Happy Thanksgiving

"....my individualism is really an illusion.
I am part of the great whole, and I can never escape.

But I can deny my connections,

break them, and become a fragment.

Then I am wretched.

What we want is to destroy our false, inorganic connections,

especially those related to money,

and re-establish the living organic connections,

with the cosmos

the sun

and the earth,

with mankind

and nation

and family.

Start with the sun,

and the rest will slowly, slowly happen."

[from The Apocalypse by D.H. Lawrence]

Strength

"This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.



Welcome and entertain all!


Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.


The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whomever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond."

--Rumi

Children's Hospital Burn Camps Program Fundraiser

My most recent donated painting for a great cause is "Plain Desire" which is up for auction at The Children's Hospital's 2nd Annual Burn Camps Program Fundraising Dinner Nov.11th at Maggiano’s Little Italy, 7401 South Clinton St. Englewood, CO

Cocktails and Silent Auction 5:30-7:00pm
Dinner and Program 7:00-9:00pm

http://noordinarycamps.org/?p=41

The Children’s Hospital Burn Programs was created in 1983 to meet the psychological and rehabilitation needs of the child and family following a burn injury. The Child who sustains a burn inury is impacted for the rest of his or her life. After a burn injury, a child can anticipate reconstructive surgeris and on-going physical and occupational therapy. During their growth and development the child will also need resources to meet the challenges of growing up in a world where external beauty is valued.

The Burn Camps Program has grown into a series of camp programs to meet these needs by providing challenging activities,opportunities to form lasting friendships, adult mentorship and goal setting opportunities.

Cheley/Children’s Hospital Burn Camp
The flagship week long summer camp adventure in Estes Park for children nationwide between the ages of 8-18

if you can't make it to the auction, then donate online http://noordinarycamps.org/?page_id=36

Building

Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination -Voltaire

Flutter - Butterfly Program Fundraiser

painted for "ONE HUNDRED ANGELS" A Fundraiser for The Butterfly Program - Denver Children's Hospice celebrating 10 years http://www.chionline.org/states/co.php
November 6 - 21 at Arts at Denver 1025 South Gaylord Street featuring more than 50 Gallery and Guest Artists' original works inspired by butterflies or angels http://www.artsatdenver.com/

Space

space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction.... one examines 'spaces' with different numbers of dimensions and with different underlying structures..... space is considered to be of fundamental importance to an understanding of the physical universe although disagreement continues between philosophers over whether it is itself an entity, a relationship between entities, or part of a conceptual framework.... personal space is highly variable..... people make exceptions to, and modify their space requirements.... stress from allowing closer personal space distances can be reinterpreted into emotional fervour..... a number of relationships may allow for personal space to be modified and these include familial ties, romantic partners, friendships and close acquantinces where a greater degree of trust and knowledge of a person allows personal space to be modified.... a method of dealing with violated personal space is dehumanization.... a person with soft boundaries merges with other people's boundaries, and is easily manipulated.... a person with spongy boundaries is like a combination of having soft and rigid boundaries they permit less emotional contagion than soft boundaries but more than rigid, are unsure what to let in and what to keep out.... a person with rigid boundaries is closed or walled off so nobody can get close to them either physically or emotionally, often the case if someone has been abused, can be selective which depend on time, place or circumstances and are usually based on a bad previous experience in a similar situation...... flexible is the ideal, similar to selective rigid boundaries but the person has more control to decide what to let in and what to keep out, are resistant to emotional contagion, manipulation and are difficult to exploit....

expanse

“Something Alive and Ancient, something neither kind nor unkind, exulting only in continuance, knits together the green world of farms and meadows, forests and parks.”

-Michael Cunningham

Plain Desire - Art for Life

Here is the painting I donated for "Art for Life" auction Sept 11th at Abend Gallery, Denver to benefit a local non-profit, Project Angel Heart http://www.projectangelheart.org/. Get tickets and enjoy an evening of cocktails and food as well as some lively silent bidding on 125 to 150 pieces of art.

"The organization was founded in 1991 by a small but dedicated group of individuals who were determined to ensure that those living with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses were receiving proper nutrition. Initially we served 12 clients from a single pan of lasagna that had been donated by a local restaurateur. Since that time it has grown into an organization which harnesses the dedication and energy of more than 40,000 volunteer hours annually to freshly prepare, package and home deliver over 400,000 meals to approximately 1,700 clients each year. In fact, Mayor Hickenlooper dished up the 3 millionth meal on August the 15th.

The most common diseases served by Project Angel Heart are cancer, end stage renal disease, HIV/AIDS, chronic obstructi ve pulmonary diseases and congestive heart failure. Over half of our clients are women and nearly half are over the age of sixty. Throughout the past eighteen years of unprecedented growth, our focus has always remained the same: providing life-sustaining nutrition to men, women, and children coping with life-threatening illnesses, free of charge. Each year Project Angel Heart has a series of high profile fund raisers and the one which I champion/provide leadership and financial support of is "Art For Life". This year on September 11th we will host approximately 800 art aficionados at Abend Gallery http://www.abendgallery.com/ for an evening of cocktails and food as well as some lively silent bidding on about 150 pieces of art." M. O'Donnell

Expansion

Paintings for Loveland Yoga and Core Fitness
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Loveland-CO/Loveland-Yoga-Core-Fitness/77343678038
Loveland Yoga & Core Fitness is designed for people wanting to enhance their lives by bringing mind, body and soul together.

Transformations - electrical cabinet mural

stay tuned for updates...

Selected Design for the Art in Public Places call described below, "Limitless". Shown here is my conceptual approach, a combination of expansive horizon-line and vast skyscape - color and form transition between sides and top to work in the round.

I'll be painting at Mariana Buttes mid-August thru October at various random times, but you might catch me. It's an absolutely beautiful place to paint.

"PROJECTS IN THE WORKS.......
Artist Call for EntryTRANSFORMATIONS PROJECT
The City of Loveland Art in Public Places Program seeks Northern Colorado artists to create unique murals upon designated electrical cabinets in downtown Loveland and the Marianna Butte Clubhouse as part of the Transformations Project. The intent of the program is to transform everyday objects into one-of-a-kind works of art which stimulate our senses and create a sense of place within the community!
Thirteen boxes (or groupings of boxes) have been identified within downtown Loveland and at the Marianna Butte Clubhouse. All boxes may be viewed online at: http://www.cityofloveland.org/; Arts & Leisure button, Art in Public Places. Selected artists will be compensated for their artwork, which will become a part of the City’s public art collection."

building

"Risk! Risk Anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth." –Mansfield

to think, what others may see

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul,

and paints his own nature into his pictures."

-Henry Ward Beecher

Breckenridge Commission

Pictures of the work installed, the painting hangs on an electronic mechanisim that lifts to reveal a large screen television.

Interior design by Design Co. PnL in Denver

I recently completed a commission for a beautiful multi-million dollar home in Breckenridge, Colorado. The painting measures 48"x60". I will post new images as soon as I have photos of it in place, it is being framed now.