Happy Thanksgiving, to Everyone

Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday. Period. It's all about food, family and friends. Everyone coming together, right before winter sets in, to remind us of what is real, what is important and yes, how much we have to be thankful for.

I especially love it because it's not a commercial holiday. There's no need for greeting cards, presents, flowers, special candy etc. Rather it's more of a "come as you are" holiday. Blue jeans and bulky sweaters with comfortable shoes will do just fine, thank you very much. Your gift is yourself, and perhaps the great dish you bring which everyone loves. Again, it's real, part of who you are.

I wish that all of you have a wonderful, day spent with those you love. And go ahead, reach for that big old drumstick or the extra slice of pie, today is for satisfying our souls as well as our bodies!

Getting Back to Reality

OK, who's the little gnome that pushed the "fast forward" button in November? This month has completely flown by - what, Thanksgiving? Christmas? Didn't we just ring in 2008? . Perhaps it has something to do with the significant changes we've seen happening. Every day has been full of twists and turns, sometimes it's been overwhelming and it all has an erie, surreal feeling to it.

When I step back and look at all of this, I see the falseness and lack of touch with reality that has dominated our markets, lifestyles and views beginning to erode like sand dunes in a hurricane. Markets have been built or destroyed based on the projections of Wall Street gamblers. Now we have come to the sobering reality that so much this false wealth has been based on slick images, deception and greed of individuals.

No wonder people are holding back. We don't know who or what to believe and are anxious about what is coming next. If you are lucky enough to still have gainful employment, more than likely, you are being cautious with your money. The free wheeling days of conspicuous consumption and impulse buying seems to have quickly come to an end. I'm rather grateful for that. What should happen as a result is that the companies and individuals offering high quality goods and services at fair prices should prosper, and I'm seeing signs of it already.

Case in point, my husband is self employed as web designer. For years, he knew that he lost business to large design firms with a lot of flash and dazzle but little to offer in the way of real service and product. Many times, those same clients came back to him to fix or rebuild a less than effective website. They bought a perceived image, not the reality of what they needed for a good website that works. As we watch those other design companies struggle or fold, my husband's business is thriving. It is based on the reality of solid design, coding and effective "mechanics" of using the internet to it's best advantage to build business. And he does it all at a fair, not a cheap or inflated, price. He rarely advertises. His business is built on word of mouth referrals - based on a solid reputation for providing the best product and services. Pretty simple. And real.

So what does all of this have to do with art? Many will say that art is not necessary. But it is. It feeds the soul and enriches our lives. Try to imagine this; you wake up in the morning and turn on the radio, but hear no music, only monotone voices; your books are gone and there are no interesting articles to read in the newspaper or on the web - only a list of bulleted, fact based item,. Walls are empty, devoid of colour - no images to take you back to a favourite place or inspire and stir your soul. The things that connect us as human beings, the shared experiences and emotions, and beauty, are gone. In short, a vital touchstone to reality and connectivity to something more significant, has disappeared. Going back to the dawn of man, who's primary concern was mere survival, we recall the cave paintings of Lascaux. Yes, it's that important!

If you are struggling with economic difficulties now, remember that there are a lot of free or low cost options to feed your soul; libraries, museums, concerts and movies. If you love original art, and are able, consider buying smaller, less expensive paintings or drawings for holiday gifts, especially from emerging artists. Not only does it help the local economy, but purchasing from artists you already know or ones that you see are rising, can be a solid investment both financially as well as emotionally. Keep it real, buy what you love and buy quality. It will last a lifetime and beyond.

With all that being said, I'm going to indulge in a bit of shameless self promotion here. In addition to recently winning an award for my work, I've been selected, by jury, to permanently exhibit my work in the Artists Gallery in Lambertville, NJ. In December, the gallery will offer a large number of (smaller) paintings by their emerging and established artists. I will have 6 paintings available this month. There's also a holiday party on Saturday, December 13th from 6 to 9 pm. It's open to the public, and I hope to see many of you there. More information is available on my website.

The "big" painting

I had forgotten that I had posted a preliminary view of this work several weeks ago. This work was simply a blast to paint - first of all working in a very large ( 36" x 36") format really opens you up - physically. There is no way you can tighten up your body when painting something this large (well at least for me). I enjoyed this process so much, that I've decided to create several works in large format. The subject of pears was an experiment so that I could figure out all of the technical issues of working this large (e.g. correct brush sizes, perspective on this scale, etc.). Incredible fun.

This will be the largest work that I'm offering at the NOVA show.

POST SCRIPT: Tonight was the opening of the NOVA Show, and I'm thrilled to let you know that this work won the Honorable Mention Award for Oil Painting. The caliber of artists at this show was really high, so I'm doubly thrilled. My thanks to the jurors: Kristine Kravinsky, Curator of Modern Art at the Michener Museum / Colleen Matthews, Direcctor of the Radcliffe Gallery in New Hope and to Rita Corino, Artist

NOVA / Galaxy 2008 Show

The past month has been busy, getting ready for the NOVA / Galaxy 2008 show which opens on Thursday, November 06. This brief (4 day) show is held to benefit the programs of NOVA, (Network of Victims Assistance) and 80 juried artists are participating in the show this year. Eight of my new works will be offered at this event. For more information, you can go to their website http://www.novabucks.org. Images of the paintings are on my website gallery page.

I've been concentrating on landscape work this past month. With the oil sketches, notes and some photographs I've been working on a series of works that are inspired by my recent trip to Cape Cod and Maine. But the pull of plein air work is really strong, it is just a completely different experience when working directly from life. The works becomes stronger, more authentic, in short the most important thing about a painting, the physical and emotional experience you have, comes through much stronger in a painting done directly from life.

A word on framing. For this show, I had all of the paintings professionally framed with the goal of making the entire presentation unique. And I'm thrilled with the results. Frames should not just be "something you put around a painting", it should complete the idea and the mood that the artist conveys in the painting. This process can transform a "painting" to a work of art. Yes, it costs quite a bit more than getting frames at the local discount art supply store, but it's really worth it.

SOLD