Final Collaboration of Paintings and Poetry with Gwendolyn Lawrence Alley

The last collaboration Gwendolyn Lawrence Alley and I did for the VCAC art show called Collaboration was with my painting called Water Ballet which is pictured on the left. It wasn’t one of the paintings I had chosen to go into the show. However, when Gwendolyn came over to see the paintings, it was one she was immediately drawn to. I had had it in a prior show so I emailed to ask if it could be resubmitted. They said since it was coming in with a written body of work, that it would be a new body of work so we could submit it. read...

Plum Surrounded Painting and A Poem about Calla Lilies by Gwendolyn Alley

In my last blog I explained how my friend and poet Gwendolyn Lawrence Alley and I collaborated for an art show put on by the Ventura County Arts Council. This is another of the three which we submitted for the show. Gwendolyn had a larger poem she had done for Calla Lilies. She sent me the link to it and we collaborated on it and reduced it down to two stanzas. It was an interesting experience to collaborate on an art project. You need to listen to what the other wants to do or their take on something you’ve chosen. There is a give and take going on that results in a different end result from the pieces that came together individually. read...

“Serenity” Painting & A 3:15 Haiku Equals Honorable Mention

I have mixed feelings about entering  art shows. If validation comes from within, then the results of an art show can create counter productive emotions. The ego gets excited if you win and gets deflated when you lose. That is, until one is good with whatever happens and the ego is no longer triggered. So why do I enter art shows? That’s a good question. And I don’t have an answer yet.  Is it the idea of winning? Is it the prestige? Is it the belief that more people will take you more seriously as an artist when you win? Is it the belief that it would add to the value of the art? Or is it to be seen? Is it to get exposure? read...