its almost time to go......away

to italy. just when n art magazine is getting a small foothold. i o out of town.
oh well, it will be waiting for me when i get back. and i'll be working on the project again and happy to be back at it.

also: the website should be up soon.
it might be on san diego digital online N at magazine - not sure of the exact site.
on theN Art Magazine website, i will be keeping a blog called "N Art Magazine's Daily Dish", daily posts of my encounters with anything cultural and anything artsy. i hope you visit.
so, i will miss you my friends.
ciao, bellos and bellas!!!

holy smoly moly........

i have been a busy girl....trying to run a TV show on a shoestring budget. the N Art magazine's website should be up by tomorrow and on it will be the TV show in case you missed it or you are from out of town.

let me just say, i think we fully understand our errors and will not commit them again.

this is a very hard and humbling experience for me because i know all the artists and their art and it truly bugs me when some of their best stuff deosn't get put properly across. on the other hand, they did get their website addresses put across the screen with no mistakes and they al did get their 15 seconds of fame.
i'm talking about the "gallery walk" portion of the show. we will improve right away as we will have a real gallery to shoot in now. someone stepped forward to help. that someone was red door gallery.
it will all be good. i am a tough critic on my work here - and its uncomfortable being responsible for the show because on so many levels my hands were tied by others work.

so, we learned and move on to bigger and better places.


SSSSooOOOOo, we will be shooting for a special edition of the Gallery Walk, at the Red Door Gallery, Thursday and Friday, if anyone would like to give it a go.
i leave for italy on thursday for 3 weeks. i will be writing from there.

more steampunk.......

check out this sci-fi -fantasy watch, does it work? i think so. does it come from a recognizable era? (i see victorian in it), but. read below what
hydralisk.wordpress.com says about steampunk watches:
If you don’t “get it” you’re trying too hard. Look, here’s the definition of steampunk. As for what kind of geeked-out society goes to such lengths to build authentic, usable, marketable objects from a time period that never existed, I can’t help you with that.

i guess they are functional and interesting.

steampunk defined.........

Steampunk Laptop. by Jason Van Slatt (Wikipedia)
as mentioned on our TV show by Brooke Binkowski........Brooke used the word "steampunk" to describe Renee Ricketts art. (see www.ricchettadesigns.com), so i looked it up......on wikipedia which said that they got their information from Steampunk Magazine who defines Steampunk as: "Steampunk lives in the reincarnated collective past of shadows and ignored alleys. It is a historical wunderkabinet, which promises, like Dr. Caligari's, to wake the somnambulist of the present to the dream-reality of the future. We are archaeologists of the present, reanimating a hallucinatory history."

OK, I have no idea what that means but I'm thinking it might mean to take "things" from the victorian age and re-assign its function and looks a bit to make it interesting art. functional? beats me. I think you have to be pretty far up the sci-fi tree to understand the meaning of this.

We have a local artists, (Escondido, CA) Artist Renee Ricketts takes the insides of defunct computer towers and creates interesting art with them. She also smashes empty cans, from Spam, colas, tinned vegetables, etc. and re-works them into interesting and funky books that are displayed in local galleries. The are not fragile, the viewer may handle them, read them and move the working parts.
They are a scream, if you haven't seen or held one of her pieces, they are available everyday of the weeks except monday at the Escondido Municipal Gallery, 262 East Grand, Escondido, CA.
(As seen on our N Art Magazine TVshow, september 28, 2008)

consumed in nightmares.....

will i ever stop having nightmares where i am asked to do something very very important only to be a colossal failing witnessed by the general public?

maybe after the shows airs today at 4 p.m., channel 10. or maybe not - not ever!

oh momma....

