I have a moving sale update. Just received these pictures from happy customers, Todd & Erin Ziaja. My paintings, Get It While You Can, and Reliable are now theirs, and hanging up in their home in Austin, Texas. I am always very grateful when my work is displayed on the walls of someone’s home. I also appreciate seeing how they’ve chosen to display my work. It feels great.
They look great! Thanks for the pictures, Todd.
I’m trying to be more comfortable showing work in progress. Here are details of the new series I have been working on. They are far from finished. Still processing the process and experimenting with mixed media materials. I’m not sure how I feel about them yet. That’s how it always is with the creative process. All part of the pugilistic battle between an artist and their work.
I’m back. I was on vacation in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. My first real vacation in five years. I traveled with my wife Kelli, my stepdaughter Grace, and her friend Bella. We stayed in Hull, a peaceful, friendly small town on the coast. It was much needed. We had a very nice time.
Back home in Chattanooga now, and back in the studio with Remy, my puppy. I’m picking up where I left off on some new paintings while catching up on the January 6th hearings.
I sure hope these hearings have an impact. Beyond preaching to the choir. So far. I’ve been impressed with the linear presentation. I have numerous thoughts about multiple subjects pertaining to the attempted coup of 1/6/2021. At the moment, I don’t want to write those thoughts. Right now, I want to listen and be further enlightened and get back to creative work.
Been exploring and experimenting. Having fun seeing where these are going. Building momentum, but far from finished. A lot more exploration and experimentation to come. Many layers to go The creative journey continues down its winding path.
I’ve been in the studio for hours at a time, almost every day. Lots of new ideas happening. Writing things down. Sketching. Doodling.
I have also started a new series of work based on a new subject. The old school boombox, and the time period in which they had their heyday. I’m also digging into their impact in my life and cultural significance overall. I don’t have much else to say about it, nor do I know how these will end up looking. That in itself is appropriate and advantageous. It feels like a charge. I’m excited about the ability to experiment and explore and further process my thoughts and further develop my concept.
Studio 2600 is the name of my art studio, at least for now it is. Sometimes a whim sticks around, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Studio 2600 ends up being the permanent name.
As you can see from these photos, I’m getting settled in. Feeling more comfortable in my new art studio every day.
I’ve already taken the longview. I hope this is my art studio for years, even decades.
I walked around the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus the other day. I was there to fill out my new hire paperwork! I am very much looking forward to being an adjunct professor here next semester.
I’m still a Part-time Assistant Professor of Art at Kennesaw State University. Love it there too. However, full-time faculty positions are scarce and the amount of work adjunct professors receive is capped. Therefore, I had to double-dip in two states to increase my opportunities and income. It all became part of my master plan when Kelli and I moved to Chattanooga last year.
I haven’t been full-time faculty at SCAD since 2018. Yeah, it’s been a minute, but the lemons are finally starting to taste like lemonade.
Go UTC Mocs! Go KSU Owls!
More proud professor moments. The last gallery for this school year.
The 2021-22 school year in complete. Summer break is here. Time to show off the best work from my drawing students at Kennesaw State University. This year I taught Drawing II, all three classes, both semesters. Here are some amazing details from the best work I received this school year. Some of these students made truly incredible drawings. As always, I’m so proud of them when they can combine their hard work and talent into something of excellence.
Project: Self Portrait
Media: scratch board
More proud professor moments.
The 2021-22 school year in complete. Summer break is here. Time to show off the best work from my drawing students at Kennesaw State University. This year I taught Drawing II, all three classes, both semesters. Here are some amazing details from the best work I received this school year. Some of these students made truly incredible drawings. As always, I’m so proud of them when they can combine their hard work and talent into something of excellence.
Project: Symmetrical Fruit & Vegetable Drawing
Media: color pencil
Proud professor moment.
The 2021-22 school year in complete. Summer break is here. Time to show off the best work from my drawing students at Kennesaw State University. This year I taught Drawing II, all three classes, both semesters. Here are some amazing details from the best work I received this school year. Some of these students made truly incredible drawings. As always, I’m so proud of them when they can combine their hard work and talent into something of excellence.
Project: Achromatic Still Life & Monochromatic Still Life
Media: graphite (charcoal optional), color pencil
“What a ridiculous clusterfuck of totally uncool jokers. I make my work about this kind of sadly foolish farce. I’m waiting for all of them to sue me for copyright infringement.”
