Don Elliot Franklin Barry Gallery Indianapolis

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Happy birthday to Don Elliott!  Recently one of my long-time art newsletter readers asked me how I have built my art career.  Hmmm, I thought my art newsletter was a large part of sharing this journey.  Hahha, oops!  But, nonetheless, one of the things that I do is exhibit my art and do it in a place that permits me to meet new people.  Such was the case when I invested a whole lot of money to exhibit in New York City in 2005 (when I lived in central Texas).  

That event cost me around $10,000 (all on credit cards, I may add, a scary risk for me).  However, before that exhibit weekend was over, I had met Don.  He became one of my collectors then, as well as my new gallerist.  I remember clearly when he said to me, “Kelly, I love your work, but I must admit that it is going to take some time to develop a market for nudes in Indianapolis.” 

Not only do I appreciate his honesty, but I also feel really grateful that he has stuck by me all of these years when another gallerist might not have taken on the challenge of the Midwest.  Don has placed my artworks in collections in the USA and in Canada.  When I need advice on selling, I call him. When I need a frame that compliments my art, I give the project to Don.

 

So, “Cheers!” to a great guy.  Here are just a few of my artworks that he currently has on exhibit at the Franklin Barry Gallery… go on, visit.  Indianapolis has a lot to see!  [Don even has some notecards of images I took of the city during one of my many visits there.]

Franklin Barry Gallery / The Frame Shop
617 Massachusetts Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Tel. 317.822.8455
Contact: Don Elliott Web site: www.franklinbarrygallery.com

“Lei” and “Lui” sold together or separately.  36” x 10” oil on canvas

“Towards Siena” 24 x 16 inches, oil on board

“Il Dono” (“The Gift”), 25 x 18 inches, charcoal and pastel on brown Italian paper

“Daydreaming of Yesterday,”  18 x 25 inches, charcoal with pastel

“L’Inverno” (“Winter”), 18 x 25 inches, pastel with charcoal

One of my functional bronze artworks: 

“Oh Boy!” (5 male figures in relief, wall hung), 15 x 9 inches, bronze mirror

And these artworks that are not on my Web site, a charcoal drawing “After Prud’hon” and a small acrylic painting from Fiesole, Italy, titled, “Buon Appetito!”:

Franklin Barry Gallery / The Frame Shop
617 Massachusetts Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Tel. 317.822.8455
Contact: Don Elliott Web site: www.franklinbarrygallery.com

Happy Birthday, Don, and thank you!

Ponte Santa Trinita Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

My father has often shared his belief that while a sunset may be beautiful, it cannot compare with a sunset shared.  While I appreciate this as true, I struggle with it as well.  So much of my life has been spent alone and far too many mystical and gorgeous experiences exist now only in my own memory.  When friends and family get together after a long time apart, they often relive shared times as a way to reinforce the bond between hearts.   One new to the group may recognize the warmth of those connected, but often feels left out a bit.

Until recently, I used to live very close to Piazza Santo Spirito in Florence, Italy.  I lived in an old palazzo with a lovely corridor featuring a Della Robbia-looking (I never verified), ceramic Madonna and Child relief sculpture balconies, arched doorways and a tiny staircase winding up the inside that led to a wonderful rooftop terrace.  One former flatmate told me that he had seen the ghost who frequented our building.  She has a good energy though, and was not intimidating at all.

Piazza Santo Spirito is named after the basilica that oversees all of the neighborhood’s activities… it is one of the liveliest squares in all of Florence, day and night.  A large fountain is the centerpiece for this square and there are trees and even flowers to be seen by all (an unusual sight since most greenery in Florence is contained within the city blocks in private courtyards and one can only have an idea of what Firenze is all about by peeking in through the occasional open door).  This neighborhood is on the Oltrarno side, which means the “other side” of the Arno River, the side with fewer tourists and more artisans at work.  It is not always pretty, but I have loved living there. 

For the past three or so months, my life has unexpectedly been altered with an Italian drama involving tax evasion, blackmail, and a few sordid characters.  Ultimately, my fellow foreigner flatmate and I were evicted from our home so that the war between our Florentine landladies and our Florentine flatmate could commence in full force.  I do not even want to know what that means anymore and only feel a great sadness at being evicted because “I was too nice.”  Anyway, for all of the negativity that cost me lots of work time and my health a bit, I am relatively happy in my new place and look forward to healthier living conditions and friendships.

