Sad Day

Today is always the saddest day of the year - it is the day that the pool is closed for the season. It is hard to cover it up knowing that now the days will be getting shorter and shorter - the temps colder and colder.

I guess I can look forward to a few weekends of bon - fires and wiener roasts. Cool crisp mornings - the smell of leaves burning , but then the cold bleak winter.

I will have to get lots of canvases to paint as I have put together a tentative list of shows for next year - and I must say it is a lot!! You have to make hay while the sun shines so they say!

But since I have this cool new display - I guess I should go out and use it !

At least in the cold bleak winter I can get some of the many images that are in my head finished.

Great Weekend

This weekend was the 48th annual Fine Art Fair hosted by the Peoria Art Guild on the riverfront in Peoria. It is the showpiece of the Peoria art community and "the show" to attend on this last weekend in September.

As usual the volunteers and staff of the Peoria Art Guild managed to put on a wonderful event - From the Friday set up Pizza/Beer bash - Friday evenings more formal preview party - The show itself - and the Artist Awards Dinner Saturday evening - the artists were pampered and pleased.

So the last of the major shows are over and now its back to the studio to finish up the commission and then on to some much needed home maintenance before winter. It will be good to be back in the studio painting again!

These People are CRAZY !!

I have been working trying to keep all my studio equipment held together with twine and bailing wire. Frantically trying to finish pieces for this weekends show - polishing up the new booth digs - and still going to my day job.

As I run willy-nilly to and fro through the city, I keep running into these lunatics! They are wearing Art Guild t-shirts and loading and unloading supplies - It's like they are everywhere - and the strangest part is they are always so darn happy !

I checked my e-mail and there is a ten page "short list" of things that must be done by the end of the show. ( I am privy to some of the behind the scenes workings)

Stacy - Ryan and all the volunteers - as an artist that lives in town and sees what is going on, I want to thank you in advance for the wonderful weekend that you have in store for myself and the other 149 national artists that don't necessarily "see" all the work that it takes to put on a nationally ranked show - but Trust me appreciate your efforts.

Big Trouble in Little China

As I busy making more product for this weekends big show - I like to have a good supply of "Blanks" or "Frames" as The Woman calls them - I never know what will sell so it is good to have non-printed ones so I can come back on Sunday with what is hot. At least that what I planned on doing.

About 9:00 PM as I was just enjoying a piece of German Chocolate Cake that The Woman had just made - Man it's good to be me ! I hear a "Hey what's this thing on your computer?" Oh my !! A very nasty malicious virus was sending out e-mails and corrupting my studio computer!

Quickly unplugging the Internet connection - This is bad - all my programs and images are hanging in the balance! Then the scale tipped and they were gone.

Working on it until midnight - with a very nauseating feeling in the pit of my stomach - I had managed to reformat the hard drive - but the unit was still locking up at start up - I could only get it going on safe mode.

Took the box to work today were the "tech boys" love problems like this and the short story is that - It's Back !!

Managed to reload the two most important program - Jasc Paintshop - and Adobe Photoshop CS 3 .

Going home to upload all my images from my saved discs - I think I may only loose a few of the newest images - A word to the wise - Save early and Save often!!

Finishing with a flurry

I used to play golf - I was really not that good at it, I just like to play. Every time I would go out to the course even though most of my shots weren't that good - I always seemed to string together some awesome shots at the last hole or two. Sort of like the courses way of luring me back next week.

Well, my golfing days are over - As I like to tell people "To play better I had to play more - and to play more I had to get a divorce" - I made the right decision.

This season I am also hoping to finish strong, I have totally revamped the display - so I will be good for the next five years or so - as this is a very nice display. I have also invested in more and larger prints so in the future there will be full size prints at a very reasonable price point.

So this weekend is the last big event of the year - there will other smaller things - but I will be trying to "birdie" 18 and if I can get on in two - I'll be putting for "eagle"

Mixed Bag

As the season sort of winds down to a glorious finish ( I hope) I sort of have mixed feelings about it . Sure I'm going to like the pressure to produce to be lightened up a tad - but the end of show season also means less opportunities to make the almighty dollar.

I will still be selling as I've planted the seeds all summer long and people will call and place orders around the holidays. I will also be very active with getting new and different paintings for the 2011 season. Hopefully I can step up to even more and more elusive shows ( the new display should help)

But for now I have a commission and the final show of the summer season to finish - so let the future take care of itself - I have today to worry about.

I'm Back

As you can tell I get a little carried away with the day to day aspects of work - studio - making prints - going to shows - and somehow fitting family and friends in the mix.


It has been a while since I have posted - but trust me I have been a little active ( I hate the word busy) I've had three weekend show in August and just finished one this last weekend to start off September. Gearing up for the Peoria Riverfront Show and finishing up the paintings for the Lincoln Hospital commission.

In my spare time I've managed to get a few of the new shaped canvases finished ( I even sold one last weekend) they seem to be a hot commodity.

Thank goodness that The Woman takes care of me and helps me get through this mess I always seem to get into.

This weekend I'll be working on the new tent display for the riverfront show - all I ask for is decent weather!!