I had a
nightmare
last night. last night's dream was that i was to be the host of a very posh awards banquet for the film industry being aired live on world wide TV. i was told to give the 15 second warning before going on the air....
which i did, then papers were shoved in front of me to read...they had the winners names, names of who was escorting them, the name of their movie, the role they played and some other interesting facts, and of course the surprise award. as the seconds ticked down to my air time, i realized i had an incomplete script, and what i did have was in an incomprehensible language. in deparation i asked people around me for prenounciations and to help me get the script in an organized order. in short, i could not make heads nor tails of the program. the audience was hushed waiting for my annoucements. i called brooke over to help me, she is good at reading hard to pronounce stuff. she couldn't help me long as she was busy with her dog. she got asked to leave because of the dog.
the time to talk occurred, i cleared my throat and welcomed everyone to the show, told them that i would be the announcer and to hold a second while i found my papers. totally embarrassing. the harder i looked, the worse my organization became. i was hugely making a mess of things and people were shifting in their seats. finally i was able to give one award out and everyone applauded. that was conforting.
i tried to give out another award, but nothing was labled and i knew i couldn't guess! a man tried to help me but he was clearly worse off then me with his organization skills. the papers got dropped upside down.......i knew at that moment there was no saving grace. it went this way until i awoke in a sweat.
so, what do you suppose i'm worried about?

well, i think the show will be better than all my worriedness.
at least i pray so.
ah, well, they're always room for improvement.
did anyone watch Earl last night? i felt like that!

my dear jenny........

i LOVE jenny doh!!!   i just love her.

she has been my biggest and best mentor for my creative expression and  writing.  i am very grateful to her.

who is she?  She is the executive editor , editor in chief of many of the Stampington publications.  www.stampington.com, which includes the wonderful Somerset Studio magazine.

you can also find her at jennydoh.typepad.com

as you may gather from the photo, i deeply appreciate our friendship.  (i bet you thought we were engaged!)

nah, thats just my gratitude hug.

also i admire her for her energy and talent and foresight.  she is very brainy.  (graduated from UCLA with high honors)

she is down to earth and sensitive.

i will be visiting her tomorrow at her studio in laguna niguel.  we will have a wonderful lunch and we will talk and plot about what we will do together creatively after i get back from italy and on into 2009.

See us on TV Sunday, Sept. 28th at 4pm Ch. 10, KGTV    San Diego has a new arts scene magazine and television show called  "N" Art.  The premiere episode was shot in Escondido during 2nd Saturday ArtWalk and features artists from Distinctions Gallery, Escondido Municipal Gallery, Gallery 262 and Joan Irving Glass Design.   The episode will feature our new digs and artists (not limited to) Linda Herzog, Chuck McPherson, Lisa Bebi, Renee Richetts, Joshua Bozsan, and Joan Irving. Wikipedia calls Escondido the "It" city of the North County...and we keep trying.  Here is a picture from the shoot featuring Megan,the photog, and Chuck.  Chuck is one of the hosts for the program.  Photo by Kurt Lightfoot 2008.

ice cream after a mission beach swim........

every one loves ice cream, especially after a swim on a hot day....so i thought of this painting as a reminder of one of the best things in life.

____________________

i had a dream last night that i was in labor, in the hospital having my last baby, rosie, all over again.  i was freaked out (in real life) and wanted to go home...i had been in labor all day and by midnight, i thought my 41 year old body just couldn't take the last resort c-section surgery after hours of taking far too much progesterin to stimulate labor for a regular birth, the regular birth that was never to be.

so while going into the operating room, while my husband was scrubbing up somewhere, i freaked out and clamped my arms tight around the nearest nurse and pleaded with her to let me please go home - (then i got a shot in the arm of something very nice and i was in twilight for the rest of the operation).

the elderly, fat nurse that i attached myself to looked exactly like a "farside" character, with winged black framed glasses and obligatory lunch room lady hair net.  she had a face like "squidward" (see tv show called "spongebob squarepants" - the best kids tv show ever!!!!) and i think she had the same voice.

