So, here it is, December already!!...and MONTHS after I last updated my art blog.  SO MUCH is going on, and that is the main reason why I have not updated.  That's what I tell myself anyway....they don't call me Di Procrastinault for nothing.  Haha.



Anyhow...let's start with the Monster Mash Show.  It was a very fun show at Good: a gallery on N. Mississippi Ave.  This was a group Show that I was pleased to have two pieces in.  This show is now over and these pieces have not sold and are still available!  Let me know if are interested.

Aren't they fun?  I had a blast painting them.  So next up, I was invited back for the 2013 Siren Nation fine art show.  The theme this year was "Then and Now".  I decided to revisit one of my fav paintings I did way back in '94 when I lived at SW 11th and Clay.  We had such a lovely view of The Old Church from the balcony of our apartment.  I painted that church many times, but only kept one of the paintings, "View From #52".  
I decided to incorporate that painting into my Then and Now project.  I first went to google maps and searched out what that intersection now looks like.  The church is still the same, but where the Benson House used to be, now sits a 26 floor condominium.  (Needless to say, the view from #52 ain't what it used to be!)  Using the google map images, I made a black and white image of the intersection.  (Have I ever mentioned how much I love sharpies?!)  I posted the image on a board set on my easel and then projected the image of my old painting over the top of it.  I then took a photograph of the image that was made on the board.  That became this:

I like how the "Then" part came out all ghosty and slightly blurred, much like our old memories can be.  This show, at Albina Press on SE Hawthorne,  is actually ending tomorrow.  Sorry for the late notice, but whaddaya gonna do?   This piece is spoken for, but the beauty of this technique is I can make beautiful prints.  Let me know if you want one.

I currently have a bunch of my paintings hanging up at the Kenton Family Wellness Center at 8315 N. Denver Ave.  If you are over that way, I hope you will stop in and take a look.  Most of the paintings hanging are available for sale, so contact me if you want one.

So, just today I dropped off my three pieces for another Good:a gallery group show.  This show is called "The Art of Giraffe".  Scott Foster, the gallery owner (and fantastic artist himself) always has the funnest group themes.  This show opens up next Friday, December 6.  Hope you can come out for the opening reception 7pm-9pm and check out all the awesome Giraffes!
Good:a gallery 4325 N Mississippi Ave Portland Oregon.

Also, the Big 400 is coming up.  Some of you may remember the 10 pieces I did for the Big 300 of last year.  Well, the show has grown again!  Super exciting is the fact that my daughter Leni was invited to paint for it, too!  We both took ten boards each and had a blast working together in the studio.   The opening is Saturday December 14th, 2pm-9pm, at the Peoples Art of Portland Gallery, located on the third floor of the Pioneer mall (700 SW 5th Ave).  This opening is OVER THE TOP!  Really, ya gotta be there to believe it.  Over 400 artists means almost 4000 pieces, all 8" X 8" , hung in two galleries.  Add music, including opening ceremony bagpipes, beer, wine and crowds all searching the walls for a treasure.  All paintings are $40 each, cash/credit and carry, no matter who painted them.  Part of the proceeds go straight to the Oregon Food Bank, so this art event is a true winner.  Hope you can come out for it.  Oh, and please bring a can (or two!) of food for the OFB collection!

FINALLY...just for fun.  I participated in a group event called "Flood the streets with Art".  The idea was to leave a piece of art in a random location for someone to "find" and keep.  The day after Thanksgiving  was chosen as "Drop" day.  I thought it would be fun to do so I made a small (7" X 8") copy of my "View from #52: Then and Now" and mounted it to wood.  On drop day I left it on the yellow MAX line in downtown Portland.  I hope whoever found it enjoyed finding it as much as I enjoyed making it and leaving it.  So fun.  There is a page on facebook where you can check out some of the stories about the art drop, which ended up being an international occurrence.  check it out here:  

Well, I think I'm about caught up.  So excellent to be busy making art.  

I also wanted to mention that not only are my paintings available for sale, I also have prints, photos and note cards available.  There is nothing like giving a local handmade gift, and 'tis the season for giving coming right up.  Please feel free to contact me if there is something I have made that you would like to have in your life, or in the life of your loved ones!  Cheers!

