December
8, 2009
Apparently
I'm not so good at updating the news around here, as it's been
about SIX MONTHS since I last posted. Well then, let's just try
to catch up and wrap up 2009.
The
Proximity Show at Annmarie Garden was a great fun. The show
included lots of incredible work from 30 local artists. Four of
them are members of
Artworks@7th, my local gallery affiliation! It was an honor
to share such a beautiful space with all those talented folks.
I hope you had a chance to see it. If not, try and get down to
Annmarie Garden this
month. The show has changed but they've got the place all
lit up and I've got a piece hanging in the Cafe Show which features
works from local cooperative galleries and once again Artworks
@7th is representing!
I
joined another gallery in September. The
Maryland Federation of Art's Circle Gallery in Annapolis.
I have five pieces currently on display there as part of the Holiday
Members Show which hangs until January. If you get by State Circle,
check it out!
Also,
I've just released two new images as limited edition giclees.
"Gray Day"
and "Low Tide"
were painted earlier this year and both were part of the Proximity
Show described earlier. "Gray Day" is the largest print
I've offered to date at 20" x 30" and both are available
for purchase!
I've
also got a few new pieces in the painting section,
click here to see them. I'm thinking about some new directions
to explore, and I hope to share them with you. Due to an elbow
injury in November it's been kind of slow going and a bit of a
struggle lately, but I feel I'm on the mend and am looking forward
to a much more productive 2010.
I
participated in The W.A.R.M.T.H. Auction again this year, which
happens on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. W.A.R.M.T.H. (Working
Artists Raising Money For The Homeless) is the brainchild of Mary
R. Owens and her sister Jackie Owens-Lancaster. Along with Jackie's
husband Lanny, these folks turn their beautiful historic home,
The Camalier House, into a Gallery and Auction House to raise
money for The
Three Oaks Center, a homeless shelter and outreach center
located in St. Mary's County. This year (for the first time) they
produced and sold a calendar featuring the work of twelve participating
artists. It just so happened that the piece I submitted (Gray
Day, it's really getting around) made it inside and on the cover,
which won me the first annual Brian
Gallagher award. Thanks guys!
I'm
sure I've left some things out as 2009 has been quite a challenge.
I'll try and be more diligent in my updates in the coming year.
Thanks for checking in! And so:
I
wish everyone a very Happy Holiday and a Peaceful and Prosperous
2010!
July
5, 2009
Ok.
Another couple of months since my last post. The gallery I joined
back in April seems to be picking up a little and I've already
sold a few prints. The show for July is called Route
4 and features acrylic paintings by Suzanne Shelden (www.sheldenstudios.com)
and watercolor paintings by Deborah McClure that feature scenes
from Route 4, the main artery in and out of this peninsula we
call Calvert County. It's a great show with lots of beautiful
images and a percentage of the proceeds will go towards land preservation
efforts here in the county.
Also
this month, the two paintings I finished in April (scroll down
to see) will be in a group show at Annmarie Garden July 25 through
October 4 called "Proximity: Regional Discoveries" which
features work from Southern Maryland artists playing with the
idea of proximity. Annmarie Garden is an outdoor sculpture park
affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute and features sculptures
on loan from the Hirshhorn museum in DC and sports a beautiful
new art center and gallery where the show will be held. I am honored
to show there .
For
more info go to:
http://www.annmariegarden.org/ArtsBuilding/Exhibits/index.htm
Also,
last month I participated in Paint Out Solomons which was also
held at Annmarie Garden and was a whole lotta fun. It was a plein
air event in which artists came from near and far and had from
Thursday to Saturday to paint "en plein air" scenes
from the town of Solomons Island and the surrounding areas. Saturday
night you had to drop off two of your best pieces to be hung and
shown at the Arts Building on Sunday only. Prizes were given for
various "Best ofs...." and all the work was for sale.
I didn't win any prizes but I sold one of my pieces and met a
bunch of really great folks. This was the first time I participated
in such an event and even though it was a lot of work to get it
all together it was a lot of fun, too.