All that said, I live on the opposite side of the city and I miss the green.  I miss the access to 5-euro aperitivo that includes a glass of wine and more food and in a greater healthy variety than a single person could enjoy at home for anything near that price – and with no dishwashing!  The people-watching in Santo Spirito is hard to beat.  But mostly, I miss the easy access to the Trinita bridge over the nearby Arno River.  It has become my favorite spot for watching sunsets.  Sure, I can ride my bike there anytime I want, but I have a lot of work to catch up on and somehow it just seems easier to stay in my own place and get something done.

So, I hope you enjoy this mixed media painting that I made.  Creating art is the best way I know how to share some of my cherished and often solitary joys with you.  Florentine Sunset is a 12” x 16” painting from a view from the Ponte Santa Trinita.  It is available through the Franklin Barry Gallery in Indianapolis, USA. 

Other “cityscapes” can be seen here:  http://www.borsheimarts.com/painting/cityscapes.htm>. 

Incidentally, for all of the negative things I experienced in this past housing situation, there were other people who helped me with information, advice, and even just listening.  Also, several offered and shared with me their homes while my life was in limbo.  Although I was sad to leave, I was also relieved to have it all overwith, and now feel a whole lot of gratitude to long-time and new friends (foreigners and Italians, even Florentines).  Thanks everyone who has been a part of making my life positive!    

~Kelly Borsheim, artist

Yin and Yang

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Well, a lot has happened since I last wrote to you. On my end, I drove over 18 hours to a suburb of Chicago to visit Dilbara Arapova, the wife of my dear (and late) friend Vasily Fedorouk. Our visit was barely 24 hours, but we packed a lot in. I took this shot from their living room, enchanted by the morning light and shadows. Three of Vasily’s sculptures can be seen in part here.

Then I drove another four hours to get to Indianapolis to see my good friend and gallerist Don Elliott. He owns the Franklin Barry Gallery and was featuring my work for the art event. The First Friday Gallery Walk was a lot of fun. Fewer partiers and more people really interested in original art. Labor Day weekend turned out to be a better turnout than I expected! I was really happy getting to visit with kids as well as grown-ups; reconnecting with familiar faces and making some new acquaintances. We got to share stories. And I got updated on the travels of several patrons of the gallery that I have met in years past. This next image shows our little “after-party dinner” at a nearby restaurant.
Don is sitting next to me, while artist Travis Little and I hold down the end spots of our group of friends. What a day! I think that Don and I arrived at his home around 1 a.m.

I did not leave the gallery until they closed on the next day, only to drive another more than 18-hour drive back to Texas. I slept maybe 3 hours along the way, so once I returned to my home studio, I fell into a coma-like nap on Sunday. I woke to a call from John B. asking if I was close to the wildfires. Well, that was a bit sobering for an eye opener! He ended up coming over to help me pack what we could. Thankfully, I had not unpacked the art in my car that I brought back to Texas from Indy. The frustrating thing was that there was so little information. Not on TV, not radio that I found, and even the Internet offered little. As the hour got later, John just told me to give up. He believed that the authorities were more focused on getting everyone out than they were in talking about details about the fire. But then, lack of accurate information is often the case in emergencies. John, Cat (the abandoned kitten that now has a home here), and I drove off around 5 a.m. to Austin.

We drove back about seven hours later, around noon on Monday, September 5. These next three images were shot through the car windows. The first image was a fire we passed near a propane supply place not far from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. This fire had not been reported on the news that we had seen.

The middle image of this series was taken on Farm-to-Market Road 812, just inside the Bastrop County border after leaving Travis County. I must say, it is really difficult to tell distances on things like mountains … and smoke.

And this third image was shot just as we turned onto Greystone Lane. This dirt road goes for about three-fourths of a mile before my driveway starts. That may have been the closest the fires got to our neck of the woods, but it was hard to tell. We had received a call that the fire had jumped a road near the Cedar Creek post-office (a 10-minute drive by road, not sure about crow-flying distance). But I never saw anything that confirmed that the fires had moved that far south.

For the next few days, John and I returned to the house during the day, working and cleaning up dead leaves, plants, and trees, and moving it from the house. We spent the nights in Austin at John’s place with Cat.

