Huffington favorites that haven't sold...yet.

We’ve been snowed and iced in all week here in Atlanta so we had plenty of time to think about this funny little art phenomenon that we see all the time at the gallery.

Any artist or gallerist will tell you that there is no way to truly predict sales – it’s just one of the many idiosyncrasies about this business that makes it challenging, exciting and rewarding. Most professional artists would say that their sales are cyclical - and the galleries would probably back that up, too. One minute, the artist’s paintings are flying off the wall and the next minute they’re not. We can’t always definitively track the sales back to anything we’ve done here at the gallery, but we know that raising awareness of the artist through media exposure, advertising, social media venues and introducing them to collectors is a huge part of it. But in the end, the painting has to connect with a collector and that’s a little like falling in love. It either works or it doesn’t.

We’re totally fine with that because we know it’s just how the business works. If you’ve been reading this little blog, you know that we get attached to certain paintings and even though we’re delighted to see them go to new and happy homes, we know we will pine for them just a little when they sell.

We all got to chatting one day here at the gallery and talking about our painting “crushes” and how we’re secretly glad they haven’t flown off the walls…yet:

Ann

Brigitte Curt, High Tide in the Afternoon

If truth be told, I was visiting what Sam Jones cleverly calls “The Loovre” (i.e. the Huff Harrington loo, which happens to be a gallery of floor to ceiling paintings – some of which are our best jewels which can be savored at one’s leisure), when I finally had a chance to really study and admire Brigitte Curt’s High Tide in the Afternoon. With this up close and personal interaction, the painting literally took my breath away. Warm and glowing, there is just the slightest glint of light that bounces off the water. The birds provide a subtle contrast that gives the painting life. And the palette, a beautiful mix of complementary colors, works magically to give this painting a timeless quality. It is not sentimental or clichéd. It is simply gorgeous. I know we should probably move it out of the Loovre into a more public spot in the gallery. But then I wouldn’t have my selfish moments with it. And I’m not quite ready to give it up yet!

Meg

Shelley Hopkins, Blossom

I usually know I’m in love with a painting when I can’t quite explain why I like it so much. It’s just a feeling I get. But this one appeals to me on so many levels. First, Shelley’s style is whimsical, folksy and just plain fun. I love how her definitive technique peels away so many layers of stuff, leaving the subject and its meaning clear for all to see. I love the simplicity of the girl (yes, I’m picking up on the daughter/girl imagery) and her quiet fascination with the empty bird cage. Where’s the bird? Did she accidentally let it out? Did she intentionally set it free? Is she a teenager trying to escape her own cage of little-girlness? Shelley also always incorporates cross-hatches in her work, which symbolize children’s growth. And lastly, the dramatic black, chalky background, polka dots and charming little floral shapes give this painting a feeling of innocence and youth. I have no doubt that this painting won’t last long here at the gallery, but I am happy to feast my eyes on it as long as it’s here.

Linda

Mark Lague, Alone at a Paris Cafe

My favorite painting that has not sold yet is Alone at a Paris Cafe, by Mark Lague. I am particularly drawn to this exquisite piece not only for the beautiful palette of reds, blues and golds, and not only because of the way Mark uses his brush and palette knife to create a unique dance of strokes on the surface of his canvas. It is much more personal for me. I see the young blonde woman as myself, as a college student. That was the age that I started longing to go to Paris, to sit just as the young woman is doing, all day, over a cafe au lait and a pain au chocolat, reading Colette. Luckily, I have realized this dream, and to this day find being "Alone at a Paris Cafe" to be one of life's guilty little pleasures!

Sam

Ewa Rzeznik, Clearing Skies

Growing up in Florida, you tend to think of the Atlantic Ocean as your front yard and the Gulf as your back yard. So it's no surprise that I am drawn to Ewa Rzeznik's Clearing Skies because it takes me back to a time when a simple walk on the beach was not a short vacation trip event but was a weekly and often daily occurrence.

For me, Ewa has captured the tranquility, peace and serenity of the ocean that so many of us equate with an escape from all concerns and cares when surrounded by the beauty and soothing rhythm of the waves.

Ewa is a master of painting a scene with an economy of strokes. Her use of the palette knife creates art that is so textural, you feel that if you touch the painting, you are actually touching the sand and her reflections are so exquisite, you might expect to see your own face reflecting back from the painting.

In this particular painting she has placed the subjects surrounded by the ocean's water and reminds me of how comforting the ocean's music can be.

Gazing at this painting is like taking a mini-vacation without having to travel. This painting could almost be considered therapeutic.

I hope it goes to a good home.

Sarah

Aaron Whitehouse, Eyeing Eternity

Aaron Whitehouse is one of the newest artists added to the Huffington stable, and I'm so excited about his work! To appreciate his stunning resin pieces, they need to be seen up on a wall, under lights. I was amazed at the depth and layers of complexity that emerged when light shines down on the smooth, glassy surface of his work. These pieces project off the wall towards the viewer, drawing you into the three-dimensional composition. It's electric. And stunning. He has created true show-stoppers that will knock your socks off when you first lay eyes of them.