....sigh....she was sympathetic, but not sympathetic enough,i had the surgery instead of going home a i wished. obviously i didn't die as i was sure i would.

anyhow, i don't know why i was reliving my child's birth so vividly last night.  i could hear in my dream, the soft soothing music the doctors were playing on a CD player somewhere, the gentle talking and light laughter as the hospital staff all got on with another days work.----pulling my baby and  uterus out of my body and lying on my stomach. eeewww.  but i didn't care - i was stoned.

i heard the doctor tell my husband that he thought i must have had a bad experience with a previous birth because i was in a real panic and had to be sedated before they could do anything with me and before he (my husband) came into the room.  could they have been talking about me? er, yes they were.

so why was i dreaming this last night?  i finally figured it out - its the painful waiting and realizing that the birth of my efforts will be delivered  sunday -the TV show,  there were so many hands in this project, that i really worry about the outcome.

all i can say is, there will be other shows to come and improvements will be made accordingly.

 i guess like having a baby, the birth is only the very beginning.   

Afterwards, i will want an ice cream too. 

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i'll fly away....oh lordy.......

how do you like this "N" for the logo for the new art magazine called "N". like "in"----
BTW, we are collecting story ideas now for more episodes - if anyone has something to share, please email me your ideas.

***********
well...."......i'll fly a - way, oh lordy, i'll fly a - way...."
i can't get that hymn out of my head....why? because i went to church this morning!!!! i know this is a shock to most who know me. its not that i am against church - not at all. it is more that i haven't found any to suit me.
but today i was invited to the church of brother albert dillard, the preacher of the church of christ.
brother dillard (the producer of N Art Magazine on ABCTV) has asked me many times to join his family at church...this time i took him up on the offer. so there i was at 7:30 a.m. shining bright and beaming white - yap, i was the ONLY white person there! 

i was feeling self conscience, like i just couldn't get much whiter, until they started singing. 

i have to admit, i miss singing hymns....i remember some for my childhood like, "jesus loves me this i know".

but i don't know if it is because i was just born this way, but my hymn singing sounded like a flat horn. a loud flat horn which caused some pause in the congregation...... then they got louder and drown me out.

they happily tapped and swayed to the beat and sang out; i tried swaying too, but it ended up some weird gyration like there was a tsetse fly loose in my shorts, that caused the congregation even more pause... they probably worried that i had contracted the west niles virus and was having seizures.

you won't see me on the N art magazine show, but you might catch a glimpse of me this coming sunday morning at about 2 a.m. channel 10 when this sermon and singing airs.
anyway, i will get the correct date and time and name of the show so that you can all have a laugh at my expense. actually i quite enjoyed the sermon and of course loved the singing.
praise jesus!

(er, hope i don't offend....anyone).

p.s. i forgot to mention that wearing flip-flops and walmart clothes was a bad idea in the brother's  church .  everyone there was wearing their sunday best -vested suits in the heat too.

the place smelled strongly of pomade.

what?  would i go back?   a wretch like me? oh holy mackerel, yes.

you are a star!

thank you, everyone!
who came and was part of the taping of the first N Art Magazine show, scheduled to pilot sunday september 28 at 4 p.m. on channel ten.
i was very pleased with the turn out and the way each artist's passion spoke out for them and spoke to us.
i'm beat now. will write more tomorrow.
i have very heavy eyelids. good-night

2007 taxes

this is an old cover of somerset weddings 2008.....but i was admiring it, so i thought i would share it with you again.


anyway, today kathy olsen and i sat down and worked out my taxes from 2007! yeah i know, i'm late. turns out i made more than i spent. i was so surprised to hear this news that i couldn't speak.....something seemed wrong with this......then it came to us. i forgot to add in my trip to new york for my show there and alsO i forgot my travel expenses for north carolina when i was taped for a segment on "Paint, Paper and Craft" TV show on PBS which airs back east.

