Thanks a lot, Linda...

Okay – Linda has thrown down the goals gauntlet of a quarterly update. C’mon, Linda – don’t you know that once you set your goals, you are supposed to ignore them completely? Geez.

1. Hang some artwork in a gallery or art space, other than my own home...or the home of my mother.

Well – I’m not sure that Linda’s bathroom counts, but at least this isn’t hanging in MY house! (or the house of my mother…)

2. Continue to draw from life, concentrating on the figure.

Uh…sure. I’ve drawn from life, but rarely has it included an actual figure. Of a person. Okay – gotta work on this one.

3. Further refine my "voice". Take stock in the things that inspire me, to which I find myself drawn, and combine them in a way that is distinctly me.

I THINK I’ve been doing this – I think that my work has become more distinctly me, but I may not be the one to determine that. Would you recognize my work? I mean – I would, but I painted the darn things.

4. Write a coherent and succinct artist statement. One DONE!!! Yippee – have I posted it before? I don’t know, but here it is, now…

I find myself continually drawn to the sensual pleasures of art – the smell of paint, the feel of the brush in my hand, the sound it makes as it glides and skips across canvas. The act of painting transports me into a place of serenity and calmness. I am fascinated by bold, clean, clear colors and how they work to transform even the most mundane subjects into sublime and fantastic creations. I like to imbue my works with a sense of energy, as if the subject is resonating in the moment, by using a limited palette of primary colors along with texture and brushwork, and the incorporation of text. I desire that people view the subjects I paint in a new way – finding beauty and energy in something that is generally considered dull, quiet and immovable.

Cheesy? I don’t know. But it is done. True? I think so, and really – isn’t that what it is all about?