This piece in particular, Eyeing Eternity, manages to convey serenity and energy at the same time. It's like looking into a pool of water that has no bottom and seems to go on for, well, eternity. Various shades of blue create the depths. It's tempting to reach out and touch it, in order to break the perfectly calm surface. This piece gives off a solid, weighty presence within a room, due to its unique creation process. Aaron acts as a sort of mad scientist, combining various chemicals and epoxy resins to construct these masterpieces. His work is like nothing I've ever seen before, and I'm happy to enjoy looking at it for however long (or short) it stays in the gallery.

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We're getting back in the swing of things after "Atlanta SnowJam '11" and are looking forward to our Grand Affair opening next Friday, January 21. We can't wait to visit and mingle with our wonderful clients and artists- an especially exciting prospect after being cooped up inside with limited company all this week.

Do you have a favorite piece that hasn't sold yet? Check out our website and let us know which pieces you're enjoying looking at but know will be gone in a jiffy.

Tata!

HH

Hop to it, Huffingtons!

Like every business that we’ve ever been involved with, this one comes with its share of glam and the not-so-glam. Of course, we mostly dwell on the glam parts, which are so plentiful and fun that they far outweigh the other. But there are times when the not-so-glam takes over, when some of us adopt nicknames like “Linderalla” and “Schleperella,” and others among us come nail bitingly close to throwing in the towel and calling it a day. And then usually something good happens.

Yesterday was one of those days.

We’ve been merrily preparing for one of our most fun and popular shows, our annual “Bastille Day” bash, which features new works from some of our wonderful French artists, as well as some French inspired work by other artists. The problem was that we were missing seven important paintings for the show from one of our key players, Ewa Rzeznik.

We knew they’d been shipped in a big box from France three weeks ago, and when they didn’t arrive as expected, we exchanged several frantic phone calls with Ewa to try to find them. The final tracking information from the shipper’s website was none too reassuring: “Delivered to destination,” it stated, with no further explanation. Imagine trying to track down a package with the French national post office! And to make matters worse, imagine doing this on Bastille Day!

Here’s how our not-so-glam day evolved:

11:45 – Frantic phone call to Ewa: Still no package, no phone numbers to call, no paintings, and our phone is ringing off the hook with festive followers asking us about tonight’s show.

12:00 – More frantic phone calls, to local post offices.

12:15 – A live person answers the phone at the Sandy Springs post office!! After being on hold for a surprisingly short time, she says, “yes, we’ve got your package – it’s been here since July 3^rd. We were just about to send it back to France.”

12:16 – No time to question how this could have happened, to tell her we never got a notice or to wonder why it was there. No time to ask any questions or point any fingers. Meg jumps in her car and dashes off to the post office, ID in hand.

1:15 – Meg returns with the package and we tear it apart, spilling Styrofoam peanuts all over the floor, while oohing and aahing with relief and excitement that all seven paintings have arrived safely and are as beautiful as expected.

1:30 – We quickly sweep up the front rooms before spreading peanuts all over the gallery.

2:00 – We photograph, measure, and inventory all the paintings.

3:00 – The paintings are all odd French sizes so we don’t have any frames for them. But we do manage to squeeze one painting into a gorgeous existing frame.

3:30 – We print labels and completely rehang the show to accommodate the new work. In our frantic hurry, we forget to tell Ewa that her paintings have arrived!

4:00 – We add a page to the website for Ewa’s new work, so thankful that after all these months, we can actually have something on her page that is not sold!

Ann & Meg unpacking Ewa Rzeznik’s new work. 1 down, 7 to go!

4:30 – We publish the website and send out an email to some of Ewa’s fan club, announcing the new paintings and telling them to come to our show which starts in … yeeks … 90 minutes!

4:45 – Phone rings. It’s Ewa. “You got the paintings!” she exclaims, as we overhear fireworks popping in the distance from her local Bastille Day celebration.

We assure her that they finally arrived, just in the nick of time, and she thanks us for getting them up on the website so fast. She marvels at the irony of international air travel and tells us that when she left for her Bastille Day celebration, her paintings were lost. When she returned, they were found and up on our website!

5:00 – Run home. Change clothes. Powder nose. Feed kids. Run back to Gallery.

6:00 – As the first of many festive followers arrive at our party, Meg and I turn to each other, clink our glasses and say, Happy Bastille Day! We’re back in the glam.

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Here’s a peek at Ewa’s new work:

Fishing Together

Hand in Hand with Our Best Friend

My Best Helper

They’re Here Somewhere

Wait Up!

We’re Flying!

On a Mission With Our Best Friend

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We hope you all enjoyed our Bastille Day celebration last night! It was so wonderful to see so many of you out and about, supporting us and commemorating the storming of the Bastille.

Tata!

HH