The kathy questioned me as to whether or not i really did save all my receipts.......HMMM, maybe i didn't.
SO it is possible that i didn't make more than i spent.
- at least the jury is still out.

thank you for joining us tonight...

well tonight was the first night of "the gallery walk" shooting for our ABCTV pilot called "The Art Show".....i loved it. artists are not actors but they are very passionate people...which makes them very interesting as well as their work. one of the artists told an emotional story about what inspired her to create her sculpture which made me cry. another artist spoke of her internal struggle with creating abstract pieces. someone else talked about her technique of pouring watercolor onto paper allowing colors and shapes discover themselves.
ramona konar and i worked hard tonight directing the show.....who knew?
tonight, i saw the first part of the featured segment show that was shot last weekend. it was only the intro after editing and i began to weep. its my baby.....and it is coming to life. of course i am not doing this alone......we are 5 owners; we are N Magazine and media group -and we think the same way......we want to help showcase the great art in the area as well as pointing out that there is no reason for san diego to be considered culturally cavernous..therefore, this is a project of love and our collective family. the family is growing bigger and bigger everyday. and what a blast!
don't forget to watch ABCTV, channel 10, Sunday, September 28 at 4 p.m. -OK i think i hear my bed calling me........night all.

N Magazine and media group

its been an avalanche - seems everyone who is anyone wants to be in the "gallery walk" on our ABCTV show called "The Art Show" holy smokes, i don't even like to answer the phone on normal days, today i was tied to it. plus i was snowed under with emails. an avalanche, i tell you.
i guess we are on to a good thing then.

..........i can hear my dearly departed dad's voice now from the depths of my memory saying "good job lisa, now don't screw it up............."

airing of "The Art Show"

larify...the pilot of "The Art Show" will be airing Sunday, September 28 on channel 10 (ABC) at 4 p.m. we got "bumped" on the first try because...well,  that's show biz!!.......but this Sunday date is firm and already setup in programing.

Thanks to all the many people/artists who have answered the call to be part of this adventure.
I see by the enthusiasm that i was not the only one wondering why this region is not the foremost leader in culture and arts. I wonder why not, we are situated on an international border with an internationally accessible port and airport. we are flanked by LA, Palm Springs ) and Arizona and the pacific rim!

my current read.......

crazy british authors, gotta love 'em....i love mark haddon...he wrote "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time" - not everyone's favorite, but i thought it was amazingly clever, he wrote a "who-dunit" in the voice of someone who is autistic or something of that nature. And the character has his own style of humor, which begins to affect the reader pretty early on in the book. i thought it was hysterical.......i love books where the reader understands what the character is trying to say by deciphering it. you know, i don't like books that state the obvious.

i have to admit, when i first picked up "a spot of bother" i thought it might be another book by al gore.
but it isn't - its just another bit of british humor that takes you for a ride.

one day, maybe i will have a book of the month club! what? i have had crazier ideas........

ABCTV show

tomorrow is another shooting day for the N Magazine TV show called "The Art Show". We will be back about mid day in escondido. if you want to see us in action come on down. we will be shooting in the street on east grand, in a couple of restaurants and in a few galleries. my beautiful daughter Brooke will be host.
the pilot will be airing on ABCTV (channel 10- if you have Cox cable) Sunday, September 28 at 4 p.m., it is a half hour show. Please watch or record it if the Charger game gets in the way.
Again, if you feel you would like to contribute a story or would like to advertise, please email me ASAP.
if you are a local emerging or established artist who would like to buy a slot in our "local artist gallery walk", the price for this first run is $150. this is a special rate for professional artists only, not businesses.
the shooting for these slots are wednesday night and saturday afternoon. if you want to go ahead and be on TV with your work (up to 4 pieces), email by tomorrow night. lisabebiart@aol.com
let's break a leg, san diego artists!

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what a great night.........

i feel exhausted this morning, but not nearly as exhausted as our camera crew that hit the art festivities in escondido yesterday and last night.  

our new N Art in San Diego TV show will air on ABC saturday  september 27 at 11 a.m.  as the proud founder of this new art media group,  my concept is simple:

we are artists covering the arts for the benefit of the local regional  culture.  my theory is this:  if a community has a healthy and thriving arts culture, the whole of the community does better - including economically.  or maybe i should say especially economically.    for instance, if san diego area is considered an interesting art mecca, it helps grandly with tourism, its good for education and growth.

more than a few financially frugal friends of mine have questioned, why would i start a new business at this time of national economic struggle.  my reply is this:  during depression, what rises?  the arts and expression.  out of frustration, often follows expression, just look at all the the interest this year political campaigning has created.  has the nation been frustrated?  of course.

