Debra Keirce

"Pick Me" by Debra Keirce

3.5 inches x 2. 75 inches

Acrylic

Best of Show 2012 Council For the Arts, Chambursburg, PA

Pardoned from Death Row September 2012

How many winning artworks have a I burned at the stake? (Actually, the Weber grill) I will never know. Every artist experiences this, but it's happened to me three times now, so I wanted to share. 

I have this process, where I offer certain paintings to my galleries, and send others into various exhibitions. Tucked away in my bedroom, two floors away from my art studio, is where they go to die. Death row is a series of hooks on the wall, where I hang work that I am not happy with, or has not sold or performed in at least one, usually two galleries or exhibitions.  It's true. Sometimes there are pieces that could take decades to find the right buyer. It doesn't mean they are terrible works. It just means they haven't found the right home. Since I'm not a very patient person, if I don't find a place for them before I run out of room on death row, they end up in the trash bin. 

"Ahoy!" by Debra Keirce

2.5 inches x 4 inches

Acrylic

Best of Show 2015 Heartland Art Guild in Paola, Kansas

Pardoned from death row in May 2015 by David Cheifetz

HOW do these winning paintings get pardoned from death row, you might ask? Well, most of the time it is because I am entering a show, and the entry fee covers more pieces than I have in my studio. I have to be careful about this, because I try to enter work that has a consistent look, or theme. They show better that way in exhibitions. It could be that I need another piece with a black frame, or maybe it's a coastal venue, and I am sending ocean related subjects. In the case of "Ahoy!" I had picked artist friend David Cheifetz up from the airport for a workshop he was doing in Virginia. I showed him the work I was getting ready to burn, and he talked me out of turning "Ahoy!" to ash, before sending it to one more show. Thanks David!  I owe you one!

"Vanilla" by Debra Keirce

2.5 inches x 4 inches

Acrylic

Best of Show 2015 Prairie Winds Art Show in Grand Island, NE

Pardoned in March of 2015

The funny thing is, by far, the highest percentage of big wins for me, are with pieces I had given the last rites to. I don't know why this is, and frankly it shakes my confidence in being a good judge of my own work. But it's true. I admit, every time I sentence a painting now, I wonder, and ask it out loud "Are you the artwork that is going to earn me that next $1,000 prize? If so, speak now or forever hold your peace."

I know - I've become the crazy artist, speaking to inanimate objects. Oye Vey!

Please leave a comment, if this has happened to you too.