Yeah.  I love science fiction...(especially Star Trek. Old school S.T. that is.)  I also like Star Wars.  So when I heard about an open call for artists for this Star Wars themed group show I knew exactly what to do.  
Yoda is by far my favorite character of the Star Wars persuasion.  He is wise and he is also a bad ass.  He's sorta cute, too.  In my quest to know more about Yoda, I found that his origins and his entire "childhood" is shrouded in mystery.  (See, I told you I was a nerd...I've spent HOURS researching this.)  There is no record of exactly when and where Yoda was "born".  No home planet to speak of, no fond stories of time in a family home with his "parents".  The earliest info I could find on Yoda's life was that he became a Jedi knight at the age of 96 years old, which is a youngish age when you consider Yodes lived until he was 900 years old.   With that info, I sort of figured that he aged alot slower than human beings.   I started thinking about how his "childhood" would have been.  It sort of amused me to think about young Yoda in mundane human child scenarios.  So the subject of my painting for this group show was pretty easy to come up with.  A young, five year old Yoda, celebrating a birthday with a very human-child rite of passage...a good ol' fashioned birthday party pinata-smashin'.  


That's all I'm gonna say.  The painting is posted on my painting page if I've tweaked your curiosity and you want a look-see.  Other wise, I hope you will consider coming out to Good: a gallery this Friday, May 3rd to check out this show.  It's going to be a good time (pun intended) and I'm gonna be there enjoying the art and the sentiment.  

...that Art and Soccer could meld together into one super exciting evening?!  Well, it happened here in Portland just the other day.   The Portland Timbers wanted to do something a bit different this year as they unveiled their new Kits for the season.  They contacted the Art on Alberta peeps and Green and Gold: a Tribute to the Portland Timbers was hatched.  Set to unfold at one of NE Alberta St's Last Thursday events, and with artistic rockstar Chris Haberman curating, the buzz and excitement grew.  NOW, the totally exciting part of this for me was when Eve Connell from AoA contacted me and Peggy Pfenninger and wanted to know if we wanted to do an Installation in the mobile art gallery, Red Rover.  We thought it sounded fun and so we agreed.  The situation was perfect for my longtime dream of putting a forest INSIDE a camper.  I mean, who gets to do that?! The timing was perfect for us as well, as there were plenty of live Christmas trees available.  We set to work in the camper and made our Timber's Forest come together.  We actually had to sign a non disclosure agreement that we would not leak info about what the new Kits were like.  Whoa...secrets and all.

The night of the event was nothing short of amazing.  The crowd that came out for this event was an interesting blend of soccer fan and art lover...some were both!  The art in the galleries was awesome, and our Red Rover installation was parked right out front on the street.  All the Timber's Brass was there and the hoopla surrounding the unveiling was electric.  Music blaring, lights dimmed except where they were focused on the mini stage, and news cameras clicking away.  I personally have never been in such a crowded opening, so that was exciting in itself.  The greatest news (to me) of the evening: the Timber's Peeps loved the installation so much, they are going to haul the trailer down to the stadium next week and show it there for next weekend's game.  Yeah!  (High Five, Peggy!!!)

Anyway, here are some pics of the process of making the installation and also some pics of the event.  The pics of the night of the actual event are photos that KATU news took, I was too busy to bother with my camera!

SO, yeah.  It was pretty cool to be a part of it all.  The Gallery shows will hang till March 25 if you want to get over to the Talisman Gallery and have a look see.  The Red Rover will be parked there to see as well, until sometime at the end of the next week when the Timbers are going to haul it across the river to the Stadium!  Yeay!



NOW on a totally different note...all the Timber's excitement should not make me neglect to tell you about other awesome things I am currently involved in.  One being that the Love of Portland show is still hanging and waiting for your eyes to look upon it's awesomeness.  I have a piece in that show and it's at the People's Art Gallery, 700 SW 5th ave, third floor.  It's a great show filled with images that remind us of just how awesome our fair city is.  

Secondly, last night a show opened at Lane Gallery called "The Farm".  I have a painting in this show and I am very excited about hanging in this gallery.  The Opening reception was very nice and the works of the other artists are beautiful.  If you are in the neighborhood of Lane Gallery, I suggest you stop in and check it out.   It's at 2627 SE Clinton St., and the show will hang through April.

Hello peeps!  Turns out that I have some cool happenings coming up for this month.  First off is a Chocolate and Cheese reception celebrating the Winter Show that is hanging at Nirvana Cafe.  Eight of my pieces are hanging in very good company with works by Julie Irmer and Kali Hoesch.  The show is jam packed with bright colors and amazing textures and I hope you can come on over for the reception, enjoy the art, meet the artists and of course, enjoy some chocolate and cheese.  The reception is this Saturday, Feb. 16, from 12 noon till 2pm.  Nirvana is at 510 SE Morrison.  