 ...also,  another part of my theory is this:   creating buzz and stimulus is not that expensive and is very exciting and enriching.  The N Art Media Group is interested is keeping costs as low as possible for artists because the more art the better. 

Last night, i loved hearing the interviews that took place  and learned a lot about our artists and some of the intriguing styles that are growing stronger in the area.  i am very proud of what i saw and heard. 

as for me, one of the more established artists in the community and a personal friend looked at me and said, "so, lisa, looks like you are a mover and a shaker".

well, i guess so, surprisingly.  i am just answering a community need.  

funny though,

i could actually hear it, like a tidal wave following me around last night, did you see or hear what lisa is doing?    

 i hope you can tune in and learn something yourselves.

if you are interested in contributing to our unique cause, feel free to email me at lisabebiart@aol.com.

we will be looking for submissions in our new publication, please keep that in mind.  for the time being,  you may submit your ideas and art to me. 

tomorrow's REALLY BIG show

which is probably really today's show by the time you read this.  saturday, september 13 in escondido 262 east grand ave.  in the brand new municipal gallery, Escondido Arts Partnership.....come see my new work along with all open galleries in the area, plenty of food and wine and music and all things festive.  its the whole town, including restaurants.

check out :  www.escondidoarts.org

ON THE AIR:

in 5, 4, 3, 2 and on the air.........(red light)

also, i will be out with the camera crew filming for our new art magazine and art TV show, showing on ABC, saturday mornings beginning late september.   we will be interviewing artists and art lovers alike, if you have something to say on the subject, if you want to show and share your passion for the arts on TV, here's your chance.

find me, we will interview you. 

look sharp!

and see you there!

indie arts dvd magazine........

if you haven't seen indie art dvd magazine stuff yet, you are in for a treat.  the indie art people put together wonderful dvd magazine of art  and  artists; their work and interviews and lessons.  this new issue, issue 9 has my gallery in it.  i am very proud of that.

check it out. 

 www.indieartsdvd.com or www.indieartsdvd.blogspot.com

head throb.....

everyone in the family has a head cold and is grouchy.  i went to the doctor yesterday to see if i had a sinus infection, turns out no, but he said he could see the my eardrums were bulging from so much fluid inside my head.  i guess the fluid builds up cause the tissues swell and the tissues swell due to the fluid build up, so its a huge catch-22.

the answer was to give me a mild steroid nose spray to help shrink the tissue (starting to sound like hemorrhoids to me) and i feel better.

OK, i promise no more swimming in the cove - every time i go i  get some weird infection.  although not technically an infection, just hemorrhoid ears and sinuses.

"surf poem"

i have a lot to do to get ready for my show saturday - like paint more paintings.

"dunce quartet".....

 miss this piece too.  it sold after getting first place in a regional show a couple of years ago.

i created this piece right after i got back from italy that year.

we will be leaving for italy again oct. 2.  you would think by now i could speak italian.......i should get rosetta stone, italia.  have you seen the price of those?  like $400!!!

i was up early this morning because my daughter woke me to tell me that there was a terrible disaster (remember she is 13 and half italian, so drama rules).  yesterday she swam the mile la jolla rough water swim.  she was in a grouped aged division 13-19.  its impossible to tell what place she got by watching, we have to wait for the microchiped time to be turned into the result sheets, which normally is posted within the hour of the last person finishing.  this process developed a glitch yesterday, so we have been waiting to hear.  this morning at about 6:30 she pulled the results up on the computer only to find her name not there and the number she wore to be used by someone else!  that was the disaster.

she went off to school irritated.   i looked and discovered the real problem-----  the results are posted for last year in the 2008 slot.  meaning the real ones aren't posted yet.  oy vey - i need my beauty sleep.

