Former Tucker Artist Seeks Funding

Though I no longer live in the neighborhood, Tucker is still dear to my heart - I still keep up with news through Patch, a Tucker Yahoo Group, and personal connections. In addition, Kevin Madigan, our esteemed editor, has been kind enough to allow me to post this article sharing my most recent project with you - a project for which I hope to receive funding so as to complete.

Even as I spent my last few months in Georgia hunting down the next hot story, I was moonlighting it as an oil painter. I have been a visual artist for a very long time, having mastered most of my technique at Georgia State University. I have not followed a traditional artistic career, and now I find myself living in Western North Carolina seeking to pursue art by collaborating with local arts groups and attending craft fairs. My work among artists and nature's beauty here has inspired an ambitious project: 90 Paintings in 90 Days.

I am seeking funding for an Epic Painting project through the site Kickstarter. I propose to paint 90 landscape paintings in 90 days. I'm basing them on a book titled Turner at the Tate which shows all the Turner pieces in collection at the Tate Britain Museum in London. His work has always inspired me, both technically and artistically, and I have found his beautiful paintings work well when reproduced on weathered and river-beaten wood boards we find on local walks. The marriage of old British seascapes and landscapes with the natural beauty of Appalachia will hopefully emerge in my pieces, once I complete this project.

It's one thing to find three or four, or even fifteen pieces of driftwood to gesso over and turn into art - and another indeed to find 90! Similarly, oil paints are not cheap to come by and I estimate that, a third through the process, my already-depleted supply of materials would give out altogether. For these and other reasons associated with subsidizing this project, I am seeking $3,200 from the general public, so as to paint 90 small to medium traditional oil paint landscapes onto pieces of driftwood. This translates to a 630 hour committment to reinterpretations of a master's work. I will keep an ongoing blogging and video update of my efforts as I go along, and, after the process, I will take my finished product and promote it in various galleries.

I have four days left in my funding - only until Feb. 4. So far I have had two media mentions in local papers (a mention in the Weaverville Tribune's online portal and an article in the Marshall paper, photo attached) and I even received a friendly email from the Tate museum in London when I alerted them to my project. I even had the opportunity to give a presentation in the nearby town of Hot Springs, NC to over 40 people regarding painting in general and this project in particular.

I still have a considerable way to go before I meet my goal, however, which is why I turn to you.

If I fail to meet my funding goal, I will receive no funds, and all funds will return to those who donated.

I have found a private investor who's willing to donate $1000. However, I need to come up with the rest - and that's where you come in. If you, or anybody you knew, found my project in any way interesting, I beseech you to contribute, whatever you can, to my project. The link, again, is http://kck.st/tC9jLX.

I will treasure any donation, and urge readers to forward this story to anyone who might find this specific project interesting. I'm fairly new at this and the whole process has been somewhat onerous, though in many ways, even if I don't meet my final goal, the effort has been worth it.

Thanks, and have a great week!

Alicia Araya is a former Tucker Patch freelance writer. Among the pieces she wrote for us are: