Spring in Ohio is always magical.  Despite the higher than normal winter temps this year, it is no less exciting to watch the gradual "greening up" of the local landscape and to feel the sun's warmth on your skin. 

Fresh and Springy ...

I am honored to have my painting, Supporters (acrylic 24" x 60") juried into the current "Fresh" show at Summit Artspace Gallery.  The show's  title this year is "Fresh and Springy".  This annual competition showcases  innovative work that has been created within the past year.  It  is always a treat to see what fellow artists come up with.  "Fresh and Springy" runs through April 14, 2012.  Summit Artspace Gallery hours are Thurs. - Sun. 12 - 5:00.  Location 140 E. Market St., Akron, OH

For the past several years I have been painting images that either appear in
dreams or are the result of a  meditative sketching process.  Most always these images are abstract in nature and represent a societal or interpersonal
phenomenon. 


Every so often, however, an image appears on my sketching  page that results in a painting like the one I'm currently working on.

Could this be because I'm about to begin the third phase of the 17-Day
Diet? ... am I being influenced by the current  barage of Valentines Day 
promotions, or am I contemplating  Forest Gump's mother's philosophy? 

Whatever the subliminal influence ... I'm enjoying this sweet departure and as I work I can almost taste each individual piece.

The weather is getting cold here which inevitably directs my inner compass toward the south and I start looking forward to reunions my southern friends and family members.

During the coldest portion of the Ohio winters, I unashamedly hightail it to Georgia.  I regularly rent a temporary working space at the Tannery Row Artist Colony where I used to have a studio. This past winter I was approached by a fellow resident of the colony, Sabrina, about painting a large mural  on the outside wall of a warehouse in Chinandega, Nicaragua.  Sabrina and her husband head up an organization which does a variety of wonderful things to Nicaraguan people.

Armed with a variety of innoculations we headed to Nicaragua for our ten day adventure.  My four artist companions, Judy, Sabrina, Judy, Soonie (all Tannery Row Artists) and I planned and pounded out a mural  approximately 60' x 13').  Our subject matter reflected the good works being done by our commissioning organization to make life safer, healthier and happier for Nicaraguan people displaced by natural disasters.  

We drank gallons of water (it was VERY hot and humid) and lunched on peanut butter sandwiches.  Breakfasts and dinners always included tasty beans and rice and wonderully sweet fruits.  We commiserated about our increasing physical ailments, stiff necks, bug bites, sun burns, joint problems, dizziness, bad knees, etc. and we laughed, sang songs, climbed up and down ladders and scaffolding, danced, and painted on and on when we felt like we couldn’t lift another brush.  

Our experience was unforgettable and life changing. We pushed ourselves to our limits; we tearfully observed people surviving in unimaginable circumstances; we laughed and communicated with local folks using our limited language skills; we got lost in our work, and we formed a poignant professional and personal bond with one another.