the cove looked good, i think i might compete next year - i saw carol le beau there and got the urge. (see previous post)

 

la jolla cove....

tomorrow my daughter will race a mile in la jolla cove - we can't wait to cheer her on. she is a bit nervous about guess what? sharks? no. she is worried about getting hit in the head or pulled under by other aggressive swimmers. some of you might remember an early post i did (see, last year, around august 27, "it's soooo hot...") about my la jolla rough water race wherein i knocked news reporter carol la beau cross eyed. it was only because we were racing and we kept interlocking arms - we were racing for 5th place.  (that wasn't bad as we were 35 years old swimming against 19 years old and up) i kept pushing her to the side and she kept coming back and locking arms, no one was near us in front or behind, just us two. finally, the third time she traveled back to my arms, i did a stroke with my knuckles clenched and came down soundly on her head. that got rid of her until it became a race on the sand through the finish line, luckily for me she tripped and i placed ahead of her.

she talked about it on the news a whole 10 years later. i know because i was watching the news with a huge glass of wine in my hand - spouting off to the family about how i should have taught her an even bigger lesson!!!!  

so rosie worries that the same thing could happen to her. but now she knows how to handle it.

i doubt she will have that problem, she can always put vaseline on her arms and legs so that no one can grab her. can wait to see, actually. its swimming roller derby.

anyway, i have created a number of new paintings with surfing as the theme. it is an appropriate theme for southern california. i like the old 1950-60's look, therefore i chose this palette. i hope you like them.

the enchanter.......

today, while i was waiting for my paint to dry, i read this novella  (the precursor of "lolita") by author vladimir narokov. 

this little book is funny yet so very sick.  beautifully written, nevertheless.

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tired....

between the awful southern california heatwave and menopause, the heat has me beat.  i haven't had a good night's sleep in two nights.  i sweat from humidity  while my bed becomes an infrared mirror from my own body heat. 

physically, i am finally on track, having nearly completely recovered from knee surgery and the unfortunate ensuing infection.  just allergies and sleeplessness. 

but its OK, i know it will pass when the heat lifts and my allergies have a moment to settle.  importantly, i am feeling stronger daily.

so what's the beef?

global warming?  feels like it.  

i wanted to give a review of my opinion of the republican convention.  i just wrote 2 full paragraphs  about it.  but now i have erased it as i think i can't win - i will only alienate my good friends on either side.

as for me?  well, i have just finished a couple of very nice paintings - i hope that they go down well in the public's eye.  i need to remember that as an artist, my chosen position in life is to communicate through pictures, my own creations.  my father was a hardcore republican newspaperman who wrote a weekly opinion column- i hardly agreed with him politically, but that was his chosen profession. 

 i got the backlash of it at times, like one time,  i got pushed off my bike by an aggressive  kid who was upset that my father had written something awful about his father.......could i help it if his dad was running a corrupt post office?  did i care at age 9?  except how dare him throw my bike down.  humpf.   i spent a couple of days reliving the incident --- i should have at least swung at him.....but i was too startled, and i had a hard time comprehending what his beef was.  i had seen this kid at school but had never talked to him, jeez, what a hothead-but i kinda admired him for reading the paper or at least listening to his old man complain about my dad.  i went home and humpfed at my father, "you caused me to get my bike thrown in the street today --- and i was on it!"  my dad laughed, he saw i wasn't hurt.  then he told me, "don't worry that old man macgregor knows i wrote the truth and the truth hurts.  that boy won't bother you again, that family has bigger problems than my column."

i was wowed.....an ordinary kid like that affected that much by pen and paper, er newspaper ink.  none of the other kids even knew or cared what my dad did for a living.  but i learned a big lesson about chosen professions from him - and public views.

