Visual journal July 26-29, 2010

Hollyhock oil painting

18x24 oil on canvas - I'm working on a series of at least 20 right now so I'm experimenting with backgrounds a little more.

Visual journal July 21-24, 2010

Wordage

So I stopped by the Wordage exhibit at the Detroit Artists Market, and our old art teacher Jack O. Summers did a great job curating this exhibit. It was cohesive and had strong pieces on either side of the gallery that anchored the show. The show highlighted diverse artists who had unique styles, and almost every piece was captivating. I really was drawn into the pieces and intrigued by the hidden meanings or stories of the pieces. I have found that artwork that employs text often comes across as too commercial, too tacky, or too simplistic (trying to walk the viewer through a painting too the point of making them feel like an idiot). But Jack avoided the clichés and put together a sophisticated, fluid, and inspiring show. I didn't get the names of the artists who did all of the pieces that I liked, but here are pictures of the two pieces that I thought were the strongest of the show (the one with the red boot is by Dick Goody and the large "Don't Care" panoramic painting is by Lynn Galbreath).

Visual journal July 17-20, 2010

Visual journal July 13-16, 2010

I've been creating a lot of backgrounds at once to have pieces prepared ahead of time. I've been working on similar ideas.

Visual journal July 9-12, 2010

Work-in-progress/process -- Hope series

Again, the picture that I took (in my basement with an iPhone) is darker than the actual pic, and there is a glare from the light in the middle, but you get the idea -- background is an abstraction of the Detroit river. Let me know your thoughts.

Visual journal July 1-4, 2010

ArtBlast

So the show at Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center ended up including only three of my pieces, rather than ten, because of space limitations. I am still happy with how everything turned out.

All in all, it looks like they are going to have a great event. I took a few pictures, which does not give the decorations at the BBAC justice -- it really looks good and I am sure it will be a success.

Visual journal June 27-30, 2010