I
think I'll be back next year.
Anyway,
I'll try to do a better job of keeping a timely blog here in future.
I hope everyone is keeping well and hanging on 'cause this recession
can't last forever...Can it?
PEACE
April
20, 2009-
Well,
now almost a couple of months have passed since my last post.
I've since joined a gallery in North Beach called Artworks@7th.
It's a cooperative gallery meaning it is made up of dues paying
members. I've only been to one meeting and had to hold down the
fort only once so far, but from what I can tell it's in a nice
spot that gets a bit of foot traffic and it is full of fine work
from a variety of local artists. Here's the link for directions,
etc.:
http://www.artworksat7th.com/index.html
Stop
on by sometime.
Between
the holidays and getting the taxes in order I haven't gotten much
painting done, but I finally finished a piece I've been working
on / staring at for years. It had gotten damaged and I successfuly
repaired it after much trouble. I'm calling it "Gray Day."
It is yet another image of the beach right near my home here in
Chesapeake Beach. One day I'm sure I'll tire of this subject but
it hasn't happened yet.I hope to make a print of it as soon as
I can.
The
other piece is one I started and finished last week that I'm calling
"Low Tide."
Click
on the thumbnail to see a larger image.
I
hope all is well with you and yours and that you have found something
of interest to you here.
Keep
up the good work and remember those famous words of Benjamin Franklin
spoken at the signing of our Declaration of Independence:
"We
must, indeed, all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang
separately."
Or
something like that... For what it's worth...
Peace.
February
28, 2009-
It's
been about a month and a half since my last post here. A lot has
happened in the world since then. We officially have a new president
and almost a cabinet and the world economy is crashing and burning.
Irrational exuberance seems to be the cause (again).
Not
much for me to do about that except keep myself in check and keep
busy working. Karen and I consider ourselves fortunate in that
we have always lived fairly frugally and are not really affected
too badly by the current situation. Kinda just keepin' on keepin'
on.
However,
I currently have no gigs on the books so I have been trying to
get back to painting. It's been about two years since I put the
brush to the panel. I've produced about six small images so far
and have been working on an image that has been "in progress"
for about 3 years that I hope to finish this year. When I do I'll
post it.
Meanwhile
here are a few images from the last months' work.
Click
on the thumbnail to see a larger image.
Well,
try to stay afloat and keep it all in perspective however you
can. Peace.
January
10, 2009-
Well
it's no news that times are tough for most folks right now. A
friend of mine recalled recently that in times like these it is
essential to reinvent yourself again and again just to keep your
head above water. I tend to agree and after a couple of tough
years I am trying to regroup.
I
will soon be lowering my print prices just a bit in hopes of encouraging
sales. When I had the pieces in the galleries I didn't want to
undercut them, so I kept my posted prices comparable. Also out
of respect for those of you who have bought some of my work in
the past, I didn't want you to feel that you got ripped off.
Well
I still don't want you to feel ripped off and I hope you'll understand
it's just a reflection of the current economic climate. I hope
this year and the new Administrator prove to be a better deal
for everyone. In the meantime, let's just roll up our sleeves
and get busy with what we can to help dig ourselves out of the
real mess we are in as a country (and a world).
As
I produce more stuff I hope to keep you posted in this space throughout
the coming year(s). Here's wishing all a Happy and Prosperous
New Year!
I
finally updated this website (again). I basically started from
scratch with a new logo and layout. I've eliminated all the flash
(except for the tiny little pen & ink portraits). The entire
site is pretty much all HTML and hopefully it doesn't take too
long to load.
There
is also a section of Prints which are printed by Staples
Fine Art in Richmond, Virginia in limited editions printed
on paper and canvas. They are all produced and mounted to archival
standards. These are for sale and prices are posted. There are
no shopping carts so if you are interested in purchasing anythng
you will have to contact me.
I
hope I found all the bugs and you enjoy your visit. As always,
thanks for taking the time...
