The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that supports Public Programs in the Arts and I am very happy and grateful to say that I am a 2017 recipient of the Individual Excellence Award.  I would like to thank the Ohio Arts Council, State Legislators and everybody responsible for supporting this program. Website link: www.oac.ohio.gov

It's nearing the end of October and the weather is going to take a slide into cooler temperatures. It's been warm and pleasant up until now, which has been welcoming.  However, winter is coming soon here in northeastern Ohio and I don't want to think about it.  Lately, I've been thinking how the weather affects the art that I do. My favorite season to paint is the obvious one, summer. When I work outside it has its drawbacks too.  When I gesso or paint a background color on my panels if they are flat on the ground then debris falls on them, leaves and bugs fly into the panels.

Come join the party! "Red Maple" was juried into the Columbus Museum of Art Women's Board 2018 biennial fundraiser "An Evening with Art".  It will be held on March 3, 2018 at the Columbus Museum of Art, with proceeds dedicated to children's and family programming.  For more information please go to the website: 
http://www.columbusmuseum.org/calendar-and-events/an-evening-with-art/

This painting I did as a commission from my original version which was 3ft x 4ft.  The commission is 24in x 30in and it turned out nicer in its compact version since it is very minimal.  The original idea for this painting was to depict the house with a very limited colors using only shades of red and white.

This photo is called "Tape Rose" for a specific reason.  This "flower" formed naturally from discarded tape that I use for my paintings.  After I pull of the tape off of my paintings I roll the tape in a ball and throw it away.  The last group of paintings I didn't throw away the tape rolls individually but I kept sticking them together because it reminded me of a sculpture.  And as I was going to throw away all the tape I noticed a flower had formed in one of the rolls so I took a photo of it. It was an interesting occurrence and a nice surprise. Also, it made its way to a photography show at the Summit Art Space this summer called "Photography Now".

I've always wanted to paint Marblehead in a way that interested me.  This painting will be on auction at the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center annual fundraiser "Nature's Night Out" on August 26th.

The Freedom Tower.

This is a view of  NYC from the new Freedom Tower.   I love this city and the phenomenon that happens when you bring all the people, buildings and things together in one space.  It's amazing with the enormity of activity and events that everything is organized and runs smoothly most of the time.

Last week I took a trip to NYC for a few days, but now it's back to reality.  The vacation memory fades as responsibilities take over. This brings me to a place in my artwork where I left off.  Taking this trip makes me think  of where I do my art.  I realized after visiting that I am happy making art at home in Ohio where to me it is peaceful and calm.  I love New York, but all the activity would distract me from concentrating on my work.

Saturday April 22nd was the Monster Drawing Rally at Spaces Gallery. It was very exciting  again and alot of fun. I was scheduled to draw from 8pm to 9pm. I finished this piece during that time with about 15 minutes to spare.  Many artists did multiple works during their hour of drawing.

This group of paintings just came back from the Affordable Art Fair in NYC. I was so excited when Meg asked me to participate in this show. Thank you Meg, and for this opportunity.  It went very well and I am very happy that I was able to participate.

I finally finished my trade with Christine Ries.  Quite awhile back, I was interested in acquiring two of Christine's dog portraits for my mom-in-law and daughter for last year Christmas gifts so I asked Christine if she would do a trade with me.  Two dog portraits for two houses.  She agreed to do it and she did a great job with them and also got them to me in time for Christmas.  So it was my turn to do my end of the deal and Christine asked me if I could do an image of her house and I agreed too.  Her house was not the typical type of house I would choose, but I always like to do things that are out of my comfort zone because it helps me see things from a different angle.  It is the image that you see here.  The previous image is the other house, and the image before that is "Holly" one of the dog portraits she did.  And I still have to take a picture of "Ziggy" .

"Holly" by Christine Ries

Now that the holidays are over with I can finally have my brain back to myself.  Before the holidays I'm always thinking of everybody else and the work I have to do for Christmas that I am focusing on that, which does not allow me to have as much free flowing stream of consciousness where all my ideas pop into my head.

A picture of the wall being installed at Acme #1.  The joining of gallery and grocery is so cool. The more I think about it the more I like it.