was one of them. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/04/prweb13337520.htm

Won a "Merchandise Award" in a juried exhibit put on by the California Art League in February and an Honorable Mention in a juried exhibit put on my the same organization in an exhibit in March. Things are beginning to look up a bit.

Won 2nd place in an online competition with my landscape "Napa Red". a cash award comes with the recognition. http://fusionartps.com/landscapes-exhibition/?platform=hootsuite

So 2016 has started off with a bang.Only a little over a month into the year and I've participated in 2 exhibits with a third one coming up at the end of February. The first exhibit was a pop-up exhibit at the Vampire Lounge in Beverly Hills. A somewhat posh wine tasting room with a very relaxed atmosphere and some great wine and nosh. About 10 artists participated. The place is not large so it got a little crowed and some artist set up on the sidewalk in front of the place. It was great that we were able to hook up extra lighting. Was a little chilly outside so one had to alternate periods of the chill outside with the warmth inside. Evening was very friendly; met some great people and even though I didn't have any sales, I think I made some good contact. Will be dropping of a piece for the HIVE Gallery Erotica Show, which opens this weekend in downtown Los Angeles on Spring Street. Lots to do to finish my piece and get it there for the show. The Hive Gallery is a great place. The place is always buzzing, the receptions are usually crowded and the art is always provocative and well done. Nathan, the Hive Master (King Bee), is great to work with and has a good policy for exhibiting ones work. You can find him always flitting about the place during the reception usually wearing a top hat. Attended the L.A. Art Show this weekend at the L.A. Convention Center. The drive down took a very long time as it was in the middle of a rain storm. Parking was expensive ($20) and the entry fee was $21. I thought my friend who had asked me to go, had arranged to get discount tickets beforehand but I was mistaken. She had nothing planned and so once we arrived there was a big hassle to get tickets and we ended up parking in the wrong lot (South Hall) when the convention was in the West Hall. I was not a happy camper. My review of the Art Show is as follows: Some great art, some good art and some real crap that a few galleries were trying to sell as art. The place was packed with people even with all the rain outside. Lastly, I've been very busy promoting my Twisted Teddys with workshops, marketing research surveys, online social promotions and just plain getting the word out. This is the year it is going to happen. I'm hoping to get involved with the Mayor's Homeless Initiative and have my artwork represented as a backdrop for the speaker panels. You can find Twisted Teddys on facebook and my website: http://www.twistedteddys.com. That's it for now.

THE HIDDEN ARTIST: Preston Craig - NoHoArtsDistrict.com

THE HIDDEN ARTIST: Preston Craig - NoHoArtsDistrict.com

Here's a link for you to check out. It's my latest interview posted on the NoHo Arts District website. Enjoy!! http://nohoartsdistrict.com/entertainment-news/the-hidden-artist/item/3205-the-hidden-artist-preston-craig

So, I received this notice in my email:

Acrylic Artist magazine and North Light Books are part of F+W. Both editorial teams collaborate on projects, and we're running a selection of paintings from Acrylicworks—The Best of Acrylic Painting (North Light) in the Fall 2015 issue of Acrylic Artist magazine. We’re pleased to notify you that your painting titled Napa Red will appear in this roundup of artists in the magazine. The feature is called “A Place in Time,” and we’ve selected paintings that depict seasons and/or obvious regions of the earth.

Seems like I'm able to get some publicity and notoriety on occasion but just can't seem to make any money in the process. Hopefully, this will lead somewhere.

A little something for your entertainment.
https://studiovox.com/companies/studiovoxinc/b/blog/archive/2015/06/05/what-39-s-the-most-ridiculous-job-you-39-ve-ever-had-to-support-your-dream-2

This is a drawing I began during a drawing demonstration at Michaels Arts & Crafts store. I'm going to be starting up a drawing class there in 2 weeks so this was a chance for me to meet and talk with people, gauge interest, etc. Didn't get a whole lot done since Saturday is a busy day and lots of people coming and going. I may finish this drawing another time.

PRESTON CRAIG M.F.A. #1

Life can definitely throw one some curve balls. Thought I was doing a pretty good job of taking care of myself but I got hit with a heart attack about a month ago. Guess it serves as a good reason for not updating my blog.

After closing down my studio, selling stuff, dumping stuff or putting stuff into storage, I've been kinda floundering while I'm trying to figure out how to remain creative and keep my creative energies up. It hasn't been easy, and of course, on top of having a heart attack, really has added to the challenge on every level.

Finally, I'm beginning to feel that I have a little more energy and getting to feel a bit more normal. I updated my Behance website page (https://www.behance.net/PrestonArts) with some new images and information so if you get the chance, check it out.

In addition, I've been slowly getting back into actually creating again. It's been a real struggle and I can only hope that by trying to do a little bit everyday, whether it's updating my Behance website or actually trying to create some art, the creative process will get easier and I'll have renewed interest in creating my art.

Here's one of my newer images. I created this digitally for an outreach ministry in Tucson that ministers to the homeless. It's a 40" x 30" poster that is being used to inspire their congregation. So, enjoy and leave comments if you so desire.

Thanks for visiting. Till next time - Happy Trails.
Preston