(speaking about Supreme Lifestyle Brand)
Highlights from the Barbara Kruger Exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. Photos taken 12/23/21.
Highlights from the Barbara Kruger Exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. Photos taken 12/23/21.
Highlights from the Barbara Kruger Exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. Photos taken 12/23/21.
Highlights from the Barbara Kruger Exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. Photos taken 12/23/21.
Last year, when I was home for the holidays, I saw the remarkable Barbara Kruger exhibition “Thinking of You, I Mean Me, I Mean You,” at the Art Institute of Chicago. Barbara Kruger is one of my favorite artists, and absolutely one of my biggest artistic influences. I was so happy to see her exhibition, I bought our tickets months in advance. My wife Kelli, stepdaughter Grace and my Mom went to the exhibition with me. They were unfamiliar with her work but loved the exhibition too. All three were blown away. I can’t even describe how much this pleased me.
Surprise, I took a lot of pictures! I’ll share my favorites here in a series of photo galleries coming up next.
Day by day, I’m making this space my own.
First order of business is to move out of my storage unit and move into the new studio space. While I do this, I’m also meticulously going through everything. I have years of things to go through and selectively purge. Time to take inventory. Time to get rid of the broken and unusable. Time to organize my materials. Time to get a few more things to make this studio even more functional. Then it’s time to create!
I bought the house two doors down to keep as an investment property AND to use as my art studio!!! Throughout my professional life, I’ve managed to offset my mediocre income with wise real estate decisions. This was only possible because of the money I made from the sale of my loft in Atlanta. Thank you Atlanta Beltline! Hopefully this house is just the latest wise real estate decision. It should be, it really should. This might be the single greatest gift I have ever given myself. It’s not a gift, but I like to think of it as one because I am grateful.
Here’s how it went down. I needed a new workspace. Our new house is fantastic. I love it. However, there is zero space for an art studio. When searching for a home in Chattanooga, finding a house with enough space for an art studio was part of our plan. What we ended up doing was buy a house without space for an art studio but on a lot big enough to build one. Therefore, we planned to build something that would be part art studio and part shed to store our outdoor belongings.
I started sketching what I envisioned the structure to look like and reached out to a series of local contractors. I was having trouble getting interest because my job was too small for most building contractors. While in the middle of this process, I noticed a “For Sale” sign in the yard of the house two doors down from ours. I told Kelli about it, saying almost half-jokingly, that I should buy it. Buy that house instead building something on our property. She said it sounded like a great idea, and I should at least look into it. Look into it I did.
The price was right. I decided to make an offer! The house had been used as rental property for a number of years. It needed some fixing up if it was going to used as a primary residence. However, because it was going to be used as my art studio, it was basically ready to go as is. I’m oversimplifying the process, of course. Bottom line, I bought it. The house is now mine.
I’ve never had more than a spare bedroom for a studio. Now I have an entire two bedroom house for my art studio! I’m so psyched about that. Not only that, this place has a million dollar view and a ton of investment potential. You can see downtown Chattanooga from my front porch.
Add this to the list of major changes in 2021. Geez.
I’m thrilled. I have no regrets. Maybe I’ll rent out some of the space to share with another artist. I’m in no hurry to make a decision about that, and that feels good in itself. I love the fact that I can walk two doors down and be at work in my space. This is now and it’s also the future. As I mentioned earlier, this might be the single greatest gift I have ever given myself.
I’m sure I’ll post more about this at a later date. Meanwhile, here are a few pictures of my new art studio, and the view!
Once I decided to move, I knew I had to have an artwork moving sale. My small, one room studio was jammed with my art. Paintings made and exhibited over the years. So prices were slashed, and deals were made. Paintings were picked up. Paintings were dropped off. Paintings were shipped.
This photo was sent to me by the happy customers. My painting looks magnificent in their spacious home. Love it.
All told these were the paintings sold in the moving sale:
Bad Scene
Buying Power
The Fifth Floor
Half Past You
Alpha Fail
Shortcuts & Long Shots
Reliable
Get It While You Can
Vulgar Praise
Thank you again for your support.
They can spray all they want, I’ve got a lot of posters and a sense of purpose.
Brett Callero: Visual Artist 