In all honestly, I feel a bit daft showing you these not particularly dramatic images when Facebook enabled me to see more of what was going on in the thick of it. Several of my friends have lost their homes in nearby Bastrop. Too many more that I did not know have lost so much. The drought this year and the 3-digit temperatures have been with us longer than “normal” and apparently this is the worst dry spell Texas has had since recorded history.

Still today (the 9th), I have been back in my outdoor studio carving marble and working indoors during the hot time of day again. I have been sorting things and trying to figure out what I have that can be donated to many of my artist friends who are now homeless. I finished my last book edit yesterday for my project “My Life as a Street Painter in Florence, Italy” and I must say that I cannot wait to hold the book in my hands! So, good things and horrible things: what a summer of yin and yang.

Gallery Visit Indianapolis

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Well, today’s post is another invitation. But first… a little tooting the horn of my artwork:
My pastel drawing on black paper titled "World Traveler" was a finalist in the prestigious Art Renewal Center 2010-2011 ARC Salon - Still Life Category. The ARC works to promote excellence in representational art.

“World Traveler” is one of the images that you may see at my next event. I hope you will help me start of the Labor Day weekend right by checking out “First Friday Gallery Walk” in Indianapolis. Gallery owner Don Elliott and I (at least) will be on hand Friday to personally show you the latest from my studio. I would love to see you there.

2 September 2011
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
during the Gallery Walk

“Italian Living” Gallery Walk features pastel + charcoal artworks by Kelly Borsheim

Franklin Barry Gallery / The Frame Shop

617 Massachusetts Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
For information, please contact Don Elliott at the gallery via telephone at 317.822.8455.

In any event, stay safe and stay cool during the upcoming holiday weekend (here in the States anyway).

Stone Carving Pelican Lips

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Each day that I work to carve out the interior forms of my marble “Gymnast” I wonder if I am insane to have chosen to do this. However, the more the air enters the stone carving, the more I see that I made the right decision. It is slow going, and I can only appreciate that I have electric tools to speed it up a little. The difficulty has been in REACHING those inside areas.

While I work, my mind drifts onto thoughts of lips. I need to carve more on the “Gymnast”’s face, but I want to wait until the interior is more defined and I can focus on the face.

So, I will share with you part of my lips series in stone sculpture: “Pelican Lips” His dimensions are 12.5" h x 22" w x 6.5" d.

The stone is a brown marble from Canada, but the patterns in the stone look a lot like petrified wood. At the time that I carved this one, I had been seeing a lot of bird forms around me. I have watched pelicans (and their funny suicidal-looking hunting dives, straight down and head first into the water) along various coastlines throughout parts of my life. One side of the thick slab of stone in this sculpture shows a pair of human lips, while the other features a pair of pelicans. Bringing nature to humanity ;-)



If you enjoy this artwork and are interesting in purchasing him, please contact Don Elliott at the Franklin Barry Gallery / The Frame Shop
617 Massachusetts Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Tel. 317.822.8455
E-mail: theframeshopindy@aol.com

Layaway is accepted, too! Thank you for your interest in stone carving!


P.S. In this last image, you may see how, as a direct carver, I am drawing directly onto the stone. The stone tends to pale in color during the carving process, but once he is polished his true glory appears!

Art Sale Ten Year Anniversary

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
I hope that you smiled a lot through all of these recent holidays and find yourself rested and rejuvenated. I was not expecting to see this event so soon (ha!), but January 11th marks my TENth anniversary as a full-time artist. TEN YEARS! You can bet that I did not accomplish this alone (and I thank you for sharing this journey with me). It is not always an easy road, but I can imagine no other.

To celebrate, I have created several offers related to the number TEN:

* Spend TEN dollars and get $11. For every $10 spent on an original artwork by Kelly Borsheim (paintings, drawings, or bronze or stone sculpture), receive $1 in gift certificates towards your next purchase from the studio.+
* Buy ONE giclée fine art reproduction, get the second for only TEN% of normal price!++ (That is a 90% savings on the second image!)
* The first TEN people who spend $500 or more (that sounds better that TEN hundred dollars, right?) in Borsheim art and/or art products will receive a free calendar filled with images of Borsheim artworks.
*OR you may buy a 2011 calendar for only $10. (That is less than cost, but it works better for this promo, don’t ya think?) Each calendar has all twelve months with large squares on each day for planning or notes. A different Borsheim artwork is featured each month.

