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.

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.