Aaron T. Memmott

Modern Day Vagabonds


ARTISTS AARON MEMMOTT AND PENELOPE MOORE have been traveling the country on a painting adventure for nearly a year, while paying next-to-nothing for their accommodations. They gave up their permanent residence and jobs in Savannah, GA--where Memmott had a full time faculty position as a professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design--to set sail on what has become an unpredictable and rewarding undertaking. They aren't homeless, and they don't live in hovels. They have been trading their artwork to stay in vacation rentals and second homes. With perseverance, planning, hard work and talent they have successfully pitched a win-win art swap proposal to friends, collectors and total strangers. Thus far, they have had a tremendous response.

The couple started their journey in Utah and made their first trade in June, when they swapped their paintings for a chic, downtown Salt Lake City apartment. Next, they lived in an upscale condo at the Canyons Resort in Park City during the remainder of summer and fall. They recently spent two weeks in Albuquerque in a rustic hillside retreat, while they exhibited their work at the Downtown Arts Festival. They are currently residing in a luxurious mountain hideaway in Heber City where they are developing a brand new body of work. They have upcoming swaps planned this spring on the coast of Washington, downtown Portland, OR and in Bodega Bay, CA. Landlords across the nation, and as far away as Martha's Vineyard, Costa Rica and Germany, have offered to trade living accommodations for their paintings. "In a world of uncertainty, it was a gamble," says Moore, "but we wanted to devote our time exclusively to nurturing and building our fine art careers." While they travel and avoid the cost of rent, their ultimate goal is to save money from their painting sales to build a custom home and studio that would be conducive for painting and conducting workshops.

The couple decided to begin in Utah because Moore grew up in Salt Lake City and Memmott attended the University of Utah where he received his BFA in Fine Art. "We were going with the wind," says Moore. "We got here and we put our brakes on. Now we're trying to stay. The West is where we belong ." Before moving to Savannah, Memmott received his MFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where he also taught for three years. Moore also received her BFA from the Academy of Art University.

Memmott's canvases are essentially urban. He uses a rich palette to paint scenes of glowing streetlights, nightlife, neighborhood intersections, wet reflective streets in signature parts of town, with an emphasis on perspective and light. He frequently paints dynamic diptych and triptych panoramas of the towns and cities he visits.

Moore also paints her surroundings, but instead of cityscapes, she focuses on still-life and interiors. Her inspiration often begins in social settings such as candle lit restaurants and trendy lounges. She often depicts the way a wineglass or table fork reflects the surrounding atmosphere and light. By painting her subjects larger-than-life, emphasizing abstracted shapes (usually found in distortions and reflections of glass and metal), skewing the perspective, and by pushing color Moore offers her viewers new and interesting ways to perceive commonly encountered places and objects.

Memmott is currently writing an online course for the Savannah College of Art and Design and teaches evening art classes sponsored by the Park City School District to adults. Moore also teaches an advanced painting online course for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. When they're not painting and teaching, they spend time tracking their gallery representation, assessing upcoming art festivals, shows and competitions, and working on their next equal-value trade of high quality original oil paintings for a place to prop their easels.


For more info please visit their websites:

www.aaronmemmott.com
www.moorepenelope.com


Galleries:

Gallery MAR, Park City, UT--www.gallerymar.com
Chroma Art Gallery, Savannah, GA--www.chromaartgallery.com
Park Place Gallery, Leawood, KS--www.theparkplacegallery.com
Alpine Art, Salt Lake City, UT--www.alpineartinc.com

Now booking accommodations in Western States for March-April 2009!

Vacation Home or Condo/Fine Art

After many discussions and long deliberations we decided that it was time to say goodbye to our current non-art jobs to devote our time exclusively to nurturing and building our fine art careers. We realize the risk involved in walking away from our stable environment and into a world filled with uncertainty but we feel that it was one worth taking. For us it seemed to be the most natural option.

This decision inspired us to begin thinking creatively about where we'll go and what we'll do with our newly freed time. We came up with an interesting and simple idea: to offer a trade of our fine art for a stay in an empty vacation home. So many of these homes go unused for good portions of the year and neither party would have to do much outside of their normal functions to participate in an equally valuable exchange . We (the artists) get to travel and paint and the home owner gets to collect high quality original fine art without having to write a check.

Aaron received his BFA in Fine Art from the University of Utah and his MFA in Illustration from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I received my BFA in Fine Art from the Academy of Art University. We most recently lived in Savannah, GA where Aaron was a full time Professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

First, we presented our idea privately to friends, family and collectors then, publicly on Craigslist and now our websites. We've had an amazing response already from our friends, family, collectors, and complete strangers who have extended offers in places like Vail, CO, Big Sky, MT, Martha's Vineyard, Salt Lake City, St. George, Park City, UT and as far away as BC, Canada and Germany.

Since we (Aaron, our two studio pups, and me) began our westward journey in May we've been to many amazing places. We spent two weeks in Nashville, one month in Salt Lake City, where I exhibited my work in the Utah Arts Festival, three months Park City where Aaron exhibited his work at the Kimball Arts Festival and is teaching painting classes, two weeks in San Francisco and Wine Country, New York, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque. There are so many more beautiful places that we are eager to know and paint.

Our goal is to seek and participate in opportunities in the arts such as: juried art competitions, artists' workshops, artist residencies, gallery exhibits and art festivals, while we explore each place. The possibilities are endless.

We propose an equal value trade of our high quality original oil paintings for the opportunity to visit and spend time painting your beloved retreat. We are represented by several galleries across the country and our prices range from $500-5000. We're flexible with availability during the year and would be happy with off peek time. We are hoping for a 2-4 week minimum stay. This would allow us enough time to become familiar with the area and to create a small body of work.

We are open to consider all places and ideas and in turn hope to make a trade that will be valuable and exciting to all. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

p e n e l o p e and a a r o n

Penelope Moore -- Contemporary Still Life Paintings
www.moorepenelope.com

Aaron T. Memmott -- Urban and Rural Scapes
www.aaronmemmott.com