This is the best time to add to your art collection, especially if you have been eyeing a significant work, such as the
bronze "Gemini"

Many collectors over the years have taken advantage of my finance-charge-free Layaway Plan.
You can, too, even with these anniversary savings!

These prices will only last until 28 February.

+Fine Print: The qualifying artwork must be available and can be purchased directly from the studio or any authorized gallerist. Gift certificate amount may be applied to the second item at the time that the first is purchased, if desired, to help save on shipping and packaging expenses.

++Fine Print: The second giclée will be the same or smaller size than the one purchased at full price. Size is based on the longest dimension of the image. There is no quantity limit, just make sure that you order an even number of images! Giclée will arrive approximately two-three weeks from order date, so order early for Valentine's Day or other special occasions. You may order multiples of the same image or any combination that pleases you. At this time, however, only images shown on the Giclée page and Rudy's Treacher Collins Fundraiser page are available as giclée.

############################
Events:

First Friday Gallery Walk - Indianapolis:
THIS Friday, 7 January 2011, 6 - 9 p.m.
Exhibit continues through 15 Feb 2011

The Franklin Barry Gallery at The Frame Shop presents: "Celebrate Kelly Borsheim." Ten Years after the jump to a full-time artist, Franklin Barry Gallery will celebrate Kelly's anniversary with an exhibition of current drawings, along with other works, including oil paintings, stone and bronze sculpture. The exhibit opens on Friday January 7th during the IDADA First Friday event from 6-9 p.m. and concludes February 15th.
Gallery hours: M-F 10-6; Sat. 10-4 and by appointment. Information: 317.822.8455
617 Mass. Ave, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Indianapolis and Chicago

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I recently returned from my visit to Indianapolis for two art events at the Franklin Barry Gallery. I was charmed to meet my formerly only-through-Facebook friend and fellow artist Travis Little. Travis also has some of his mixed media figurative works at the gallery. He not only supplied the digital projector for my presentation of “My Life as On of the Madonnari (Italian street painters)”, but he also showed me around downtown Indy a bit whenever we found time away from business. I am afraid I teased him about being a groupie because he was so friendly and supportive, as well as complimentary of my work. I am honored to have made his acquaintance for real.


I hope you enjoy this self-portrait I took on a timer of Travis and me showing off some of our artwork in the gallery while owner Don Elliott was busy choosing frames and taking care of the details for the upcoming exhibit. I wanted to share this cool story: that morning I had a minor “ironing incident” with some olive oil and my skirt and Don ended up pulling some of his mother’s dresses from a closet. So, this may have been the first time I have ever worn orange before! [Don gave me this dress and the vintage slip that went with it before I left his home. How cool was that?!]


I love seeing how Don and his assistant Chuck frame my drawings and paintings. I was delighted that Don chose a thin metallic magenta frame for the oil painting “Insatiable.” I do not have an eye for framing, but this choice made this painting even more colorful and fun. For November, Don has featured this colorful large sensuous mouth in the front window of the Franklin Barry Gallery aka The Frame Shop. He also exhibits several of my series of “Lips” stone carvings. See them if you can!


-----


The morning after the First Friday Gallery Walk in Indy, I headed to Chicago to see the family of my late friend and mentor Vasily Fedorouk.. Vasily’s wife Dilbara and I enjoyed our time together and spoke a lot about ways in which we can keep alive the memory of Vasily and his art. I was thrilled to see my friend’s latest marble sculpture, but so sad to realize this was also his last. Although I am tempted to share images of this composition with you, I defer to his family on this point. Instead, I hope you enjoy this image of a vine growing in their back yard. Can you tell me what plant this is? I have never seen one like it before.

Male Nude Art Drawing

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Perhaps you remember some of the copies I have created of famous artworks. Today I want to share with you a copy I made of one of my own figure drawings. I had done a pencil sketch in Florence, Italy, of a model named Gianni (Johnny) on 20 February 2009. It was only a 40-minute sketch (two 20-minutes poses), but I rather liked him.



