Mixing it Up



Matterhorn - detail



I would like to share some great and exciting news with you. Now, most of you know that i show my work in Art on the Boulevard, gallery in Vancouver,WA. Well, recently the director of that gallery, Kevin Weaver, notified me that i was selected to have my very own solo show. How awesome is that?.....

I am so excited for this great opportunity, and i can hardly believe this honor has been offered to me.

Let me tell you just how significant this is......

First of all, Art on the Boulevard, is one of the premiere galleries in the Pacific Northwest. Second, Kevin has well over fifty incredible artists; all of them are just as deserving of a show as me. And third, there are only six shows per year.

Spots like this are pretty rare, and i feel very fortunate that the gallery has seen fit to promote and support me like this.

So, my show will debut on First Friday, February 1st 2013 and is entitled "Moods of the Pacific Northwest".

Two of the great things about the Pac. NW is the dynamic weather and diverse topography. My goal is to capture the feeling, the mood of the different seasons, and celebrate the endless beauty, of our textured landscapes and atmosphere from various locations.

During this process of preparing for the show, i might be a bit light on my posts, but i will do my best to keep up. I will begin posting work for the show in December, to give you an inside peek.



The Matterhorn

In case you were wondering these photos are of my mound of titanium white after battling with brush and knife. Plus its always fun to look for interesting shapes, colors and textures in the not-so-obvious places.

Until next time....... Keep mixing it up!



Inspired



Hood's Veil
8x10

Last night i took inspiration and implemented a lesson from a fellow artist, and dear friend who lost her life to cancer earlier this week.

To honor Shirley Nelson, i set out to paint Mt Hood, which has long been a favorite subject for her. To my frustration, i found the sentinel covered by clouds; clouds that i was sure would add interest to the sky, just not this much interest.

I stood in disbelief as i knew this was going to ruin my plan. What could i do? How could i make this work? Obviously, Mother Nature has a will of her own and there was no parting of these clouds anywhere on the horizon.

I was just about to head for home when i thought, wait a minute, why don't you just take what has been offered to you and work with it?.... This thought process just happens to be how Shirley lived her life. She had dealt with cancer for years, a lot of years. In an out of hospitals, countless procedures, rounds of chemo, the list goes on and on. Yet, if you were to meet her, you would have never guessed she was dealing with such serious issues. She was ALWAYS a beam of sunlight, just a sweetheart of a person to be around. Always, genuinely interested in what and how others were doing.

Even though, i am sure she had her dark days, Shirley chose to focus on the positive side of life and enjoy it for as much as she could squeeze out of it and refused to give in to the negative.

So, i took this inspiration to heart and forced ahead and painted the scene as it was, without the mountain. And in many ways this painting may not work for most people, but it wasn't painted for most people, it was painted for one person.

Shirley, you are one of the strongest people i have ever met and i will take your inspiration and your example and do my best to honor your courage.

Thank you for being a friend.

Reflecting on Art in the Heart



Saki Stoneware
9x12

Even though we dealt with some pretty high temperatures at last week's Art in the Heart event, i had a blast. It was so great to visit and hang out with talented artists and view their work. It was also equally exciting to meet with collectors; some i hadn't seen for a while and others, this was our first meeting.

A big thank you to all who braved the heat to come enjoy a great weekend of art!

During my wanderings i came across many great pieces of art. One artist in particular, Robin Hominiuk, a local potter had some lovely stoneware pieces. And of course, me being me and always on the lookout for new and interesting things to paint, i knew in a flash that i wanted to step up and get some of this awesome stoneware.

So, i was torn between two small displays.... couple that with the fact that my wife was out of town for the weekend at a writers convention and i had sold a few paintings, and...... Bingo, you guessed it - i got both sets. I just couldn't resist, plus i had NO adult supervision.....

Even though i did offer one up as a gift to, My Dearest, i'm sure it will soon wind up in a painting too.

So, again, a big thank you to all who visited, Downtown Vancouver, to partake in Art in the Heart, you really helped fuel an artists fire. And many thanks go to Kevin Weaver, Director of Art on the Boulevard, for hosting and keeping us hydrated. You're THE BEST Kev!