Now in its 13th year, Maxwell Alexander Gallery’s Black Fridayonline sale is once again ready to entice collectors with high-quality artwork. The annual sale, this year held on November 27, encourages buyers to log on early and be ready to refresh their browsers frequently until the sale goes live. Once open, the work famously flies out of the online store.
Jed Webster Smith, Shellacked Cowboy, ink on vintage paper mounted to canvas
“This is a show collectors look forward to each year,” says Beau Alexander, gallery owner. “We offer works by the most popular artists around the $3,500-and-under price point. All works become available at the same time, Black Friday at 9 a.m. Pacific Time, through our online store—and everything is first-come, first-served.”
One of the available works is Study for Vista Viewby Eric Bowman. The Oregon artist frequently uses studies to help arrange more complex work or to test compositional ideas.
Eric Merrell, Utah Cliffs, oil, 12 x 16 in.
“Assuming your composition/design is already worked out, the color study then serves the purpose of problem-solving color and value relationship issues before committing to the final canvas. It’s basically a dress rehearsal where you can explore, experiment and make mistakes without risk. The study also provides a tangible roadmap, speeding along the process of the final painting with confidence,” Bowman says. “However, a study often opens up new opportunities for refinement you didn’t anticipate; this is where the components of an intended composition—palette choice, shapes, edges, etc.—may need further adjustment based upon new visual discoveries in the study phase. I sometimes go through multiple studies, each one clarifying the next step until I feel satisfied to proceed onto the final version— yet I always make sure to leave just enough room for spontaneity to retain life in the final version. For my studies I use acrylics to eliminate drying time and try to bring most of them to the level of a finished work—it’s rare, but occasionally a study will even outshine the final version.”
Charles Cashwell, Together in Spirit, acrylic on board, 12 x 12 in.
Other works include pieces by Phyllis Shafer, Jed Webster Smith, Charles Cashwell and Len Chmiel.
Eric Merrell will be showing Utah Cliffs, a 12-by-16-inch landscape of a harsh desert setting that includes a cliff and a rocky region at its feet. “[Utah Cliffs] was painted along the San Juan River outside of Moab,” the artist says. “For that painting I was intrigued with the cliffs towering overhead and the ways in which the desert varnish shifted the colors in sunlight and shadow, visually different from the California desert where I spend a lot of my time.”
Phyllis Shafer, Gothic Tracery, oil on linen, 16 x 20 in.
The show has been known to sell out, with many works selling in the opening minutes. Collectors are urged to set a reminder and be online slightly earlier than 9 a.m. Pacific Time. Another helpful tip: refresh the gallery’s store page frequently leading up to the opening. —
Eric Bowman, Study for Vista View, acrylic, 6¼ x 7¼ in.
Maxwell Alexander Gallery 1300 N. Lake Avenue » Pasadena, CA 91104 » (213) 275-1060 » www.maxwellalexandergallery.com
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