Paintings on the move...

After a comparatively quiet winter, a number of my paintings are heading out on display in various venues. I'm showing several paintings (mostly 'Trees') out at Local Color in Bodega Bay, together with Susan Ball's beautiful work (show continues through May 16th). Wednesday, I'll be hanging paintings at the Santa Rosa Country Club, (showing together with glass artist Kate Black-- there'll be a reception Friday, April 30th); and finally, here in Graton (though not open to the general public) , a number of my paintings are being featured in the lovely guest cottage of Spirit Hill.

(to the left above: paintings at Local Color: three below: paintings at Spirit Hill. click to enlarge)

flickr fascination

If you've become hooked on the Flickr photo site as a source for endless inspiration & admiration, you'll probably find these diagrams interesting. They compile the changing colors of photos submitted around the calendar year. More info, explanation, links et al here.


A glance at my most recent page of flickr faves shows an upsurge in coral, with accents of turquoise and, as always, yellow.

Final week for Bob & a Beer!

If you live in the East Bay, you have through the end of March to catch our friend Bob Stang's paintings hanging at the (awesome) Albatross Pub in Berkeley, and enjoy a pint of your favorite ale at the same time. More of Bob's work can be seen here.

Nature & Numbers

Similar theme to one posted here a while back (see here), but I never get enough of this sort of thing...

created by etereaestudios.

Studio Views & Details

Over on facebook someone commented about these: "...organic dreams, like penetrating the abstract chemistry of spring." I like the sound of that. Thanks Suzanne!

"dear ada" and celebrating Spring

I've been visiting "dear ada", the blog, for a coupla years, off & on, by now. She posts an assortment of what she finds beautiful & inspiring. Scrolling down the current blog page, it looks as though she's on a roll, and feeling the Spring (not sure where she's based)-- like we are. Thanks for bringing us so much magnificence!



top to bottom:
Fiona Hall,
Ruth Van Haren Noman,
Jennifer Bain.

Visit "dear ada" for much more, + links.

Detail of a painting in progress-- actually working over the top of some started looong ago & never resolved. This flower-like form is one that actually grew out of a jellyfish for me, and is now showing up in a number of my paintings.

beatriz mihazes

Hey peeps, if you are in fact still out there.
Long time no see. And when did we last have a shot of the pure, design-y exuberance of Brazilian painter Beatriz Milhazes?
See also links & video here.

Paintings at Thumbprint Cellars

(One of the (somewhat older) paintings-- from my 'islamic tile period' recently featured in the Thumbprint show. And perhaps this one has found a permanent home...?)

First of all, let me just say: Facebook ate my blog.
Perhaps you've heard of this thing, this Facebook. Bloggers who I used to visit, they started saying they were spending their internet energy over there, and now I can see how it happens. I have been neglecting this space miserably.

Now: I have paintings, six big ones, hanging up at the new location of the Thumbprint Cellars Tasting Room in Healdsburg.
Not entirely my most recent-- after seeing the space I chose the paintings that I thought would fit best there. (Alas, show now closed)

SRJC Art Faculty Exhibition-- (2 more days!)

The bi-annual Faculty Exhibition at SRJC (where I teach) will open tomorrow (Thursday, November 5), with a reception from 4-6.
I've seen a sneak preview, and it looks like it should be a strong show, so if you're in the neighborhood, check it out. Two of my paintings are included.

The show will remain up through December 12.

"Dualities"

... that's the name of the show opening Thursday evening at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. This earlier painting of mine, called "Rhyme or Reason" is one which will be in the show. (It's about 5 x 8') For several years, all my work was in the form of diptychs, and dealt with contrasts of one sort & another.
Not so much any more.

after ARTrails

Well, the two weeks of Artrails are just past. As many of you know, I took the year off "on sabbatical", which allowed me to go out and visit several artists each day-- mostly ones within a couple miles of me here in West Sonoma County-- and be here to be support to Tony as he participated in our back-yard studio. My apologies to my faithful visitors who may have been disappointed to find me not in the catalog... I expect to return next year, but most likely showing down the street at the Atelier. We weren't sure how the split-location would work out, and when the momentum was there for a AtelierOne building-specific opening in September, I decided that would be my one Fall Open Studio Event for this year.



(details of work in progress)

I've been leaning more purely abstract in the studio the past year or more, and as things incubate & shift, it's been helpful not to think too much about having a lot of visitors & the whole commercial end of things. Sort of an on-going see-saw for some of us.

I really enjoyed visiting with my colleagues out on the 'Trail'. As well as enjoying the fruit of their artistic output, I was impressed with their level of professionalism, and happy to be able to experience ARTrails as a viewer for a change!

September's Studio

Here's the digital review of what was on the walls last month when the Atelier One in Graton held a Building -wide Opening.

Before the studio slowly reverts to its full working mode, I photo-graphed all the walls, as well as what was up in the hallways.

If you click on any image, you should be able to see 'em nice & big.

Now-- back to work.

Andy Harper

Never heard of him before-- guess he's from England; but looks as though I'll be making a jaunt to Oakland some day this month to see his paintings at Johannson Projects (photo via SFGate).

loving Ernst Haeckel...

Here's a dose of art meets nature beauty for you... best viewed larged.
Just saw (via Netflix!) a documentary on Haeckel called 'Proteus'....

I don't know how they do it... but I like it...
by korb, via moon river. (better viewed large)

art in context

It's fun to see my paintings out in the world-- here's "Blue Moon" as shown in Cabana Home of Mill Valley.

notes from before...

In the early eighties, when I was a shy 20-something art student at the California College of Arts & Crafts, I took a class called "Drawing from Nature"-- or something like it-- from an instructor named Don de Vivieros. I still remember things he said in that class, & handful of places we went to work-- I think my mom still hangs some work from those days. In the move to my new studio last year, this page of notes labeled "DeViveiro's Law", surfaced. And this past weekend, Don-- (a Sonoma County resident), and his daughter-- came into my studio.... a small world, no? And some of this advice-- bears re-reading.

(click on images to enlarge)
notes continued on back with:
work with what happens, don't use force.
don't think while you do, only before or after.
vary vary vary.

inspired!

Maybe it's just the coffee talking... maybe it's the afterglow of so many great conversations this weekend... or of hanging all my work together & lighting it (almost) properly and getting some perspective...but I'm feeling inspired. Inspired to get back to work-- inspired to take it up a notch-- inspired to dream a bigger dream... so thank you! Loving my community even more, if that's possible.

Pretty good coffee buzz, too.

Open Today @ Atelier One

Somes scenes from last night's opening party at the Atelier One, where I've had my studio operations for the past year. It was a lovely time-- especially for the sense of community amongst the building's residents, many of whom don't open their studios often.