For the month of November Society Life magazine published its annual Top Gifts For Her and Him. So we we were delighted when the editorial staff invited us to include one of our beautiful artworks in the guide. Now gift givers this season will find art high on the list of possible gifts “for her”, alongside more traditional items such as an evening of wining and dining, a spa massage, a favorite gadget, and of course diamonds!

Society Life magazine isn’t online, so I’ll quote the printed article, complete with a picture of Faith Jessup’s beautiful work:

Gift of Art — Lizard with Peonies

“Denton based artist Faith Scott Jessup is a realist painter, but her interest lies in creating a world of impossibilities. In her fluid paintings she often juxtaposes animals with everyday objects, imagining them as actors on a darkened stage with a single source of light. Lizard with Peonies is an oil on canvas, gallery wrapped, 48 inches high by 36 inches wide. This painting and others are available at art251 located at 251 Town Center Lane #2109 in the Keller Arthouse.”

By the way, the original is gorgeous. So, while the image of “Lizard with Peonies” looks good online and in print, the full scale original is fluid and luminous and lush and subtle and romantic and…

Well, perhaps you should just come and see it for yourself, and then buy it “for her”.

We’ll be open late for Ft.Worth Gallery Night on Saturday September 6, from 6-9pm serving free refreshments.

We’re the only commercial art space in Northern Tarrant county participating in this event. All the other galleries and museums are located in Ft.Worth and Arlington. So, we’d be delighted to see fellow Keller residents join us to celebrate Gallery Night in Keller!

The non-profit space, Young Artists of Texas (YAT) is also participating and holding an artists reception at Keller City Hall, which is a stone’s throw away from art251. So, if you’re on the steps of City Hall, look towards the fountain and beyond it you’ll see our distinctive art251 sign.

Below, our Gallery Night ad in Ft.Worth Weekly, August 27 and September 3 issues.

Once a month Society Life magazine shows up in the mailboxes of residents of Keller, Westlake, Southlake, Colleyville, Grapevine and Trophy Club. The magazine is distributed to 36,000 homes in our target area. So, we’ve bought some ad space over the next several months to get the word out about our favorite art space, Kimbell Art Museum not withstanding (yes, I am biased).

Here’s a sneak peek at our Grand Opening ad for Society Life’s September edition. It usually arrives mid-month, so look out for it around September 15. When I get more high quality images of our artists’ art I’ll be able to construct different ads, featuring other artists, for the October and November editions.

Last week we whet our appetites and wet our feet on our first art251 ad. Today we have moved on to large scale banners. Tomorrow perhaps we’ll shroud our entire suburb in a crimson Cristoesque veil emblazoned with “art251″. In the meantime, back to the banner. We just finished an 8ft by 3 ft banner to help us spread the word about our new art adventure. Our digital printer, Reprographics of Roanoke / Arlington, did an outstanding job at a great price. The full color banner is stunningly true to its original, digital version (courtesy of Illustrator CS3), and comes complete with a retractable roll-up stand.

Now, we’ll be able to take our message to trade shows, art fairs and use it for other promotional events. Our crazy idea of an art space in the suburbs is starting to seem eerily real.

Since Kim and I are now business owners, we have become jack-of-all-trades (and masters of none, hopefully not). So, one of our many trades is that of advertising copywriter. Our first attempt at “writing copy” is for the first annual Bear Creek Art Gala, on April 19, 2008. As a sponsor, we get a quarter page ad in the program. The ad uses our newly designed logo and builds on our theme of (sub)urban sophistication. Is it art? Perhaps, not. We’re anxiously awaiting real world feedback, which will come at the event itself - we don’t have the luxury of pre-launch focus groups, writers committees and the like (except for our kids) upon which to tests our ads first.