as for a woman in office?  i will only say this....i wish we had margaret thatcher.  to me, she was one of the greatest political figures ever - and it just so happened, she was a married woman with kids.  how much of her family life was brought out while she was in office - hardly ever.  did she use her family as a political statement about how it qualified her for the job?  or did britain judge her potential as leader by how many kids she had - no!  that would be ridiculous!  and anyone resorting to talking about that would be looked upon as a simpleton.   the only time britain looks at the family ties is when they are discussing royalty when the children will one day rule.  not that they could stop that from happening.  but it gives the people something to gossip about at bus stops and barber shops.

my opinion:   the further we get away from a politician's personal life, the better.  that goes for both sides.

will i get thrown off my bike for saying that?   i hope not.

books...

i just finished reading these two books i bought at the thrift store.  "growing up" was a nice read about russell baker's young life in the 1920's-1948 before he became a big newspaper man.  it was a life of hardship but  filled with interesting and rich characters.

"five people you meet in heaven"  i have to say was an excellent book.  i expected it to be a bit lame, but wanted to read it as many people have and i wondered what it was about.

the story is satisfying, full-bodied and makes sense.  i thought it would be 5 people that everyone should meet in heaven - but i was wrong.  it is the story of a fictional character and why he meets these 5 people in heaven---which only makes full sense when you read through it - cover to cover.

i had a full day of painting - that was very satisfying and frustrating, both!!! --- satisfying when i am sure what i am doing - frustrating when i hit a "spot" and don't know what i should do next.  usually i cure these "spots" by putting in a fish.  painting in a fish has long been my answer to a "painter's block".

well, tomorrow is another day of painting.  i hope i will be able to fix the "spots" without too many fish...

thank goodness my knee is repaired.  it feels pretty good.

re-visit of "sushi bar".....

sometimes i really miss some pieces that i have sold.  this is one of my favorites from 2 years ago, the 3 japanese women in a sauna with fishtails.  the fishtails detail was a last minute idea that my artfriend meredith gave me.  i think the tails really make the piece.

(this jpeg slightly distorts this piece - elongating it - the piece is actually 48" x 48" square).

so i am in a painting frenzy getting ready for my show sept. 13. today i have started another japanese based red painting and have it nearly done, but it needs one more element to make it "pop".

i called meredith...."are you busy, i'm stuck, do you think you can come over this week..."  she might, later this week.  i noticed that she was sounding a little tired.  turns out she had minor surgery this morning - just a skin thing removal.

a few weeks ago she showed me she had a fast growing skin-thing growth on her arm just above her elbow; it looked funny, i had to admit, and fast growing is something we southern californias are totally panicky over.

she took a list of 10 suspicious looking places on her skin she wanted her dermatologist to look at....he carefully reviewed them all saying no to them, except he said he was worried about" that bump on your face....!

"what bump on my face..?" she wanted to know.  she  had notice a smooth roundish skin colored warty looking thing, but thought it was just that.  afterall, smooth and roundish and skin colored are not any of the 5 or 6 indicators on the skin cancer chart  ....turned out it was, though. 

she today she had it removed and now waits to see if it is all gone.  poor meredith, but good thing she worried about a bump on her arm- the wrong one, but who cares, it got her into the doctor in time.

this put the panic into me as i have been a san diego sun bather most my life.

i have an appointment for the 18th with my dermatologist.  i think it is essential to get yourself looked at.  i learned from her.

back to the new asian painting - i will finish it and hang in the show on the 13th.   

family car.........

OK its like this:  we take the new car to a place for a meal....circle around the restaurant for a good 15 - 20 minutes until there is a space that looks decent to park in that won't lead up to a scratch on the car......twice we have done this only to give up and drive on to another part of town to do the same circling routine.....

we usually find a nice spot to park but then it is miles from chosen place to eat.  all this adds up to this:   our child would rather not ride in the car - she has been asking to say home and eat leftovers.

My next art show:

I have an opening reception of my new art,  September 13 at 5:30-8:30p.m. at 262 East Grand Ave. (back room of the Escondido Arts Partnership), Escondido, CA.  come on out, there will be plenty to see and eat and drink - as always.