I'm pleased to announce that "Simple Pleasures" has been selected to participate in Art Matters Gallery's "All Kinds of Lines" in Salida, CO. The show runs from November 2 to December 29, 2011 with an opening on November 12. Come by and see it!

From Cottonwood Center for the Arts in Colorado Springs

3rd Annual Dia de los Muertos
October 28th
5pm to 8:30 pm
Cottonwood Center for the Arts
427 E. Colorado in Downtown Colorado Springs
(719) 520-1899

Join us at Cottonwood Center for the Arts’ Biggest Open House of the Year Celebrates in honor of “Dia de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) and National Hispanic Heritage Month with two floors of art, food and festivities.

For more information, go to http://diasdelosmuertoscottonwood.wordpress.com/

After my trip to Jackson I decided I needed to step up my efforts a little. I drew this one comparatively quickly and have just submitted it for a show in Salida, Colorado. Jurying doesn't complete until 14 Oct, so I don't know if it has been accepted yet. The show theme is All Kinds of Lines, so it may not be interpreted to fit the theme - we'll see. (Hover over image to enlarge).

I've been watching for juried shows I may be able to enter for the past couple months. I did get into a local show in Manitou Springs last month. I'm also excited to say that I've just learned that Lookout (leather sculpture), Midnight Solo (leather sculpture) and Midnight Solo II (pen and ink) have been selected to participate in a show at the CIAO gallery in Jackson, WY. What's more, Midnight Solo was selected for the third place prize. For those that don't know, Jackson Hole is one of the primary locations in the US for wildlife art. In fact, the National Museum of Wildlife Art is there. But wait -- it gets better. This show occurs during the annual Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival and is attended by thousands of people. So if you have the opportunity to get to Jackson Hole between Sep 9-18, stop by the CIAO gallery to see what I'm showing (opening is Sep 9 from 5pm to 8pm).

I just realized I haven't posted the final of this piece. I finished it about a month ago. After much consternation and re-work, I'm happy with it. I decided to call it "Out on a Limb." (Hover over image to enlarge)

I finally decided to put some color on this piece (that's not what took so long to finish this one up, by the way). After some struggling with figuring out how to mount the rings and lining and all the dimensions, I finished it up. Good for me that I decided this would be a prototype because I already have a couple things I'll change when I build the next one. My photo setup is somewhat tucked away at the moment, so I've only got this one, but keep an eye on the main site for when this piece shows up there. (Hover over image to enlarge)

Here's the start of a second attempt (actually third, but the real second attempt didn't get very far) at this P&I. I started this one with some diluted ink to see if I could get the look I'm after. It's not looking too bad so far. I've got a ways to go yet -- I think I can make it work. After this one, I may try it again in a larger size. (Hover over image to enlarge.)

I started carrying an organizational planner so I could keep certain notes and facts with me on the day job. The one I have is a bit bulky for my tastes and the closure isn't working very well. I decided I would make one using the guts of the old one. Step one is typically to carve a design on it. I chose a mountain lion (I'm in a mountain lion phase right now!). I'm a bit torn, at the moment, because I originally wanted to leave it natural. Unfortunately, with the hair texture I can't keep a burnish in the right places to show the distinctive markings of the animal. So I guess I've got some thinking to do. Here's the carving: (Hover over image to enlarge)

Not much to add today....except that I destroyed this one within about 10 minutes of starting today. I left the cap off one of my pens yesterday so I had to clean it today. Being impatient, I filled it up and started drawing before getting all the water out. This isn't the first time and it probably won't be the last. On the plus side, I wasn't really happy with where this one was going (if you can really call that a "plus"), so now I get to start it over again. I think I may switch to a leather piece tomorrow. (Hover over image to enlarge).

As I was thinking about what to call this entry, the realization hit me again that I really have difficulty titling art (at least most of the time). I don't think that's really news to any artists. But if you're wondering why some of my entry titles are so mechanical, it's because I haven't figured out the title of the piece, yet. At any rate.... I've been working on some mountain lion pieces and the first one with some progress is this pen-and-ink. The image is a photograph, so that's the reason for the lower quality. (Hover over image to enlarge).