Now hold on!  February 16 is a busy art day for me!  Because after enjoying cheese and chocolate at the Winter Show reception at Nirvana, that very evening is the opening for the Love of Portland show at People's Gallery.  To the right here, you will see my painting that will be hanging for the show.  The show is going to be a cool collection of different pieces from many artists all expressing what makes Portland so lovable.  And we all know HOW lovable Portland is!  This is going to be a really fun opening with great art and I hope you can plan on attending.  Deets can be found on the poster above.

And now for something COMPLETELY different.    To the left here is a pic of Red Rover.  R.R. is Art on Alberta's traveling mobile art gallery.  I have been invited to work on a project that is excitingly different than my normal pursuits.  I will be working with Peggy Pfenninger and Eve Connell as we create an installation piece for the Portland Timbers.  The Timbers are going to be unveiling their new kits later this month and asked that some buzz be created at February's Last Thursday event on NE Alberta St.  I can't say much more about it, and the piece will be kept hush hush until the official unveiling ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 28th.   R.R. will be parked in front of the Talisman Gallery (1476 Northeast Alberta Street).  Ceremonies should begin around 6pm.    Hope you can come on out that night and check out the festivities!

I hope to see your awesome face at some (Or all) of these events if you can swing it!  

To the left here, you see my painting "Clear Night on North Lombard".  It has been submitted and will show this February at the "Love of Portland Show" in the People's Art Gallery.  (See poster above for deets)  Yeay!  Shows in this gallery are always awesome and fun so I'm glad to be participating.  Hope you can save the date and make in on down to the opening.

To the right here, is my newest painting and will be showing at Lane Gallery this March in the show called "The Farm".  There will be a nice opening on Friday, March 1st, so I hope you can try to attend that one as well.  (Lane Gallery 2627 SE Clinton)  This painting is called "Nell's Farm".






                                       
                                                                                                                        

Greetings!  Happy New Year to you!  Just gonna take a few moments to catch you up on some exciting things that have been happening for me in my art world.  Currently, I have 8 of my paintings hanging at Nirvana Cafe.  They are in very good company as they have been sharing the space with fabulous works by Julie Irmer and Kali Hoesch for the Cafe's Winter Show.  As you may imagine, it is a Show full of color and texture and a sure way to brighten up even the gloomiest Portland winter day.  Nirvana is at 510 SE Morrison, so stop in if you are in the area, grab one of their delicious menu items, relax and enjoy the sights.  The show will hang until the end of February.

So, I finished my ten boards for the Big 300 Show.  I'm so psyched to have my work join the many other great pieces by amazing local artists for this huge, awesome show.    A recap:  300 local artists create up to ten boards each.  On Saturday December 8th the top floor of the Pioneer Mall in downtown Portland will showcase the almost 3000 pieces of art.  The art is available for sale for the fantastic price of $40 per piece with $10 of that going straight to the Oregon food bank.  It's win-win, peeps.  The show is from 2pm till 9pm and not only will this show be a veritable feast for the eyes, there will be a bar and DJs to add to the fun.  I really hope you can plan to head down there to check it out!

Tonight, Nov.8th 2012, marks the kick-off to this year's Siren Nation Festival!  It's a month long celebration of creative women, show-casing music, art, film, writing and more.  I'm excited that I have been invited to participate in the official kick-off party this evening by having my painting, "Family Tree" join the works of 40 other super talented women in the show, Sight Unseen: New Works by Women.  Please come and join us! 6pm-8pm

Albina Press – 5012 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland OR 97215.

On Sunday, Nov. 11, I will be vending at yet another Siren Nation function.  The Siren Nation Arts and Craft Sale will be held at McMenamin's Kennedy School from 11am till 5pm.  I will be there sharing a space with the very talented Peggy Pfenninger and Alea Bone.  I will have matted and framed digital copies of some of my photos, dragon sculptures, clay pendants and note cards featuring images of my paintings and photos.  I also have unmatted and unframed digital prints available as well.  All items are priced to sell!  This can be a great start to any holiday shopping you may have and it is always very cool to give handmade gifts!

To learn more about Siren Nation and to check out the calendar of events for the entire festival, check out this link:

http://www.sirennation.org/   

Many cool things going on, check it out!