25

And into the fray we go….

2016’s got me like….

Things here at West Fraser Studio are busy. Busy with new commissions, busy with a new intern, busy with building a bigger, better website, and busy with planning a book tour. And then there’s the everyday work of making sure West has canvases to paint on, paint to paint with, lunch to keep him fueled for the day, and something approaching peace and quiet. Like I said, busy.

I relate to what Eduardo Souto de Moura (he’s an architect, his projects would make anyone panic!) says about starting a new project. First, panic. I am finally recovering from panic mode…and ready to start getting down to business mode. If West can get a new painting finished within te first few weeks of 2016, surely I can get a blogpost out!

‘New River Autumn’ 2016 Palmetto Bluff, S.C. 24″ x 30″ oil on linen
available from www.helenafoxfineart.com
843.723.0073

On January 15th we received the final proofs for ‘Painting the Southern Coast: The Art of West Fraser.’ We read them and made the final corrections. Now the book goes to the type-setter and the printer, and then we wait. The book is scheduled for release June 30, 2016. That may seem like a long time, but six months is nothing. During these next six months we market the book. Find bookstores, artist’s guilds, museums, naturalist clubs, magazines, newspapers, and radio hosts who might be interested in hosting events to celebrate this fabulous book.

I am so excited about the release of this book! I can’t hardly stand it. Six months, seriously, I have to wait SIX MONTHS!!!

West’s first book, ‘Charleston In My Time,’ is a beautiful collection of some of my favorite paintings of one of my favorite cities, but ‘Painting the Southern Coast’ is well, it’s more than just a collection of pretty pictures. It’s a collection of West’s thoughts and observations, his feelings about the places he chooses to paint, as well as the history of those places. It’s personal, a glimpse into West and how he approaches each and every subject he has captured on canvas.

“A key theme in American art history is the powerful connection that artists often form with the places they live.  West Fraser has focused his enormous talent and energy on a fascinating region too often overlooked by the national “art world.” Like the region itself, his atmospheric artworks vibrate with just the right blend of the beautiful and the ordinary—and with the ongoing push-pull between history and modernity.  This handsome overview of his painted achievement is a welcome addition to the literature of American art, and especially contemporary realism.”
Peter Trippi, Editor-in-Chief, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine (New York)

‘Talkin’ About Spring’ 2013 Charleston, S.C. 30″ x 40″ Oil on linen
Plate 35 ‘Painting the Southern Coast: The Art of West Fraser’
Univeristy of South Carolina Press 2016

“Second, conquer panic by working.”

Today, I conquer panic with work. I will work to make sure that West can paint and that ‘Painting the Southern Coast’ gets all the accolades it deserves and that it helps to cement West’s place as one of the best painters living today, because, we all know he is. 😉

Carolyn