Third Place Under Glass

This morning I entered art into an art show competition sponsored by the Jefferson Art Guild. It was held at the Clearview Mall in Metairie. Participants designated three pieces to be part of the judging. Anyway, my colored pencil piece, "Fuse," was awarded third place in the Under Glass Category. The judge was Martin Wohlgemuth.

Artist of the Month Competition

Earlier tonight, at the West Bank Art Guild meeting, I placed second in the Artist of the Month competition for February 2012. My acrylic painting is titled "Ocho." Prior to each general meeting of the guild, there is an artist of the month competition. Fifteen minutes before the meeting starts members vote. Then during the break, which precedes the program, the winners are announced.

There are three place ribbons. All three works hang on a wall downstairs at the Westwego Art Center. In the photo below are the artists with their winning artworks. From left to right there are Joan LeBlanc (3rd Place), Me (2nd Place) and Jude Trafficano
(1st Place).

Featured in "Our Louisiana" Magazine

My color pencil drawing "Fuse" was published, with a brief write up about me, in the February 2012 issue of Our Louisiana. I am one of four color pencil artists profiled in the article. Below is a full photo of the drawing.

color pencil on paper, 20.25" x 27"

Tied for Artist of the Month

Tonight at the Jefferson Art Guild meeting, I tied with Jackie Budde for Artist of the Month for January 2012. My acrylic painting is titled "Siete." Hers is titled "Steps of Pisa." After each meeting of the guild, there is an artist of the month competition. During the break, which precedes the program, members vote on the works submitted. The winner is announced at the end of the break.

Contemporary Art Gingerbread House

Today fourth grade art teacher Lacey Toole, from Calvary Day School, informed me
that she included me as one of ten "famous artists" for a gingerbread house art project. One of the gingerbread houses was based on my dot art. The winners were included in a slide show on the school's site. Below are three photos from the slide show. Two show the gingerbread house based on my art. The last one shows the whole village of gingerbread houses.

My Google + Page

Google+ added "Pages" recently. So, I now have a Page for me and my art. My posts there may mimic what I do on this blog. I'm not sure yet. Like many new web creations, what to do with them is not always apparent at first.

Honorable Mention in St. Bernard!

Today, a watercolor of mine, “Turn,” received an Honorable Mention in the Under Glass category at the St. Bernard Art Guild Members Fall Show. The judge was Cathy Hallock. When members wandered around to view the winners, several of them came up to me to tell me how much they liked my winning piece.

Merit Award

My color pencil drawing, “Fuse,” was awarded a Merit ribbon by Bill Crowell, who judged the West Bank Art Guild Open Art Show. I found out tonight at an awards reception. When drew this piece, I used all 132 colors included in the box set. So far, I've received a lot of enthusiastic feedback about this drawing.

Sifter Art Show

Today I am one of five artists in a virtual group art show on the site VideoSift.com. The show is named Sifter Art Show, September 2011. I've included works from the last three years in my part of the show. The other artists involved come from a variety of artistic backgrounds. Enjoy the show.

New JAG President!

Tonight at a banquet, I was sworn in as the new president of the Jefferson Art Guild. The organization turned 15 years old this year. Back in 1996, I was one of the thirty-five Charter Members who helped found this organization. The group wanted to be sure that meetings stayed focused on art and fun rather rules.

Summer Art Show

On July 6th, I drove to Baton Rouge to hang my art in a small group art show at the Louisiana State Archives. The other artists in the show are: Yvette Creel, Chase Innes, Danny Izzo, Linda Marr and Pam Soileau, This show called, “Summer Art Show,” is a mixture of art genres. This show is up through Friday, July 29, 2011. The gallery space is accessible from the front lobby. The building hours are from 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Below are photos from the exhibit. The first two photos include my
six pieces. To see closer views of these works, go to my blog,
art at random. The other photos contain the other artists’ works.

dotartdude

For a while now I've wanted to make a video that included my dot artwork. This is what resulted from a whimsical stab at video editing. The eight paintings in the video are the ones that started me on this journey.


56 sec

Experimental Acrylic Techniques Workshop

Last June, I gave a presentation to the members of the West Bank Art Guild. I discussed my art surreal artwork and demonstrated some experimental acrylic painting techniques. After I was finished, several of the members asked me to have a workshop. Today I finally conducted a workshop on “experimental acrylic techniques.” I encouraged the artists, who attended, to try different methods. Some even came up with their own ideas. Below is a photo from the workshop. The left painting involved creating rock textures using a toothbrush. The right painting involved pressing my palette with excess paint against a fresh canvas. Everyone had fun.

Sons of Ginger Rose 3

Given the response to my video “Puppy Whining,” today I filmed a new video of a puppy whining. Last night Ginger Rose, who was in the original video, gave birth to two sons. So this is the first day of life for the two pups. Already, one is more vocal than the other. Ginger Rose will be four years old in June.


10 sec