The Exhibit Chronicles, Part I

As promised, I will give you a guided tour of my paintings that will be part of an art exhibit featuring alumni from the University of Georgia. Since I can't be there in person, I wanted to tell you the history and the inspiration behind each painting. They look a lot better in person, so if you like them here, you'll probably even like them better when the exhibit opens on June, 26th.

This is my newest painting, See Anemones. (Click on the painting for detail.) It was finished less than an hour (and barely dry) when I took it to Sam Flax on Northside Ave. for a framing. I found a beautiful antique white frame for just $10. The framer charged me another $23 to mount it in the frame. It looks a lot better than my home framing jobs, and if you know me, you know I love a quality bargain. But I'll stop because I'm telling you the end of the story first.

I was inspired by the photo a friend's son had taken at the Atlanta Aquarium. I hesitate to show it to you because it's so beautiful and perfect on its own. But here it is anyway. There was no way I could improve it, but I can tell you how I see it, and that's what art is about isn't it? How I see it and how you see my version of an object. The style is called "figurative painting" because the painting actually represents something real. If you want reality, take a photograph. If you want an to see inside the artist's eyes, look at her painting.

What I saw here was serenity, perfect stillness that comes from life underwater. The sea anemones, the starfish, the rocks and the gravel all meld together in a gorgeous underwater tapestry. The pinks, purples, golds and grays aren't bleak but instead vibrant, expressing an "inner life" marked by the graceful, swaying motion of the anemones.

I don't do landscapes well; I've never liked a single one that I've done. But I don't see this is a landscape or even a seascape, but an animalscape, teeming with life. I've always had a connection with animals that I can express in painting, and I think that's why I loved doing this painting so much.

For your invitation to the opening (free!) click here.