Days of Dreaming

I have a show scheduled for the Fall season at Norwood Flynn Gallery here in Dallas. This piece is the direction this collection of work is going, so I'm looking forward to making more paintings like this one over the next few months. I'm posting it this New Years Eve because it also seems like a good representation of the concept of "New Years Resolutions", specifically to dream every day. I hope you have a safe transition into this new year and decade and your 2011 is a great year.

The Winter of Our Discontent

This past decade has been a decidedly mixed bag, with some really great developments and some which were really bad. Whether it overall deserves the name I gave it, The 'Zeroes, may take a while to settle. But I think there's a case that can definitely be made.
But now we're on the threshold of a new decade, with some positive things going on personally and professionally. If the year needs improvement for you as well, I hope improvement happens.
I'll be back next year with more rants, pictures and observations. Thanks for following this blog. Have happy holidays, whatever form they take.

Prints

I've added a new prints page to my web site, as illustrated by the screen shot above. This link goes to it. Clicking on either image takes you to the site where prints can be ordered. They're printed with archival inks on archival paper, of course. I'll add more images as it seems like a good idea.

Here's some coffee!

Last year I participated in "secret gift exchange" with a group of fellow artists. The way it works is a website called "Elfster" automatically picks a name for the participant, then each participant posts on the site what they like or might want. There's a price limit of $15, so it doesn't get out of hand.
I'm in it again this year, and my picked person said she wanted coffee, more or less. She listed some other vague items, but included the phrase "Coffee...I like coffee!...Did I mention coffee?". So I decided to get her some coffee. Oak Cliff Coffee is a neighborhood coffee company, so I bought a bag of their beans. I hope she has a grinder. Maybe she'll get one of those from somebody else.
To artsy it up a bit I made a package for the coffee out of 300 lb watercolor paper and painted coffee related images on it with watercolor and a Sharpie. Besides a cup ringed with birds and a coffee pot topped with a bird, the inside flap of the lid includes a wide awake eyeball. Pictures are below.

"Eli" giclee print

This giclee print of "Eli" is the first now available at my new print store, at this link.
It's printed with archival inks on enhanced matte archival paper. The image size is 18 by 14 inches, on paper 18 by 23 inches, a signed and numbered edition of 50.

Happy Thanksgiving Week

Karen Blessen

My long time friend, Karen Blessen, recently added another honor to her list (that includes a Pulitzer Prize). The Dallas Observer named her as one of the "Masterminds" of the Dallas art scene. The guidelines for selection were simple and Karen's bona fides were ample: make the community, maybe even the world, better through the artists' work. Through Today Marks the Beginning she and her colleagues work with schools, organizations and individuals to raise awareness of social issues and promote peace, cooperation and positive change through art projects, writing and other creative action.

At this link is a video, directed and filmed by John Katz, showing children from around the world addressing their solutions to the situation in Darfur and answering the question of what they would do "If I were a great peacemaker". As well as founder of Today Marks the Beginning, Karen is program manager of MasterPEACE, which created the program depicted in the video.
Imagine using education and activities to guide children toward a culture of peace, tolerance and problem solving that can benefit everybody, instead of training more obedient drones for the corporatocracy...what a concept!

Karen is a writer, artist, speaker, world changer and inspiration to anyone paying attention. In a culture which honors self-aggrandizement over service and self-promotion over contributions to the common good Karen is an exception and I'm proud to call her friend.

More of her accomplishments and passions can be found at her web site: karenblessen.com.