Seeing God

Secret Garden by lolly

"Seeing God...Artists Explore Spirituality" is a juried exhibition, September 11 - October 27, 2007 at Art Center Sarasota, 707 N. tamiami Trial, Sarasota, FL 34236. One of my works, "Secret garden" a mixed media, 22"x30" was selected for exhibit. Jurors were Magdalena E. Carrasco, professor of Art History of New College of Florida and Nikitas Kavoukles, fine artist and previous co-director of the LEDO Art Gallery, NY. I am thrilled to be included in this thought provoking exhibit which includes all art media. It is fascinating to experience interpretations of spirituality and the divine. The artists come from all over the state of Florida. See it if you can.

Thanks for photographer Rolf Bertram

I like telling people about talented artists I know or recently meet. Rolf Bertram is a creative photographer who lives here on Anna Maria Island. His new book about the island can be purchased from Amazon. Take a look at his work http://www.bertramimages/. com You will enjoy your visit. Rolf alerted me to the artist Alex Grey (http://www.alexgrey.com/). Grey's clairvoyant vision of translucent bodies are outstanding. I love his two paintings of an artist at work.

What every art lover should know about buying art.

This has to do with "giclee". If you know what that word means, go no further. It is French and means "spray with ink." Lots of today's artworks are prints but look like originals. Unless an artwork is labeled, you may not know if it is orginal or print. That is how good giclees are. The prints are created by scanning original artwork digitally and printing them using a color printer that sprays tiny, precisely controlled drops of ink onto paper or canvas. The advantage is a lower cost; the disadvantage, in my opinion, the print loses the energy connection between artist and viewer.
If the artist uses thick paint, you lose the texture of the paint; the palate knife or brush stoke impressions. You lose part of the artist's creative force. If you fall in love with an artwork, ask if it is an original. If it is and has a price you cannot afford at the moment, ask the artist or gallery if they will work with you to secure the painting. At the Guild Gallery on the island we keep the painting but mark it sold as the buyer pays installments. It is a win for everyone.

On the beach

To the right is a photo of me painting on the beach. Since I live on an island off the west coast of Florida, the beach is part of my daily life. I was born in Pittsburgh, PA so beach life was foreign until eight years ago. Now it feels like this is the way I always was.

Postings and Parrots

Thank you, Colleen, for being the first posting on my blog. What a thrill to find your posting. I hope we can become a support network for each other or in other terms: a flock. Flocks are on my mind because I just viewed The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. I highly recommend it. Ben is my blue front Amazon parrot so I was motivated to see it but even if you do not have a bird, this is a delightful film. It is a film about a flock of urban, non-native parrots who live in the green niches of San Francisco. It is packed with romance, comedy and a surprise ending. Your local library may have it. Mine did.

Choices

Setting up this blog is an adventure into something new. When I came to the page where I was to chose a design for the blog, it became a matter of choice. I reviewed each and chose the circles or dots. I am working on art which begins with automatic drawings inside of a circle. A circular format of automatic drawing is called a mandala. Psychologists (at one time I thought I would be a psychologist) interpret symbols drawn within the circle as revelations of unconscious thoughts. Perhaps this blog will serve the same purpose but with comments from others who read my thoughts. What fun!