So recently I decided to redraw the art onto some crème Italian Umbria paper using charcoal and white pastel. These materials give me a greater range of tone to play with than pencil and I was happy that I was able to improve upon my original drawing.



“Gianni 2009”
18” x 8”
Charcoal and Pastel
Umbria paper


If interested in the figure drawing “Gianni 2009” please contact:

The Franklin Barry Gallery in Indianapolis.
617 Massachusetts Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Tel. 317.822.8455

Contact: Don Elliott

BrainStorming Ideas for a Painting

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Is it worth it to keep old sketches? I have been reviewing old works that I have kept in my studio over the years to see if any still speak to me. The image below is of a large piece of grey-primed masonite on which I painted (in oil) several sketches from life many years ago -- perhaps 1997? I always liked parts of it, but these were short poses and I did not have time to finish. I also realize that it is almost impossible to recreate a model sitting -- the lighting, the pose -- Still, does my studio need the cleaning that badly? Hint: I am not at all impressed with the job I did on the woman's face in the upper left . . .



Once I made my decision, I cut the board along a pencil line (perhaps you noticed in the image before this one). The board was then sanded and re-gessoed, pretty much leaving the figure alone. (The other part of the board was completely redone and a new composition now exists on it.) I cannot explain why I have liked this sketch of the back of a man’s head all of these years, but I do. So, I took a photo and went into Photoshop to brainstorm ideas for the rest of the composition. My first step was to decide the direction of the light that would compliment my sketch. Then I would be more able to figure out what shapes I wanted to enhance the basic design.

I often spend time admiring the skies and taking images when so moved. I have been dying to paint clouds for years and return to them often. This next was one layered image with a silhouetted tree from my yard added to give me the contrast that I was seeking. I like this ok, but was not wow'd. But I just wanted to show you that for all of the paintings that you see, there is generally a lot of "behind the scene" thinking going on to brainstorm ideas for paintings, and in some cases, many drawings or collages in one medium or another that you may never see.


I will post the finished painting here soon. He will debut in Indianapolis after I arrive at the Franklin Barry Gallery for my presentation about “My Life as a ‘Madonnara’ (street painter) in Italy” on November 5th (small admission fee). The next night is an art reception for some of my new works, as part of the IDADA First Friday Art Tour, Friday, Nov. 6th, 6-9:00 pm.

Franklin Barry Gallery, 617 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis. Information: 317/822-8455.

October is National Arts and Humanities Month

Portrait Painting of John Henderson

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I signed my portrait of John Henderson today. I wrote about starting this portrait earlier on this blog and wanted to share with you something of my subject.

Via Don Elliott at the Franklin Barry Gallery, art collectors John and Sara Campbell sent me two small photos they took of their friend “Big John” Henderson during events at the Highland Golf and Country Club in Indianapolis. John C. wrote me this in early February:

“John Henderson (or "Big John") as everyone calls him, has worked 13 years as the dining room manager at the club. He is one of our most beloved employees. He is from St. Louis and has one sister, Darlene. He has gone back to St. Louis and his sister is caring for him. He probably has only a few days left. The cancer hit him very quickly. He worked right up until before Christmas. He is about 6'4, maybe 220-30lbs. A very big, strong man. Big hands, yet long fingers with a sort of delicacy; long, muscular arms.

He worked out a lot, kept a Bible in his podium and regularly attended Church. While he was wild one in his youth, he settled down, found Jesus and was very happy with that. He never had a cross word about anyone and always looked for the best in people. He worked constantly. Had two other jobs a few years back, but cut back to just the club and one other later. Children loved him. He was always taking care of them, getting them ice cream and sodas. He loved being around them, probably because he didn't have any.

There was always a big closed mouth smile on his face. His voice was deep and so was his love of people. WE were his family. We went to see him last Monday in St. Louis. He'd lost about 30 lbs was curled up in bed and only came around slightly for a few minutes. It was a very hard visit for us.

Just to give you an idea how much he was thought of: even though he has insurance, several of the members got together and in a week and a half, raised over $60,000 to make sure he had the best of care. He always wore a black vest, black bow tie and short sleeve white shirt (even in winter). We are renaming the dining room in his honor and they wanted a portrait of him to hang in there so he'd always be with us.”

“Big John” Henderson died on Tuesday morning, February 10, 2009. He was 52 years old.