"Soak #2", 2007, pencil and gouache on bristol board
Looks like the fate of my blog almost went the way of my many half full journals. I've been a bit swamped lately. I'd say my biggest complaint about being stretched too thin is the motivational nose dive that I tend to do in my off time. I get done with work and instead of going home and creating, writing and doing things that bring me a sense of satisfaction I tend to get lit and watch TV, anything to dull the circus in my head. It takes time to establish new life rhythms, but I've been impatient with the process recently. I'm ready to feel settled.
Things at the gallery have been going smashingly. After a fairly worrisome slump we've picked up in all areas (printing, framing, design) and art sales have been up. Our good fortunes put me in a position to add to my own personal collection and I bought a beautiful Roberta Weir lithograph that I've always loved.
I've been really fascinated with contemporary art dealing with the urban landscape's encroachment on the natural environment. The proximity of nature in a wild, virtually unadulterated form is one the things I love most about the Willamette valley. You can still drive thirty minutes from my house and get to a place where the city lights don't blot out the stars. Josh Keyes' paintings give me chills. They bring to mind the bittersweet shock of a wildlife sighting in the city. There's something exciting and sad about seeing an animal in an urban scene. Its wonderful to see the adaptiveness of nature, but I can't help thinking about the fact that under the pavement is that creatures ancestral home.
"Treadmill", 2006, acrylic on canvas
I think the NW community would really respond to this kind of art. How do I find a way to satisfy my community's lust for the outdoors in an interior space? I'd love to have a few of these artists in the gallery:
"Stilt", 2006, acrylic on paper
"Battle of the Deep", 2007, acrylic on maple panel
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