August/September 2005

 

The Artist Next Door

by Leena Prasad

 

 

 

When you see the paintings, photographs and other visual art that is ubiquitous in San Francisco restaurants and coffeehouses, do you wonder where the art came from?  Are you aware that the artist might be your next-door neighbor or the young gal sitting next to you on the bus or the middle-aged man waiting behind you in the grocery line?  There are so many artists in San Francisco that most of you probably know at least one and might even have a friend whose art you see regularly at your favorite café.

 

I’m one of those artists whose works you might see around town.  Among the places where I show my pieces is at the Art Explosion’s monthly “Sneak Peek” which is open to the public.

 

“You want THAT?!” The words rolled out of my mouth.  I was so shocked that someone wanted to pay money for one of my photographs.  “It’s wonderful. I love the composition and the local color.” The guy said, as if defending my piece, a photograph of words in red paint scrawled across on a crumbling gray wall. He handed me thirty-five dollars.  Still too dumfounded to think clearly, I couldn’t figure out the change. “It’s four dollars,” he said. 

 

That was the first photograph I had sold.  I’m a painter and a photographer but haven’t made any efforts to show my pieces up until the Sneak Peek started happening at the Art Explosion studios where I rent an art studio.  The show has encouraged me to create more pieces and to start thinking about showing them at galleries and coffee houses.

 

Jeremy Sutton, another Sneak Peek participant, makes a living as an artist.  His large-scale digital-based multi-media portraits are a consistent presence at the monthly show.  He sells a lot of his pieces by commission, has written books on art, and teaches classes.

 

Another regular participant, Russ McCabe, shows works ranging form 5x5 black and white photographs to large landscape photographs that resemble paintings. At a recent Sneak Peek, an art gallery owner showed an interest in showcasing Russ’s work.  “The monthly event creates a laid back atmosphere that brings in the busy Mission foot traffic of people who may not normally make it to a gallery opening,” say McCabe.

 

Sneak Peek is a great place for the artists and the general public to network.  I love answering questions posed to me by other artists and by the people who come in to look at our work.  Most of the host artists are friendly and accessible.  Some might be a bit shy but are usually happy to talk about their work.  Some visitors stop by because they were passing by the studios and saw the ‘open studios’ sign’; others come because of the Craigslist posting; several of my friends also show up to see my latest pieces. 

 

It’s possible that you may not connect to any of the pieces.  Or, you may connect so much that you open up your wallet and take something home.  Most of the artwork is affordably priced in the range of $10 to $1000. On more than one occasion, we’ve had gallery owners make a purchase at the show. 

 

Who knows?  You might meet the next Pablo Picasso or Frieda Kahlo or David Choe (Bay Area graffiti artist) at one of these shows or you might even be inspired to become one of the emerging artists with a studio space at the Art Explosion and an art show every month.

 

 

Full Disclosure:  The Mission Arts Monthly has the same ownership as the Art Explosion.  I rent a space at the Art Explosion.  The idea to write this article was my own.

 

For comments, questions, kudos on this article and for suggestion for future articles please write to art@WeAreNotAmused.com