Upcoming Exhibit

My next exhibit "Modern Mythologies" and will be hosted by the Howard County Center for the Arts. The shows hangs from November 4 to December 16. The opening reception will be held on November 11 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. This show pairs my New Mythology work with the life-sized, figurative sculptures by Maryland artist Sarah Wegner. Here is the HCCA website.

For more information, call 410-313-2787 or email beth@hocoarts.org.

Somaphony Launch Party

My friend, Nate Lewis of Somaphony is proud to announce Open (he)Art Surgery. The Somaphony Launch Party!

Please join Somaphony for an unforgettably funky evening as they officially launch into the District!

Somaphony is a clothing & art line based out of Washington, DC that combines elements of music & anatomy into surreal designs. If you are in the D.C. area, go and support art.

Visit the Somaphony website.

Terry Dixon Reenslavement Revisited at Caton Merchant Gallery

My friend, Chicago artist Terry Dixon has an exhibit in Manassas VA:

"Telling that slavery did not end with the Civil War,Terry Dixon presents a body of work depicting African-Americans being forced to work for free from 1865 to 1945. His work is created through abstract digital images with acrylics, oil pastels and inks. Terry Dixon lives in Chicago where he continues his artistic discipline. He is as associate professor of computer arts."

The show runs from September 8th - October 26th. His work is remarkable, so go see it if you are in the area.

Opening Reception of "Birds."

Here are photos from the "Birds" opening reception at FCCA this past Friday night. It was a packed house. I sold several paintings, as well. Thanks to all who came out to celebrate the completion of a year long journey with birds. The show hangs through July.

I am taking a few weeks well earned rest and then it is back to the easel to prepare for the "New Mythology" show in November at HCCA.

"Birds" at FCCA.....

Here is a slide show preview of "Birds" opening at Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts: June 26th - July 31st.
And here is the page and a link to the press release for the show.
We hang this Sunday.

Art Prints...On the easel..

I have prints very affordable prints and paintings available on Etsy so go here if interested. I plan on adding more birds and paintings from New Mythology over time.

On the easel....

Prints Update

Ok, so I am in the process of getting prints up and running and it is a long process.

But I do now have prints of most of the 5" x 7" bird oils available. They are 5" x 7" on archival matte photo paper at $25 plus shipping to your destination. These come directly.from me, so I have complete control over quality. I will probably use Fine Art America once I look into all the details and make sure it is all kosher.

The larger paintings (New Mythology) will have to scanned professionally, which will be expensive to set up, so still wrestling around with researching this...

I am still playing with ideas on promoting this option on the website and blog. In the interim if you interested and are on Facebook you can find me here where I at least have an album on the fan page of available prints.

Thanks for following me, everyone. I just noticed followers have jumped from 58 to 81 in the last few weeks. And please comment....:) I love to hear what you have to say. It is important to me.

On the easel....

Working away at the paintings for the summer solo show. And also putting a few back up on the easel to work more on...

5" x 7" framed oils are $250 should you like to have one.



"Ki Goes Up"




And for the bird show...


"Great Tit"
5" x 7" oil on panel


"Hummingbird"
5" x 7" oil on panel

September back to school for many...back to work for me.

I have been awarded a solo exhibit in July of 2011 at the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts. The theme will be birds and I am thankful that I have so much time to paint them! There are currently eight in a list of thirty that need to be painted by March (drying time) I figure one a week will get me to the goal give or take a few because of sales.

Ok. All summer travel, visitors and most immediate new home madness has come to an end. Time to rock the easel. Hope you all had a fantastic summer. Keep in touch with your thoughts and comments.

Liberty Bird show

Yesterday I was notified that "Diamond" and "Overcoming the Seeds of Doubt" were accepted into the Liberty Bird show at Liberty Town Arts. The theme is art inspired by literature about birds.
The show opens with a reception this Friday night from 6 to 9 p.m. and will hang through August.

My sister and her kids have been here since Saturday. It is already Wednesday and a holiday weekend at that. More friends in for the weekend ahead and the 4th of July festivities....

Would anyone like to name the latest painting? I have been unable to settle on one.....

