Friday, January 20, 2017

Developing a Gallery Website ... With a Lot of Help from our Friends

I've been working with Spokane artist Tracy Dupuis-Roland over the last couple of months in bringing together a website for LITTLE DOG Art Gallery. Tracy has been incredibly responsive about taking my concepts and implementing them, with awesome recommendations of her own, which I've welcomed!

Webmaster Tracy

Man! Do I appreciate Tracy's speed, her innovation, and agreeability to learning new skill sets to enhance the website! The site is still being worked on, and is a little bit artist-heavy, needing more examples of the artwork in the shows. But it is live now; check it out and let me know what you think.

www.littledogartgallery.com

Reflecting on Past, Looking Ahead to Future

I've been actively engaged in building a reputation for LITTLE DOG Art Gallery as a fine art sales gallery in Spokane, Washington since May 14, 2016. I mean ACTIVELY engaged. It's a small display space, a mere 200 sq ft, with a huge front window, at 903-1/2 W Garland Avenue, next to Rocket Bakery on one side and Groove Merchants on the other.

The art exhibits change on a monthly basis, which keeps it fresh and interesting for frequent return of gallery visitors. I encourage folks to return to see new work, work of new artists, new themes and subject matter.

One of our most discussed, interactive shows was "Origins of Fear" an open call to artists show in October curated by Megan Holden. Much to my extreme delight, the subject was taken to heart and some very provocative, thought-inducing paintings, photographs, viewer interaction pieces, mixed media, 3D art, kinetic art and drawings were submitted for juror selection. Holden selected an incredible body of artwork and the show went up. Gallery visitors really looked at the work presented, and some of the images were unsettling to see or imagine, but there seemed to be a tacit understanding, or in some cases, recognition of a portrayed fear. With that show we had the viewers vote on their choice as to which work of art moved them the most. Fascinating!

Wait 'Til They Go to Sleep by Joseph Tomlinson

Room 208 aka Mother Please by Tom Norton

Loss of Family Home to Wildfire, Digital Collage by Julie and Kristen Gautier-Downes


It was with that particular show I knew my goal of presenting artwork that people could view and come away with better appreciation, challenged to think about what they saw, or inspired or encouraged to incorporate art in their daily existence, was on the right course.

Since then, we've had other shows with softer themes, featuring art by out-of-the-region artists as well as work of Spokane artists. It's provided access to art work people haven't access to in other venues in Spokane. It's been nice to have something exclusive to LITTLE DOG Art Gallery.

Looking ahead to continued growth and community interaction!