Yep, I have abandoned this blog.  For that matter this website.  It's a beast to keep up with it.  Just to update the scene a bit.  "Calhoonis"  the watercolor on canvas of the cowboy took 1st place in the MT State Watercolor Society Show.  The boat piece "Power Forward" was recently accepted in the online show http://www.artkudos.com/ .  Out of 300 plus submission world wide I represented Montana and US, however I didn't get an award :(  It's on page 5.  I plan on submitting them again thru the year to various contests.  Yes I am painting, it's hard with 4 room mates errr children and wife, but I can't quit!  It's like a drug!!!

Watercolor on canvas, a sin or a win?

Trying out some new techniques on canvas with watercolor lately.  Rules can't always apply to bringing something new to the scene.

Ok, so time to apologize.  I'm sorry for being narrow minded, I think it's funny that I thought that I was going to surpass all the people whom have entered this before and take a grant home.  I guess anything is possible.  But there is always more to the surface of every illusion. 

So I've been told about this image that I posted and it's creator.  I guess it's make of paper, which is pretty cool. After looking at his other works; some of them are very elaborate and detailed. 

I'm sure I'll attempt it again, hard to come up with some new method of chucking paint on a whim to impress the beholders eye.

On another note, I made it to Livingston last weekend to meet up with my friend and printer Jim Bechtel.  It was a long awaited trip,  he's been printing some of my local images that I have painted in a bigger format.  20 x 40 to 30 x 40 canvas wraps.  They are awesome!  Clean, vibrant, hard to not stare they look so damn good!  So on my way down to Livingston, I landed a gig in Two Rivers Gallery in Big Timber, MT!   Its a very nice gallery and have a great people there!

I was also able to visit with Parks Reese of "The Parks Reese Gallery".  Very cool guy, very nice establishment that he has there.  If you get a chance stop and see his work.  I can't imagine doing lithographs, there is a lot of work that goes into them.  The Livingston center for Culture and Arts is also a part of this building and hosted many nice works by local artists and is definitely worth a visit.  Excellent staff and incentive for art to thrive is what keeps art alive!

Gotta go!

joe

Well I didn't get the grant I applied for.  Seems I'm not pushing the bounds of watercolors.  Hard to believe when I see this kind of work that gets awarded one of the 11 grants available. 

 Call me a bitter person, but this is exactly the shit people were doing in Jr. High and High school just to get a passing grade.  Now I'm pissed.....
http://art.mt.gov/artists/artists_innovation.asp

I think I'm calling this one done.  Big accomplishment for me, taking my work to a new place every time I hit the table.  I would also like to hit the table with my newest Dell laptop.  The thing is a total piece of shit and I'm sending it back to where ever the hell it came from.  Most likely not USA. Which is craptastic.

So as some of you might know I spend an awful lot of time on the road this time of year.  Allows a lot of time for thoughts to bubble up and ideas to come forth.  I have some concepts that I'm going to put to good use in the coming months/years.  Prepare for the rapture....I'm blowin' the lid off this mofo.

Up till 2 last night burning the candle on this saw.  Turning out awfully nice and hope I get me some attention with this one.  The image depicts the Judith mountains of Montana, a view from an adjacent range of mountains close to Hilger called the Moccassin mountains.  Since it has a mountain lion in the scene; which is a common inhabitant of these parts, I thought would be funny to name it "Puss in Moccassins". I don't thing the customer  would dig on that tho.