Katelyn Alain Paintings in Wall Street Journal

A Work in Progress: Buying Art on the Web

By KELLY CROW
October 10, 2007; Page D1

As art lovers descend on London this week for the opening of a glitzy art fair called Frieze, art sales have never been hotter at galleries and auction houses. But the online marketplace for art is still as mottled as a Monet water scene, with vast amounts of art available at various Web sites but a scarcity of big-ticket buyers.

Does art actually sell online? It's long been hard to tell. Now, one big online gallery, Saatchi Online, is offering its first financial clues to the answer -- and a clearer picture of the much-hyped Internet art marketplace and its challenges.

Katelyn Alain

More than a dozen Internet sites, from eBay to Ugallery.com, offer tens of thousands of new artworks. But top collectors like Agnes Gund in New York and curators like Weston Naef of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles largely ignore what's offered on online art sites, preferring to buy directly from auction houses or dealers. Even Christie's International initially struggled last year to persuade collectors to click and bid using its new online venture. (Christie's says its online bidders bought $32.3 million of art over the past year.)

Saatchi Online made a splashy entrance into this market over a year ago, when it invited artists to upload and sell their creations on his site, with the site taking no commission fees. With Charles Saatchi, a high-profile British ad executive and art collector, at the helm, the site has been seen by some in the art world as a litmus test for Internet sales.

The painting 'Tied,' by Katelyn Alain, was sold over Saatchi Online.

(click here to continue reading)

Feeling of Winter or Winter Tea Cup (progress of one painting)

Tumult of memories - winding an ambient web - building tangled nests of deceit – haunting how they inform me – like sugar melting on the tongue

This painting has transformed into a scene informed by the onset of the Wisconsin winter.

There is something strange and new about this one that adds an element of intrigue to future paintings for me. It was extremely difficult to photograph- the colors are so variant. The actual painting looks way better than the picture of it here. I'm finally satisfied with it (top image).

Open Art Studios Weekend: at the Zoo

Photo credits: Gary N-ski


What a great weekend of art making and socializing with art enthusiasts.

I am a member of an arts group called artsTRIBE and we set up shop at the Henry Vilas Zoo's visitor center for the Madison Open Art Studios Weekend. Good times. Beautiful Building.

This was also a great way to make some extra cash to help pay for grad school.

The Capital Times -Madison, Wis.

BEST BETS
by Rob Thomas and Kevin Lynch

ART WILL CARRY YOU AWAY

"How We Get Carried Away," a Master of Arts exhibition by Katelyn Alain, is a series of life-sized oil paintings created over the past two years. In her strongest and most cohesive body of work to date, Alain explores the relationship among memory perception, reality and imagination through allegorical narratives. Alain's work will be exhibited in the Madison Municipal Building from Sept. 4 through Oct. 31.

link to blurb

Exhibition Walls

Solo Exhibition: ARTspace Gallery September 5 - October 31

Welcome to the Playground

Remembering the Great Egret of Guatemala

Detail shots

How We Get Carried Away

48 x 60" Oil on Canvas

The Studio

Artist Residency

I am currently off the grid and working at a residency in Vermont. I will return in one month with new work.

A Masculine State of Affairs

48x85 inches. Life-sized figure. Oil on canvas (diptych)
not quite finished..but almost.

Confident, absurd, royal. Gliding through time and space on a gilded chariot (or is that a child's pull toy?). How is such an antiquated and silly machine propelling him forward? Where could he be going? Good questions, but does any of that matter when he can enjoy such delicious treats during the ride?

Death of the Rabbit

48x60 inches. Oil on Canvas.

Current Exhibition: Overture Center for the Arts

artsTRIBE presents:
O Fortuna! Exploring Carmina Burana
March - June 2007
In collaboration with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, we explore the links between Carl Orff's famous musical score and the rich history of the original Burana Codex that inspired it.

Visit our website to discover the many ways that you can participate in our explorations.

Opening Reception: April 13, 6-9PM

also join us on
Gallery Night: May 4
Madison Symphony Orchestra performances: May 11,12,13

Press Reviews

The Opening

New Work in Progress

Week 3: trying to bring it back...
Day 3: laying down pigment with a limited palette


Day 1: underpainting. wanting to work with a more limited palette. still hooked on strange ideas of movement through time and life. these movements have a 'carnivalesque' feeling to them however my figures react with a blase normalcy as they get carried along.

Symbols Symbols Everywhere

New Work in Progress. Very early stages.
48x60" oil on canvas.

I am thinking about symbols of the feminine that come to us in life through repeated appearances whether they be ironic or personal in nature.

Fear of Aging 1

Hunger for Images?

Yesterday I went to the Milwaukee Art Museum to see 3 contemporary painters talk about a 'Hunger for Images'. It was to coincide with the Francis Bacon exhibition, but I never saw the direct connection.

Plucking artists out of their studios and sticking them on a rigidly formal 'discussion panel' seemed totally ironic. A more open discussion led by the artists would have been more appropriate. The museum curator and director seemed like outdated caricatures of themselves.

However, hearing the artists talk about their paintings and give presentations on their personal work was highly inspiring. I came away thinking about painting as above all an object. I need to pay more attention to the materiality/physicality of the paint. I was especially moved by the words (and paintings!) of Jose Lerma. So...I'm absorbing and processing my thoughts right now, and I'll be posting new and different paintings very soon. I promise.