Sunday, October 25, 2009

"Rabbits, Riddles, and Scribbles" Opens October 31

Another opening, another show. The Day of the Dead festivities are warming up here in San Miguel, and the Fabrica Aurora, with it's many shops and galleries, is throwing a huge fiesta on Saturday night, the 31st, with live music and decorated altars honoring the dead, cocktails and dancing "Catrina" figures--the whole nine yards.

As part of the festivities, I'll be showing a mixed bag of paintings at Generator Gallery's opening. By which I mean a few fingerpaintings; a couple of paintings in which rabbits figure prominently (don't ask; I don't know the answer myself); and a couple of pieces inspired by the old Doo Wop songs I've been listening to while I work.

I've been so busy these last months that I've barely had time to spend in the studio, and I miss it. One more opening to go, in December at the Queretaro Museum, and book deadlines to meet before year's end, but I have high hopes of long, happy hours of painting in the new year.

Monday, October 5, 2009

A Stroll Down Memory Lane: The "Creative Journey"

On Tuesday, October 13th at 5 p.m., my friend Edward Swift and I will be giving back-to-back presentations about our lives as artists at the Santa Ana Theater here in San Miguel. Our presentations, part of the bi-annual "Creative Journey" series, will be followed by a discussion and question-and-answer session.

It's been quite an eye-opening experience preparing for this show. I've had a roller-coaster career as an artist, hopping from one thing to another, easily distracted by working for a living and general amusement, and had the sense that I really hadn't applied myself as an artist. But in prowling through piles of old material, I've been happily surprised to find that I've been quite productive, despite my lollygagging. Graphic design, painted furniture and floors, an animation film, a macrame jewelry business, lots o' books, intermittent series' of paintings and photographs. I can only show a fraction of this work in my presentation. View album or Play slideshow. The encouraging news for me is that, despite my sense of lost time as an artist, there has been a cumulative effect of doing this work over the years that is serving me well now. Who knew??