I started a commissioned painting today and have a handful of painting on the working list....
On the easel:

On the easel

I wonder if I should give up fine art painting for interior decoration.....just kidding. In the last few weeks I have thrown myself into painting my house and love it. Priming those walls are like covering a canvas with gesso. And laying on those coats of color almost as exciting as seeing something come to life on canvas. I even love trim work (what the hell is wrong with me?!...) The house has indeed become a work of art to me. Replacing knobs and outlet plates.....love it. People talk about how much work having a home is, but I love every minute of it.
But I have been painting in the studio and meeting with new artist friends here in the great arts community of the 'Burg. as it is called by locals.

I have been working on this one for some time and it has been a real challenge technically. At first I wasn't sure where it would fit in to the New Mythology story, but as I go an identity is unfolding. Who is this and what will be her great purpose?......


24" x 30", oil on canvas

Packing....

I have begun packing for our move to Fredericksburg in two weeks. I am battling a nasty cold and have so much going on. And wow! While packing my studio, I discovered a lot of old dried out paint tubes laying around. The manner in which I store my paint would horrify. I used to do a lot of colored pencil work and my drawer of colored pencils (many of them stubs) really needs to go to my neighbor's daughter, a budding artist. I wonder what else she would like to have? There are at least 20 huge bottles of acrylic paint I haven't used. Old ill cared for bushes....gone. A forced Spring cleaning of sorts...with Kleenex in hand.....

Fredericksburg has a lot of galleries and co-ops. I know a few of the artists there and have received so many warm welcomes and invitations to lunch upon my arrival. I emailed one co-op and had two generous replies from artists there. So, it appears the community there is quite inclusive. I have to say I have been a little unsure about the state of contemporary art there and whether I might find an audience. Time will tell.

So, I will be moving, traveling for a family wedding and visiting with my sister over the next two weeks.

In the meantime, have a look the work of Heidi Taillefer. Amazing.

Oh, and here is our new place.

Painting Update...

I promise all the madness of buying our house will end....I say this mostly for my own sanity. ;)
Until then, I have updated the small oil paintings page on the website for those who might like to have a look. I am amazed (and grateful for) how fast these go! Let me know if you want one.

I am still working (slowly) in my glazing experiment. I have learned a lot, mostly about what not to do.

Here is the progress of our little friend, Mr Peacock....



Underpainting. I should have made the lights lighter. In general, the underpainting must be painted lighter on the value scale than it really appears because as glazes are added, the painting gets darker.



Too much medium.



I think I am getting it......although, still getting darker and losing highlights.



Where we are now. But...I like it. I will keep messing around with it until it gets to the magical "done."

Caton-Merchant Opening

A fantastic time we had on Saturday night....."Myth and Mystery" opening at the Caton-Merchant Gallery.


with Kathleen Kendall


Linda, Claire, Emily and Jim




George and Benjamin


Mike and Chris




with Linz





Alix and Shelly


Dave and Katie



Post show shenanigans with Chris, Mike, Phil, Linz and Elisa.....

Thanks to Thia for these much more artistic shots:

Painting Pain....

Still having a seeming unending struggle with my shoulders and neck, I have been really limited in doing any painting or working on the computer. Though really frustrating and at moments discouraging, I have taken this week to do a lot of thinking (since I am most comfortable flat out.) I may have worked myself beyond muscle soreness to strain and now possibly something worse. I am hoping a very long massage will help on Sunday along with some rehab at home. I am ready to get back at it as that enormous stag painting stares back at me every time I wander into the studio along with several in process canvases.

We had quite the blizzard here along with several smaller snow storms over the last month, but all is on for the opening of "Myth and Mystery" Saturday night. If you are in the area, ride over to the gallery and join us for food, wine and art. There is a brand new parking garage right next to the gallery, lots of great places to have a nice dinner and the ice skating plaza will be open.

Myth and Mystery Installation Photos

Caton- Merchant Gallery Opening Rescheduled

As we have yet another snowstorm approaching on Saturday, the Caton-Merchant opening of "Myth and Mystery" will be rescheduled for Saturday February 13th.
Note the snow date on the postcard.
Mark your calendars and look forward to seeing you there.

