I had a wonderfully successful Solo Exhibition of my artwork at the Husar Fine Art Gallery in Beverly Hills on May 18, 2019. I was thrilled with the amount of art I sold at the Exhibition!! A huge thank you to everyone who attended -- and an even bigger thank you to everyone who purchased my artwork. Below are still photographs taken on the Opening Night by Jade Collins-Parnell. Later I will also have a video with music of the Opening Night and I will circulate that when I get it. In addition to the Exhibition, the Gallery also served as the location for the filming of an interview I was requested to give about my artwork, to be aired on national TV on Fox Business. Once I know the air date, I will circulate that information as well.

I elected to have the City of Hope, a leading research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases, to receive a portion of the proceeds from the sale of my artwork. In addition, I donated my "Silver Guardian Angel" piece of artwork to the City of Hope. I also am donating a number of my photographs to the "Art for the Heart" Project founded and run by volunteer and former patient of City of Hope, Chuck O'Shea. Chuck spoke during the Opening Night and explained that the Project provides hospital patients with artwork for their hospital rooms -- and provides them with the opportunity to change the artwork in their rooms every week. After Chuck spoke, Steven Rosen, the Provost and Chief Scientific Officer of City of Hope came up and spoke eloquently about the amazing work of the City of Hope. In addition, my wonderful friend, Ginger Bauer, purchased a piece of my artwork, the "Leopard on the Lookout," and turned around and donated it to the City of Hope. Having the City of Hope involved as the charitable beneficiary to my Exhibition made the event extremely meaningful to me.

I am extraordinarily grateful to my husband, who gave me massive support throughout the entire process of putting together this Exhibition (which was no easy feat). Thank you to Ruth Collins, Senior Producer at Spotlight TV, who worked tirelessly to help put the Exhibition together, Audis Husar, owner of Husar Fine Art Gallery for allowing me to use her Gallery and for her great work in helping me put the Exhibition together, Nadia Kelm, Assistant at the Gallery for her great work, Law Estate Wines, for their generosity in donating wine for the Opening Night, the Empty Vase for donating the most amazingly beautiful huge floral arrangements for the Exhibition, Whole Foods for donating food for the event, Chuck O'Shea for speaking at the event, Steven Rosen for speaking at the event, Candice Rosen for her support and enthusiasm for my artwork, Scott Archimbaud, Associate VP of Community Philanthropy and Engagement for helping with the Exhibition and if I am missing anyone, it is not intentional.

I displayed a wide variety of artwork at the Exhibition in terms of subject matter, style and materials.

For example, I displayed two of my Water Music Series pieces at the Exhibition, which are digital composites where I take photographs of musicians and then put them in a gorgeous ocean setting. These were large size (20"x35") and printed on canvas, which made most people think they were paintings. I sold two copies of one of these pieces at the Opening!

I also had a number of my safari photographs, all of which sold at the Opening - and one of which sold three copies. I made each of the safari photos very creative in post-production, adding textures in some of them. My "Zebra Quartet In Lavender" is an example where I took the photo of four zebras in Africa fortunately with their heads all bowed down in unison for the shot - and then in post-production, I added brush strokes to the image and a texture layer and then put them in a field of lavender to add interest to the image. For all of the safari photos with one exception, I printed them on canvas and they looked like they were paintings - as was observed by many people at the Opening. One of my safari pieces, the "Zebra Portrait" is one that I took in Botswana. It is a close-up of the face of the zebra. In post-production, I put the zebra's face on a solid black background, which makes the zebra, with it's black and white strips "pop." I then had the image printed and framed it with a white mat and a black frame. I sold three copies of this image at the Opening Night.

I also had some abstract work on display at the Opening and sold my "Red Passion with Silver Frame" piece of artwork. In addition, I had a number of floral images, some of which I had taken at the Huntington Gardens. My "Bird Admiring Yellow Water Lily" piece is one where I took two photos and merged them to achieve focus of both the bird and the lily. I then added a texture to the image to make the image more interesting. I printed this on metal (24"x30") with a flush metal frame. I sold two copies of that piece of artwork at the Opening. I also sold my "Pink Water Lily with Dragonfly," with I also took at the Huntington Gardens and to which I added a texture similar to the earlier piece. The two pieces are companion pieces and are both printed on metal. One of my doctors also has the "Pink Water Lily with Dragonfly" in her office. And, the hair salon where I go purchased four of my water lily images printed on metal and they are hung along a wall, which we affectionately refer to as the "Water Lily Wall."

