Joie de Vivre

Chorus of Dancers 30 x 25 in. oil on canvas

I just got back from the Startup Art Fair at Hotel Del Sol. Like ArtPad at the Phoenix Hotel in past years, two floors of Midcentury Modern motel rooms encircle a swimming pool for a glamorous and relaxed setting. Each room is a temporary gallery, giving a feeling of getting to peek behind private doors - with the chance to step outside and get some fresh air in between each exhibition. However, while ArtPad was populated by commercial galleries, Startup is for artists who do not have representation, including those whose galleries have had to close in the recent property bloodbath that San Francisco is going through. I really thought the art was just as strong as at any gallery-backed art fair. I saw many people I knew through so many different parts of life, and had lovely conversations with some new people. My favorite pieces were Naomi Frank's sincere oils of gorgeous and glamorous things, Bijan Yashar's photographs of light reflections on classical paintings, and Joy Broom's transformations of paper mementos into beautiful objects with a life of their own.
ArtSpan put out a call for ten artists to show in their room and I applied, ready to hang On the Dance Floor over a door for the party atmosphere and at the last minute chickening out and submitting something else. I wasn't selected but enjoyed the ArtSpan room which was heavy on sculpture - a good idea as Hotel Del Sol asks that no new holes be put in the walls.
Speaking of On the Dance Floor, pictured here is another painting I restretched and recolored until I was much happier with it. Happy May Day!