I tend to work in batches — that is to say, I have several paintings going – at various stages of development – at any given time. The shelf allows me to conveniently display the works-in-progress, and then exchange the painting on my easel to work on for a while.

Here you can see my studio with several unfinished canvases on the new shelf.

What systems do you use to streamline your studio and help keep yourself productive?

For those of you not familiar with Western North Carolina, ‘AVL’ is the common abbreviation for Asheville, NC, which in addition to being where I live has a well-deserved reputation for being an artsy city.

I decided to make a website that would be the go-to informational hub for the visual arts in Asheville – by listing comprehensive directories of local artists and galleries, and publishing an events calendar of art show openings, open studios, gallery walks, etc.

In short, I set out to create a valuable local arts resource.

The website launched on November 15, 2011.

AVLarts.com is clean and simple in design and invites the community to suggest artists, galleries and events to be added.

There is no fee to be listed. However the directories are curated (by me) in order to be valuable and comprehensive, but not exhaustive.

It is also important to me that AVLarts.com be uncluttered, so there are no banners or advertisements.

Sounds like a lot of work. What’s the catch? Where’s the payoff?

Connections.

This project has the potential to position me as a valuable asset for local art-lovers, artists, galleries and those who plan art events — all the people I want to connect with.

After being on-line for only three days, I’ve already made some solid connections.

My plan is to maintain the website for a year and see what happens.

I’m going forward with the philosophy that ‘if you build it (and promote it) they will come.’ I believe that giving back to my community in this way will be well worth the effort by introducing me to people I want to know.

Am I crazy? I guess we’ll see.

Here’s a comment from Ellie Giannelli, posted on Alyson Stanfield’s ArtBizBlog Sept 9, 2011 - Post Title: Selecting Images for Greeting Cards)

Comment: Ellie Giannelli September 9, 2011 at 6:45 am

“I loved the whole array of Brennen’s pieces. They have a warmth that makes my eyes want to linger and look again to see what I might have missed at first glance. They give me a feeling of an unhurried pace. These images all have a country-like theme going on with seasonal views. He could make a sampling of views as a boxed set, rather than having 10 cards with the same view. I personally like having a set of nice cards on hand with varied pictures.”

Thank you Ellie for making my day!

Set of 5 greeting cards - Original paintings by Brennen McElhaney

I am delighted to offer a set of 5 greeting cards that feature my landscape paintings.

This set of greeting cards developed organically from promoting my artwork. I produced one card, “Green Fields”, for a campaign to introduce my artwork to major donors of the Asheville Art Museum - http://www.ashevilleart.org . And while postcards are nice (and more cost effective), they don’t have the same class as a greeting card — especially a hand written card in a hand addressed envelope.

My production schedule was accelerated by a friend of mine, Trent Adams, who enthusiastically ordered several hundred to send to clients as birthday cards. (Trent works as a financial advisor in Orange County. – http://trentonadams.com )

I must give special thanks to Alyson Stanfiled and other Facebook friends and fans that offered their encouragement and input for selecting images. Also, thanks to PSPrint – http://psprint.com – for handling the printing and production.

The set of 5 cards are available for purchase on my website.

Artists periodically need to be reminded, (or remind themselves) that risks, exploration, and innovation are part of the artistic process. Conversely, staying with a safe tried-and-true formula kills creativity and produces something that’s not really art (sorry T. Kinkade.)

In this spirit, I submit to you, my Artistic License.

Artistic License – n.  the freedom to create an artwork, musical work, or piece of writing based on the artist’s interpretation and mainly for effect; also called poetic or creative license.

The back of my Artistic License reads:

“The bearer of this license is hereby authorized, at his sole discretion, to tweak, bend, alter, modify, exaggerate, reinterpret, experiment with, employ, (or not employ) and/or disregard the generally accepted rules, methods, conventions and paradigms of art creation, without hindrance or impediment.”

So, here’s to the Muse!

Opening Reception – Friday, July 1, 2011  3:00 – 5:00 PM - Show runs through July 31, 2011

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
11 West Jones Street, 
Raleigh, NC 27601  - (919) 733-7450 x 369

Western North Carolina Plein Air Painters

About the Nature Art Gallery

The Gallery exhibits original, nature-inspired, two and three dimensional artwork in all mediums by many of the finest artists and artisans in the Southeast.

Mon.-Sat. 9-5, Sun. noon-5, and First Fridays until 9pm. Admission is free.

For more information, please visit The Museum Store or call (919) 733-7450 x 369.

High Country Lake - Acrylic - 14 x 18 ©BMcElhaney

TEN ARTISTS, ONE INSPIRATION

Maria Santomasso-Hyde, owner and director of the Alta Vista Gallery, gave her gallery artists an assignment: to do a painting based on the same photo reference. The resulting collection of works will be the basis for a show entitled “Different Strokes”. The fun of the project will be to see how each artist paints the scene in his or her own style.

The artists are: Joan Sporn, Sheila Hancock, Jean Baird, Tonya Bottomley, Bennette Rowan, John Anderson, Bob Francisco, Sherrill Wieland, Brennen McElhaney, Jean Pollock, and Maria Santomasso-Hyde.

Opening reception June 25th 2011, 11:00 AM– 5:00 PM

Alta Vista Gallery is located in Valle Crucis, NC (near Banner Elk)
2839 Broadstone Road
Valle Crucis, NC 28604
(828) 963-5247