Building 3 Little Houses

I traded a table I built out of vintage beaded board to an Artist who was my neighbor at Blue Genie. His name is Terrell Powell and I just loved his work. (Pictured is '3 Houses') He has a very distinct colorful folk art style and it speaks to me. So I've spent the last few days trying to paint like him, like me. In other words, not copy him but try to do what I do in his style. Color is always a challenge for me. I don't really have any sense of how to put it together. Unfortunately it shows in my lack of fashion sense! It's best if I stick to black and white (in clothing and Art it seems). But I'm going to be bold this coming year and try and break out of that. It's taken me several years to just add one color to my scratchboard drawings. Making a little 4X4 painting with multiple colors? Yikes...look out. The first 3 are a few of what I pushed out of me. They are crude, not really good but it's a start on a different path, and I had a great time painting them.

Happy New Year! I have hope that this year will be a better one for all of us. The bright spot of 2008 was Obama winning the election. The rest was pretty dismal. I am so happy that George Bush will be getting his @ss out of there!

Merry Freaking Christmas!

Ok, so I'm certainly not a Scrooge or anything but I really hate christmas. It's all built on the gift giving pressure and heaping loads of food and crazy family and expectations of winter wonderlands etc....and the pay out is usually disappointment. For the most part I do my best to avoid all of it. Even when you say, 'It's not really my holiday' folks try to suck you into it. Or they try to guilt you into believing that not wanting a "Merry Christmas" is somehow a terrible thing and you are an awful human for not wanting to participate. I'm glad it's over for now. I remain unscathed by any family drama.
Whew! That being said, things are good artistically for me. I made some money at the Blue Genie Art Bazaar. Mostly though, I made some money remodeling my neighbors bathroom. Went to Jerry's Artarama today and bought some paints and 4X4 canvas' to try my hand at that. A few of the artists at BGB were doing some really cool mixed media collage type paintings and I'm really drawn to that. We'll see what I can do. I'll post a few once I get down to business and make some. A friend asked me today what's next...and honestly I don't know. This economy scares me, but I still have to make art in some form or fashion. I may drive out to Marfa to do a little remodeling and art gallery exploration. I haven't been there in about 10 years and I've heard it's very hip and trendy now. Great. Hope to see good art and Marfa lights. My new year resolution is to post on this blog more. We'll see how that goes..I'd rather work and live than sit and type about it.

Relevance and Age

What I'm thinking these days is Relevance, Relevance, Relevance. I'm in my 50's, and for the first time, the President Elect is younger than I am. I'm getting older and see that so much is geared toward the younger generation. As it should be in many ways, and yet, I feel I still have things to offer. So my question to myself today is, 'What is it I am offering? And how can I keep contributing to the world and remain relevant and open to the new? And how can I make that contribution worthwhile and not just keep on consuming more and more. And with this blog, do I have something to say or am I just going to fill space?
Here's a passage from a collection of short stories I'm reading:

"It's starting to look as if the most shameful tradition of Western civilization is our need to deny we are animals. In just a few centuries of setting ourselves apart as landlords of the Garden of Eden, exempt from the natural order and entitled to hold dominion, we have managed to behave like so-called animals anyway, and on top of it to wreck most of what took three billion years to assemble. Air, water, earth, and fire-so much of our own element so vastly contaminated, we endanger our own future. Apparently we never owned the place after all."
-Barbara Kingsolver- High Tide in Tucson

My first post on my first blog. I set this up about a month ago and then got distracted by a 2000 mile drive home and identity theft(mine by someone who must not like their own very much). Now I am ready to start reporting. There is coffee in my cup, chili on the stove and the weather in Central Texas has finally gotten cooler. (well, in the 50's and 60's which is down right cold for us) Still no rain. Drought. But on a more positive note, we have Obama in the White House! I have not felt so happy and proud to be an American in such a long time. Eight years to be exact. I don't hide my contempt for W very well. My truck has a bumper sticker that says 'I am the AntiBush!"
I am making art pieces to sell at the Blue Genie Art Bazaar here in Austin. Fun show, runs Dec. 3-24th, more info at www.bluegenieart.com
Friends have asked, why a blog? What will you say? Do you think you have enough material? Will any one read it? Good questions, and honestly I don't know. My thinking is I will write about what I'm doing with my art in hopes someone may have a comment or suggestion. Once I get the hang of this I'll start posting photos of what I'm scratching on. My main medium is Scratchboard which is masonite with white clay with black ink. I scratch through to expose the white. Looks like a woodcut or etching. Check out my website to see what I'm talking about. www.blue-eyedponystudio.com
Like many artists I spend alot of time alone. Makes for good art, but sometimes I loose my perspective and need input from others. That's what I'm hoping for. Welcome to my world.