Gallery Opening at MLK Library

Katie and I grabbed a quick lunch and delivered our the paintings to Caton Merchant yesterday. I haven't seem her new work and I was amazed at how prolific and fantastic it is for someone who works full time. The work will be hung today and I hope to get photos up this week.
It isn't looking good for our opening on Saturday at this point as we have another snow storm in the forecast. If we have to cancel the reception it will be rescheduled for the following Saturday on the 13th, so if you plan to come, stay tuned. I will make the decision by Friday morning.

Last night, Craig and I went to the district to my friend Terry Dixon's opening at the MLK Library.

In celebration of the first day of Black History month, Terry, along with fellow artist Robert Morris, presented work based on Douglas Blackmon's book "Slavery By Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of African Americans from the Civil War to World War II."
The exhibit is designed to highlight the role of major corporations and local government in denying southern blacks their civil rights through the power of judicial and penal systems.


me and Terry


"Life of Labor"





"Re-enslavement"
(love, love this painting....)

Myth and Mystery exhibit

I am in the middle of another flare up with my neck and back, so I haven't spent too much time on the internet in the last week.

We are about to have another snow storm. I planned to deliver the paintings for the "Myth and Mystery" show tomorrow if the weather allows. Karen Eide, one of the three artists, has had an accident and broken both of her wrists, so she may not be able to attend the opening. She lives in Richmond which is a good two hour drive to Manassas. I am disappointed about this......we will miss her. Katie and I were really looking forward to meeting her in person after so many months of emails.

So, I have twelve paintings lined up to hang, but this morning I noticed a problem with one of the stretchers, so after picking up some hardware I attempted to re-stretch the canvas on new bars. This is a new endeavor for me as I haven't re-stretched a painting before. I never had to. Apparently, this was a bum canvas with poor quality wood stretchers that buckled on one side after a time. Even though I bought new same sized stretcher bars, the new ones are a bit larger than the original and now there is a small edge of white unpainted canvas on each side. So, I have to pull the painting from the show. This is a lesson in carefully selecting canvases. It is my regular practice when buying a canvas to lay it flat and on each side to see any gaps or warping. Generally, I find that canvases larger than 22" really need a crossbar. I am not sure where I got this particular canvas but it is a telling sign of cheapness that it has no brand name on it. Live and learn.

I will keep you all updated. Please plan to come to the reception on the 6th if you so can. Manasssas is a neat old town with a lot of cool places to eat and the Harris Pavilion will be open that evening for outdoor ice skating.

Here is the Candy Factory which houses the gallery. You can read about the historic building here.

Thinking....

There are those who would have you believe as an artist that success is all about the product. Certainly, your art is of vital importance and it is imperative to follow that creative passion without concern about who will buy or how it will sell. People can tell if you aren't all that into it. But is really and truly is a numbers game. The more you get your work out into the world, the more response you will get in return. I suppose this is a true principle in most areas of vocation.

A year ago, I made the decision to do the work I felt lead to do and to make a concerted effort to promote that work. I am amazed at the response. Beyond all the encouraging words, which are very important, people actually want to spend their hard earned money to own one of my paintings. I have had the blessing of three exhibits over the last four months which generated a lot of interest and several sales. Some of these people have found me on the internet. I just shipped off "Ovis Nectarus" to New York to a woman who sent me five postdated checks over a period of months to buy that painting. It is about to happen again. Because a person saw my work at the Athenaeum, she looked me up on the web, saw a painting she loved and tonight I am meeting with her to discuss purchase.

I say all these things not to brag. Everything I have ever been given is a gift from God. I have had my doubts, putting up obstacles of my own making because I was afraid to fail. But I want to encourage everyone who has a dream to step on out onto the path despite fear or the "they says." Just have a willingness to do the disciplined work, consistently get it out there and watch what happens.

Today, I am grateful to each of you. To those who have encouraged me with words and to those who have supported my dream with their money. Love you all....

Come on to the "Myth and Magic", our three woman show if you are around. Saturday February 6th, 6-8 p.m. at the Caton-Merchant Gallery old town Manassas. Some of you I have never met. I would love to see you there.