Participation 2014 is this Saturday, March 29th

A photo of one of André Smith's paintings has my accidental portrait. That year, André's work was featured and highlighted his work before and after the Art Center, which he created.

It was in 2012, when my table featured a chandelier of masks.

The photo below (and some of the above) were taken by Kristen Wheeler, a friend and fabulous photographer.

This year I have my table scape underway, but nowhere near finished, so I hope it is all that I dream it to be. The gala evening is Saturday, March 29th, I'll share photos of the event after it's happening. In the meantime, you can visit the event site here: http://artandhistory.org/particpation-dinner-affair-2014/

I will be participating, along with many other wonderful artists, at the Folk Fest this weekend:

http://orlandofolkfestival.wordpress.com/

It is full of music, food and art, in the gorgeous setting of the Mennello Museum
of American Art.




10 am – 5 pm February 8 and 9, 2014

Below, photos from the show in 2012.

Participation: Sideshow of the Senses

Participation, at the Art and History Museums - Maitland. An evening of performance art by Phantasmagoria; a talented theatrical group, local artists and delicious food from Cuisiniers 

(and celebrated chef Jamie McFadden).

April 6, 2013

The artists and performers were inspiring:

Artists Robin Maria Pedrero (http://www.gallery523.com)

and Marla E (http://www.marlae.com/Art)

Artist Nathalie Chikhi with guests (http://nathaliechikhi.com)

There were many more artists, when the Museums put up a link, I'll share what other art you could see on this very festive night, or we can check back with über talented photographer Kristen, who's information you will find below).

Phantasmagoria are a group of talented entertainers from Empty Spaces Theatre Co(llaboration), they are under the direction of the fabulously talented direction of John DiDonna, who had his portrait commissioned not too long ago, by his admirer.

The commission was to be John as the character "Dr.Frank-N-Furter" from the delicious Rocky Horror Picture Show.

This photo is from Phantasmagoria's Facebook site. It was taken by the fabulously talented Kristen Wheeler (http://www.khphotographics.com).

The artists are asked to make a centerpiece for a table and donate artwork.

This year, my tabletop was a Money Tree

Throughout the year I've been painting on play money. First animals:

And more recently, unusual words:

The donated pieces:

It was a magical, beautiful spectacle between the fire eaters and gorgeous set designs by Dazian

(http://www.dazian.com/)

Cuisiniers served up delicious fare including whole salmon with addictive dipping sauce, marinated mussels and mac and cheese like I have never tasted. It was all, every bite, remarkably tasty.

(http://www.cuisinierscater.com)

One of the guests at my table, above, is sampling some of Cuisiniers delights.

Last but not least, I was thrilled to be asked to design the inaugural "P" for Participation, which from now on will be designed by a new artist each year.

Above, the painted "P" and below, the letter that was created for all the printed materials:

The End

How is 2013 so far? 

Read a book, check out art

Currently, the artwork below is getting to spend the night (several actually) at the library. The Winter Park Public Library, here's the link to the library: http://www.wppl.org/

I am delighted to have my work shown in a place full of so many wonderful books.

The show runs through March.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A dog has owners, a cat has staff.

I have very straight hair, and just enough to be considered a mammal. Sometimes I see hairstyles that I wish I could employ upon my noggin, here's a few:

Happy New Year! I'm in the Money

I don't like being one of those people who says, "Where did the time go?", yet that is exactly what I keep thinking. 2012 was a whirlwind year, partly because I have children with activities and lots of need to go here, there and everywhere. So I've discovered, 2012 was spent driving children around with some painting and art stuff in between.

I suspect there will be more of the same in 2013.

One of my biggest projects for 2012 has spilled into the new year. I have been painting money with different animals.h. It is so fun and quick, I find it's been a good way to get in the daily doodle and still make all those road trips with kids. Now, I just have a few $100 bills left. 

I'll miss the challenge of coming up with new animals and slang terms each day.

 Maybe I'll get another stack of bills and start all over again.

Are you hungry?

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. It got me wondering, what was on the menu for the first Thanksgiving meal? In my research, I found it wasn't one meal but a series of meals that was celebrated over 3 days.

Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions? We like to play baseball in the street before we take our after meal naps.

Portraits

Portrait art was, before photography, the one way we can recognize important figures in history. Think of Mozart, Beethoven, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and so many more. I wonder if the artist felt pressure to capture as true a representation as possible. Or, if they took liberties. If you Google George Washington, you will see, indeed they took liberties. The only way we know what George really looked like is a death mask (a plaster cast applied right after death).

I do not have the gift of capturing realism in my work, but I find it is so freeing that I don't have to worry about capturing a true representation of a person. Though, I have tried to match photos as closely as I can. Here are a few examples. What do you think a portrait should be?

Where in the world is Kim?

A few months ago, I started a series based on the world travels of my friend Kim. I have been endlessly fascinated with the places and spaces she has gone and her unique view on each experience.
Today, I featured Kim's trip to Dubai on my Facebook doodle page:

So Many Fun Things

I am happy to report that I have all sorts of fun things going on.

First, I am happy to announce I have art hanging at Adjectives Market in Altamonte Springs. You'll find big paintings and daily doodles.
Adjectives is on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adjectivesmarket
and they have a website: http://adjectivesmarket.com/
The market is located in a huge building with sky high ceilings that used to be a Skip's Boots store.









I have a painting in a show in Austin, Texas, The Presidential Losers show. Here's a photo of the painting and its arrival to my pals there in Austin.







You can read more about the show here: http://presidentiallosers.tumblr.com/ and the event page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/341847625907324/
There are 44 artists participating and they're all peaches.



I was lucky enough to be interviewed by Clyde Moore, one of the talented writers of the Winter Park/Maitland Observer, a local newspaper. He not only wrote a nice piece for the paper, but even an entry in his blog: http://www.wpmobserver.com/news/2012/sep/17/monday-monday-monday/
Here's the article from the paper: http://www.wpmobserver.com/news/2012/sep/19/clyde-moore-fun-shines-through/

Believe it or not, there's more, but I'll save that so we have something to talk about next time.

September Eleventh

Remember.

Phyliis Diller. 1917-2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH66_tFP8VA

What are little boys made of? Illustrated poem by Robert Southey.

I have attempted to get to know the local candidates who appear on the August ballot.

You'll notice the republican ballot has many more options than non partisan and democrat options.

My cat has many adventures, Mars is the most ambitious she's had yet.