Saturday, October 29, 2011

Happy Autumn Holidays















Happy Halloween and Happy Thanksgiving too! Tonight I plan to meet friends in downtown West Palm for Moonfest. I’m going as a kid dressed in pajamas and carrying a teddy bear. Time keeps rushing by. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be putting up the Manalapan Library father/daughter show. I finished my book The Schreibers The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From The Tree, ordered it, and excitedly open the package when it arrived this week. I just have to make a few changes, but for the most part it’s fine.

In addition to working on the book, I finished a painting I’m submitting for Loxahatchee Visions, the Second Annual Juried Art Contest of Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge inspired artworks. The entries of original art (no photographs) will be on display and for sale from mid-November until January 8, 2012 giving novice (up to age 18) and adult artists a chance to win cash awards. The Visions contest exhibition will be open daily 9 – 4 in the refuge, and on Sunday November 20 at 1:00 p.m. there will be a Reception and Award Presentation. I would love to win an award, but will be happy to exhibit my work.

I also finished an 11” x 14” oil painting for A Unique Art Gallery’s November Exhibit. Chris Oakes, one of our resident artists, is getting his Masters in Fine Arts from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), and as part of his program he’s curating a show, The Sign of the Times, in the gallery. At our Second Wednesday Open House on November 9, 2011 we’re having a reveal. The exhibition will feature a unique art sales format in that the original artworks will be covered by brown paper and tied with twine with only the artist’s name and the price placed on the brown paper. An interested patron will have to look at other artwork the artists have hanging in the gallery to guess if they want to take a chance to purchase the piece before they are uncovered at 7:00 p.m. The exhibit is a fundraiser with 50% of the sale price benefiting the Cancer Alliance of Help and Hope, so we are hoping for a large turnout and lots of sales.

This past month, I was completely focused on putting my book together, preparing for my father/daughter shows, and finishing the paintings. I cut back on writing, covering the gallery, attending openings, and other assorted demands. Perhaps as a result, I’m actually ahead of schedule. I was able to start painting “Homage to Georgia O’Keefe,” a 24” x 30” collage style work. The beginning of a painting is always the best part for me. I begin a work feeling excited, eager to see my vision take shape. It’s not until the piece is almost done that I start to feel bored and doubtful. Since a painting this size generally takes at least a month to complete, here’s to a busy and happy November. Wishing everyone the same.

The photos above I took at A Unique Art Gallery's October Open House. Steve Lorenti's Hulk Pumpkin made it unto the first page of the Accent section in the Palm Beach Post.

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