"Stay, Rose, Stay"

Oil, 20" x 16". I think this was the last rose on my rosebush this year, as the intense heat this summer has put a stop to the rose party in my garden. Soon on its way to Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.

Two good things that happened to me

Two good things have happened that I want to share with you.  The first is that my painting "Rachel in My Studio" has received a Finalist Award from the Art Renewal Center's 2012/2013 International Salon. There are so many amazing paintings featured in the contest and I'm very excited and honored to be included in the list of Finalists. (Here's a link to the list of ARC awards. ) This painting is currently available for purchase at Principle Gallery.

The second good thing is that my painting "Daniel Jabari" has been accepted into The Butler Institute of American Art's 77th Midyear Exhibition, in Youngstown, Ohio. This is a very prestigious museum show and sale and I'm so honored and thrilled that my painting is in the exhibition. The show opens on Sunday, June 30th, 2013 and runs through Sunday, August 18th, 2013.

If I can get to the opening, I'll be sure to post some photos here on my blog!

As usual, it seems to me that my sitters should receive some sort of award (or a medal!) for their patience with my struggles to capture what I find most striking about them.

I'm featured in a "Lines and Colors" blogpost

I've been a fan of the blog Lines and Colors for a long time and I'm really excited to say that Charley Parker has featured me as one of the artists on his site. I'm very grateful to be included along with so many fine artists.



Here's the permanent link to my page on Lines and Colors

"Toddler", oil, 20" x 16"

I've been painting rather detailed work lately using small brushes, so it was fun to use bigger brushes and a little looser painting style on this one.

Ira Glass Creative Story Telling Inspirational Quote

This is for all of us trying to do good, creative work... thank you, Alia El-Bermani

"Daniel Jabari"

"Daniel Jabari", oil on panel, 24" x 24"

Inventory Software for Artists

If you're a full time artist (and don't have a diligent assistant/spouse/significant other who keeps track of these things), chances are you can quickly lose track of matters like where your paintings are, how you titled them, what size they are, how you framed them and when you varnished them. You can also lose track of where photos of your artwork are stored (this is particularly applicable to those of us who started our careers in the pre-digital photo age).

There are many systems for cataloging your work, but the one that I'm using now and like very much is Artwork Archive. It's simple to use and has a couple of options in terms of fees and number of images you can post. I feel extremely organized having this cataloging system.