Governor's Mansion!!

I am honored and excited.  I've just been notified that I am accepted to the Governor's Mansion Exhibition Program!  This is an awesome program sponsored by the Nebraska Arts Council.  They chose 10 artists for the coming year, each of which will have a month long, one-artist exhibition in the beautiful gallery/meeting room in the basement of the Governor's Mansion in Lincoln.  The application process was interesting...totally online through a site called slideroom.com.

The painting shown on the left, Finding My Way, is only 6" x 4".  Originally done for a "postcard" contest with the National Collage Society, it was one of  five images included with my application to the Governor's show.

Quasquacentennial

What a word!  Our little town , Imperial, Nebraska, is celebrating 125 years of existence this year and the party is set for this weekend.  There will be singing, water games, turtle races, fireworks, history displays at the county museum and the city library, cake decorating and pie eating contests, a quilt show, Miss Nebraska, carriage rides AND...and art show!  We will have at least 15 local artists displaying work in the Catholic fellowship hall on Broadway, Saturday 9-5.  A vote will be taken for the people's favorite choice of artwork.  One of my works, shown at left, will be Brome Forest, which won an honorable mention award at the recent Association of Nebraska Art Clubs Convention Juried Competition.  Come and enjoy!

First Day

This painting really evolved...from plain beige, blue and white, to distracting blobs and bad angles, to this.  It's on a gallery wrapped canvas with  lots of texture and metallic paint. I struggled with covering over my favorite painted tissue in the lower left, but it was in the way--competing with the center of interest.  Now, I like the way it peaks through the rice paper and added paint.  As it was finally coming together, I had a strong gut feeling about the creation story...separating the dark from the light, the earth from the sea, the chaos to order, with a structured plan beneath it all.  Actually, the first thing I did on this painting after plaster texture, was the gridwork in the upper right.  I guess it felt like bringing order back to the chaos that had happened in between.  However, based on her knowledge of previous paintings, my daughter was hoping the title meant there was an image from our  many "first day of school" photos  that had been hidden in the layers...maybe there is!

Orinoconile

I'm on a roll...two new paintings! First, I want you to see this small one. Then, will try to get the other one up in a few days. This has lines of plaster, a gel transfer of a King Tut image, a piece of dried paint from my palette, and lots of interesting color. It is 12 x 9" on a gallery wrapped canvas. Our show choir concert was held the night before I finished this piece. They sang "Orinoco Flow," which seemed to go with the movement and color of the art (sail away, sail away, sail away...).  But, Orinoco is a river in Venezuela! So, I've titled this "Orinoconile." That seems to allow some honor for the Egyptian king. This is available for $150.

Athens

Art History 311:   A Greek Odyssey.  Dictionary.com says an odyssey is "a long series of wanderings or adventures, esp. when filled with notable experiences, hardships, etc."   So, we have the study abroad opportunity for the middle child.  Before it even began, the notables appeared with last week's riots in Athens over economic austerity measures imposed by the European Union in a bailout of the failing Greek economy.  We didn't feel good about sending her alone, stand-by, to a mess...so I went along!  It was only long enough to get her there, wander the Plaka, eat a meal, sleep and come home.  But I feel so much better about the situation having eased her through the subway tricks, worked with the exchange rates, and seen the facilities.  The riots were over-blown by 24-hour-news networks, but the country is still very unsettled and BBC news today notes a bomb explosion in the city. 
     I'm praying the biggest hardship of her trip is our financial sacrifice and her forced budgeting while she is there.  It is an amazing place for understanding civilization, history, ancient art, and one's self.  Blessings to the UNL study tour! On our way to Greece, we ran into a friend from when we lived in Germany--was that really 24 years ago?  Great to see you, Rocky!  "Hi" to Janet and the family.  Fly safe.

Painting During Track Season

Still trying to paint for at least an hour a day...but we're chasing the track and field events.  It's been stranger than average track weather.  Almost one whole day  was spent in heavy rain with gusts to 30mph.  Last week we had rain, sun, sleet (weird, tiny, square drops), and lots of wind.  But my son is seeing some success, especially with the discus.  And, my daughter ran her first half marathon yesterday.  This photo shows it was a perfect day for a run in Lincoln, Nebraska.  The school year is almost over...a wedding ahead, but with kids' camps and study abroad plans, I may get some time to paint and sell some work to pay for all those plans!

Seasons

I was thrilled this week to present Rosanne with her painting, titled "Seasons" (shown right). Rosanne has futuristic and significance in her top five (Clifton Strengthsfinder). She even authored a book about using strengths in the classroom. She's been living with another painting of mine ("Resurrection", shown below) for a couple months, and wanted something similar, but larger. She also requested a piece of art that would speak to her spiritual connection with the seasons in nature.

This painting, as usual, had a significant evolution. However, inspired by Rosanne's confidence in my ability, and spurred by a previously scheduled trip to Omaha,  the work happened more quickly than usual...almost obsessively! A little over three weeks of work with the painting...that's a record for me, and enough to get me into a habit of painting daily. I am inspired! We hung "Seasons" on Monday in Rosanne's beautiful office overlooking the Missouri River. The watery elements in the painting seemed right at home there.

"Seasons" started in a vertical orientation, with a Gothic arch on the left, a "lilly pad" of hand-painted tissue on the right, and lots of swirly plaster wall texture (I use Behr Interior Texture Paint from Home Depot).  It changed to a horizontal orientation, lost the arch, added the cool tree with roots. (The tree is from a photo my son took of an osage orange tree, growing from a rock in southwest Nebraska. I printed it as an 8x10 black and white, then cut it out with an exacto knife.) It needed more, so plaster and bronze paint (Golden Fluid Acrylics) were added over most of the tree. When Rosanne sent a note expressing her anticipation of the "Four Seasons Artwork,"  I immediately knew how leaves should be added to the tree. Some leaves are collaged with painted tissue paper and some are painted with the Behr texture+acrylic paint. A late touch was the metallic marker line to separate the art from the frame. Finally, I added words unobtrusively, in turquoise, near the center: "There is a time for every purpose under heaven". It was a fun project. The best part was hearing and seeing the response from Rosanne and her friends. They found all kinds of symbols and ideas in the painting...some I hadn't even recognized!  Knowing my work makes a difference in others lives is such a rewarding part of my life as an artist. Thank you, Rosanne!