<![CDATA[Art by James Spell - Blog]]>Tue, 03 Mar 2026 20:39:13 -0600Weebly<![CDATA[My First Solo Show!]]>Tue, 21 Oct 2025 18:53:37 GMThttp://www.jspell.net/blog/my-first-solo-showI'll be hosting my first solo exhibition, "Toward a New Nostalgia" with the Regional Arts Commission in the City Foundry on November 13th-21st! I'm terribly excited and can't wait to show off all the new works and connect with everyone. I'll be sending invitations out shortly, and I truly hope you can attend.

Location:
St Louis City Foundry
3730 Foundry Way Suite 149 St. Louis, MO 63110

Schedule:
Friends and Family Thursday Nov 13th: 5-8pm
Grand Opening Friday, 11/14: 5-10pm.
Saturday 11/15: 3-9pm
Sunday 11/16: 3-7pm
Tuesday 11/18: 5-9pm - Covid Conscious Night - MASKS REQUIRED
Weds-Thurs 11/19-11/20: 1-3pm
Closing Friday 11/21: 4pm-7pm
Other times available by appointment.

Parking will likely be tight for the Grand Opening. If you'd like to schedule a private meeting to avoid the crowd, please contact me directly.

RSVP Here

I appreciate everyone who's come along with me on this grand adventure, and I can't wait to see what the future holds!

This event was made possible by the Regional Arts Commission of Saint Louis and ARPA for the Arts.
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]]><![CDATA[New Mexico Sunset in place]]>Tue, 21 Oct 2025 18:40:48 GMThttp://www.jspell.net/blog/new-mexico-sunset-in-place"New Mexico Sunset" was picked up by a lovely family for an anniversary gift! I wish the computer screen could show just how vibrant the colors are, but alas, browsers flatten everything. 
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]]><![CDATA[Balloons at the Park in Busey Bank]]>Fri, 10 Jan 2025 05:49:05 GMThttp://www.jspell.net/blog/balloons-at-the-park-in-busey-bankHere are some wonderful photos of "Balloons in the Park" in the 1868 Exhibition! They were all very friendly and gracious.

Edit: Busey Bank loved the painting so much that they bought it! 
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]]><![CDATA[Saint Louis Art Fair: 2024]]>Fri, 10 Jan 2025 05:41:17 GMThttp://www.jspell.net/blog/saint-louis-art-fair-2024Here are some of photos from the Saint Louis Art Fair, where I got to show work in the emerging artist's tent!  Working with Sarah Umlauf and the other artists was a wonderful experience.
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]]><![CDATA[Blast from the past]]>Thu, 15 Dec 2022 16:25:09 GMThttp://www.jspell.net/blog/blast-from-the-past
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This is from small group show back in 2008.  I don't remember who hosted it.
]]><![CDATA[8x8x8 Art show at the Foundry Art Centre in St Charles]]>Fri, 02 Dec 2022 22:27:09 GMThttp://www.jspell.net/blog/8x8x8-art-show-at-the-foundry-art-centre-in-st-charlesThis is the setup for my display at the Foundry Art Centre: I had 8' x 8' to fill.  Opening day is today (12/2/22) and this will be up for about two weeks.  Everything is in the back corner, but the work is bright enough that it commands attention in the room. 

​Hopefully I'll see you there!
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]]><![CDATA[Context: Beach House II]]>Wed, 05 Oct 2022 21:34:30 GMThttp://www.jspell.net/blog/context-beach-house-ii
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"Beach House II" shown outside and in my library.  54" x 60" is very large - I could barely get it up the stairs from my studio.  It took forever to get the right shade of yellow, and I'm really loving how it turned out.  
]]><![CDATA[Shipping Paintings!]]>Wed, 05 Oct 2022 21:25:41 GMThttp://www.jspell.net/blog/shipping-paintings
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Packing up "Waves Roll Away From the Shore" for shipping to Washington DC.

I know it's a little hard to see, but the blue paint is actually a mosaic of the reversed side of a latter color.  I work in layers, and I wasn't entirely happy with the bottom part of the painting, so I scraped it off.  The back side of the dried paint was much more intriguing, so I flipped the pieces over and stuck them back on, giving that section of the canvas a significantly different look and texture than the rest.

This one was a lot of fun to make, but the oils took forever to dry!
]]><![CDATA[Context: It's Electric!]]>Wed, 05 Oct 2022 21:23:07 GMThttp://www.jspell.net/blog/size-check-its-electric
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It's always fun to see just how big a 7' canvas is in reality.  This one is currently brightening up my living room, with a 50" plasma tv for scale. I love the bright colors!
]]><![CDATA["Where the Water Lilies Grow" in the 2022 Angad Art Hotel biennial.]]>Wed, 05 Oct 2022 21:15:25 GMThttp://www.jspell.net/blog/where-the-water-lilies-grow-in-the-2022-angad-art-hotel-biennial
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"Where the Water Lilies Grow" was chosen for the Angad Art Hotel's 2021 biennial.  Building the frame for this was a fun challenge, and this is a good way to see how large a 48x60 canvas really is!
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