In addition, in the theme of nature, I displayed, and sold, my "Matai Waterfall" piece of artwork at the Opening. I took this photograph in New Zealand. My wonderful husband drove me miles and miles and miles to find this waterfall and then hiked in with me to the falls and then found a rock to sit down on to read his book while I set up my tripod and worked on taking the photos of the waterfall. I was working with a neutral density filter to be able to keep the shutter open long enough (without impacting the rest of the issues for a correct exposure) to achieve a silky smooth look to the water as it cascaded down the fall. I think I had the shutter open on this photo for between 20 to 30 seconds.

I also displayed my "Silver Guardian Angel" and my "Golden Guardian Angel" at the Opening. These are not photography, but rather drawings that I made by hand using PS. I love angels and I had been wanted to create an image of one for a long time, but could not really figure out a way to do so with my camera, so I just decided to draw one. The first one I drew was the "Golden Guardian Angel." That turned out to be my husband's favorite piece of artwork that I have ever created. I had it printed on very high quality Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Metallic Fine Art Paper and framed in a white frame with white matting. Then I created a companion piece, my "Silver Guardian Angel," and had it printed and framed the same way. I am donating my "Silver Guardian Angel" piece of artwork to the City of Hope.

I also displayed a number of my photography books at the Opening, and sold several of those. In my photography books, I use my gorgeous photography and then match meaningful quotes to appropriate photos in the books. 

• “Amazing Africa” - This book is a compilation of my photography during safaris through Botswana, Zambia and South Africa. It is full of remarkable wildlife, including leopards, lions, elephants, rhinos, zebras, impala, crocodiles, kudu, cape buffalo, assorted colorful birds and more. The book also contains some beautiful sunrise and sunset photographs taken “in the bush” while on safari. In addition, the book contains some photographs of the extraordinarily stunning Victoria Falls, the largest waterfall in the world.

• “Zen Through the Lens” - Photography is a portal for me. A portal to the phenomenal. A way to view the world in a more focused and different way. A way to really slow down and “take in” the wonder of what is really in front of you. A way of viewing the world in an exciting and fascinating way. A “zen through the lens” experience. It is almost a meditative state. The photos in this book come primarily from my photography of the stunningly gorgeous New Zealand, where I had many “zen through the lens” experiences. This book is also filled with inspirational quotes.

• “Zen Through the Lens II” - This book is a continuation of my “zen through the lens” experiences. This book contains my photography while I was “taking in” the wonder of Colorado, Utah, San Fransisco, Sausalito and Big Sur. This book is also filled with inspirational quotes. I hope viewing the photographs in this book — and in all of my other photography books — brings you a measure of joy in your life.

• “Kisses of Joy” - One of the many subjects I love to photograph is flowers. I often feel a burst of joy when I hear the shutter click and I see the beauty of what I have captured on the back of my camera. I call these “kisses of joy.” I decided to title this book “Kisses of Joy” since that is what I experienced taking the photos and putting this book together. The book, like most of my books, contains inspirational quotations paired with the photographs I believe enhance the quotes and vice versa.

• “A Visual Symphony” - This book is an amalgam of the intersection of the visual arts and the human experience. It is an attempt to create a visual representation through my photography of the impact of music, which although intangible, is nevertheless powerfully real and meaningful. The book is structured in four “movements” or chapters, analogous to the four movements of a symphony. The book, like most of my books, contains inspirational quotations paired with the photographs I believe enhance the quotes and vice versa.

I also create greeting cards, tote bags, coffee cups and other items from my photography, which can be purchased at https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/kay-kochenderfer.html. 

Happy viewing. If you like what you see, I would love to have you make comments by clicking on the word "comment" at the top of this blog to the left under the title of the blog "Opening Night of My Solo Exhibition."