New Paintings

These three paintings were completed over the last few weeks. They were on display at the show last week. If you were not there, well here is your chance to see them. By the way, did I tell you how fantastic the show was? Anyway....

The first one, Gossip, is tempera on cardboard and measures 24"x50" It pretty much approaches the idea of gossip from the standpoint of birds. Pretty straight forward, the only thing that might not be so obvious is the fact that all the birds have their backs to the viewer. Much like gossip, these five birds are discussing something with the intent of shielding their conversation from others, specifically those being gossiped about.

The second, What is Peace?, is tempera on cardboard and measures 50"x30". At first glance one might think this is some sort of political statement or a form of propaganda. That is really just the bait. Often times when discussing war, specifically the war in Iraq, I have noticed that many people feel that if we can achieve peace - the idea of no more violence - things will take care of themselves and we Americans can go back to our normal lives. Then I started to think about the question, "What is Peace?" and "What is a normal life?" Seriously what does that mean, specifically to the Christian?

Peace is not found with the absence of violence or war. Peace is not the result of winning or overthrowing a government. As a Christian, peace is found in Christ. The world is constantly turned upside down. Conflict, war, death and destruction are part of our lives. Not that I enjoy that but, those things are here and don't seem to be subsiding very soon.

So where do we find peace? There is peace knowing that Jesus Christ is in charge and I am not. There is peace knowing the picture is far more broad than my own little slice of the universe. Despite what is going on in the world, there is peace knowing that our lives will not always be like this.

And finally, this last one is tempera on cardboard and measures 30"x50. This is a self-portrait. The explanation is not that complicated but, I want to think about the best way to describe it to you. I will come back, maybe tomorrow, and try and do that. Enjoy.

Let me know what you think, I am always curious to know what others are taking away and adding to my works.

What A Great Night!

Well the show has come and gone. It seemed like it was never going to get here and as I settled down afterwards on Saturday night I could hardly believe it was over.

Anyway, the show was fantastic! We had over 75 people sign our guest book and there were plenty more that didn't. The atmosphere was perfect. A little bit of music, some good food and plenty of conversation. Of course there are always things you wish you would have planned a bit better, but so it goes. My oldest daughter Ella was pretty excited to see some of her paintings displayed as well. Just like her ol' dad, she paints with tempera on cardboard...what can I say.

There were plenty of opportunities to talk with people one on one. That is what we had hoped for. I had the chance to explain the process for many of my paintings. The reason or purpose behind them became even more evident as the conversations developed. And of course the viewer always brings something unexpected to the work. Views, thoughts or ideas that I had maybe not even considered.

It was very encouraging to say the least. It just reinforced the fact that we are doing the right thing. That God is opening doors just as quickly as he closes others. That is beyond words.

There are quite a few people who helped out and made the show possible. I am not going to give an Oscar speech here but I do want to recognize them. Here they are:
Christy, Amy, Claire, Erik, Gail and Hallie and of course my brothers, Jeff and Joe. I am sure there are others, please forgive me for not mentioning them. Thanks does not do really express how greatful I am. Without these folks, well...it just would not have worked as well as it did. I am very greatful for their help.

Plans are already underway for another show this summer. Crazy huh?

Flickr Page Added

On the right hand side of the page is my flickr badge. You can click on the badge and view my current works from my flickr page. I added this to allow people to see all of my work in one location as opposed to just searching through older posts.

I will continue to show and discuss work on this page as always. Hopefully this added feature will help those looking for specific art works.

Just a few days away.

The work for the show is coming along quite well right now. I have a few more paintings I have been trying to get finished up. Hopefully they will be ready by Saturday. I am quite positive that there will be a few more that won't be completed though. That's fine, I will just have to wait until another time. If all goes well, we will have another show in the summer. Remember, if you have any questions about the location of the show or anything else just leave me a comment and I will get back to you.

Onward and Upward.

Show Update

It"s official, my youngest brother Joe is coming home for a special visit the weekend of the show and is going to bring some of his paintings! I could hardly believe it when he said he wanted to be part of the show. Jeff and I are extremely excited that he is coming. I felt kind of bad at first since we did not invite him in the first place. To be honest I would have not have guessed that he would be interested...but he is!

Jeff and I spent most of the day today working on the space for the show. Sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, building supports for the art work and just taking a chance to step back and take it all in. It still boggles my mind that we started throwing around this idea a little over a year ago. This idea to have a show where we could display art works of our own. And to add to that, neither one of us had been painting regularly for quite sometime! So we started with an idea, just like paintings do...and here we are, two weeks away. It's pretty cool to think about.

What happens when it's over? What happens when the last person leaves, the lights are shut off and the door is locked? I can't answer that question but I honestly believe this is just the beginning of something significant in our lives.

How do people see me?

Have you ever thought much about this question? Not just how people view our appearance but, how people see me beyond the surface. How do my core values and beliefs come across to others? Am I living the life I say I live? Am I the man I say and think I am? Often times I really begin to question myself in these ways. I suppose it's during these times of introspection that we start to scrape away the surface and get to the parts of our lives that give us meaning and purpose. Its in these inner layers that we find out who we really are.

Soooooooo???? You might be wondering what this has to do with anything...well it does. Here goes. I ask myself this question to keep myself in check. The art I am creating right now asks some tough questions. These questions are not just aimed at the viewer but, right back at me as well. Can I answer them? Of course I can't answer all of them but I try to at least address them. If I didn't what would be the purpose? Why would I even be asking them?

More importantly how do people view me through the questions my art works ask? I can't say for sure. I suppose that I hope they will begin to see a genuine person who doesn't have it all figured out. A person who is willing to become a bit vulnerable. A person who is willing to ask questions or entertain ideas that are not part of our everyday dialog. A person who is willing to ask the question and not have the answer.

Oh, forgot to add this one too.

This painting is of my girls. 48"w x 30"h. A combination of acrylic house paint (bought at half price at Kerr Hardware) and tempera on luan panel. Funny think about Kerrs, the basement is loaded with gallon after gallon of mis-mixed paint. I mean loads of paint in a variety of colors and finishes. I was just down there a few weeks ago looking for a neutral color to paint the stairway to my basement. I was like a kid looking at the JC Penny's catalog at Christmas. I am sure my eyes were glazed over and a bit of drool was pooling at the corner of my mouth when I finally decided to come up for air with a tolerable color...one my wife would give me the okay on of course.

Anyway, this is one of those paintings I had been wanting to do. Art for arts sake. The dandilioin puff (clock) with its floating seeds is very symbolic though. In the warmer months when the whole family is out for a walk my oldest daughter Ella has this uncontrollable urge to try and pick every dandilion puff she sees. Then she proceedes to blow on it and say that they are wishes floating in the air. I think my wife had something to do with that.

And for those of you who know my girls, Ella loves ballet and being a princess. Paige on the other hand likes to dance as well, but likes to push the limits even more. This is a typical expression found on her face when she gets serious. Not really too serious since Christy and I both laugh our heads off when she makes this face.

Yellow? Well yellow just works. And I really did not want to use Ella's selections...pink an purple. Go figure.