On Board the CADD Bus Tour

I would never dream of comparing myself to Julie McCoy on Love Boat, but after my experience as the Cruise Director for the first CADD Bus Tour I now know why she smiles so much. It is really fun to guide people through an adventure.

When Brian Gibb from The Public Trust asked me to be part of the CADD Bus Tour (Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas), and was explaining that they needed someone on the bus to introduce each of the galleries and to help keep the bus on schedule, I was saying "Yes, This sounds like great fun" but I was thinking this sounds a lot like that TV show where they went on a tour, a 3 hour tour, and that turned out pretty badly.

Anyway, after saying yes, I hit the local websites and blogs to brush up on the galleries, artists and collectors that were on the tour. That was pretty easy because I always try to stay informed about local art and culture. What was difficult was the nights I spent dreaming about being on a bus filled with cannibals and a bus driver named Wrongway Feldman.

Eventually it was Saturday morning, I got up, channeled my inner Julie McCoy, drove over to Photos Do Not Bend Gallery, picked up my clipboard, and put on a smile.

The tour started at PDNB with coffee, donuts, and 3 photography exhibitions. I really enjoyed the iShow. But duty was calling, and it was time to get this crew of 25 art loving adventurers on the road. Our second gallery was in Oakcliff, at Mighty Fine Arts. The drawings on display by Erik Tosten turned out to be my favorite things on the tour, and I think some of the best work I have seen Erik produce.

Manet once said that art is best viewed on an empty stomach. That maybe true, but this bus was stopping by the studio/home of Brian Scott and Brian Jones for a little lunch.

The Library

A Cosy Fireplace

The interior of their small wood frame cottage was a feast for the eyes. Brian and Brian have been making and collecting art for a very long time, and they don't like keeping any of it in the closet. It was like walking into a 2 bed,1 bath art installation. It was full of color and humor. The culture clutter made for some insightful juxtapositions and great conversations.

After lunch, we drove back across the river to The Public Trust for a preview of the Blakely Dadson exhibit. There is an interview with Blakely in the October issue of Arts and Culture DFW. Brian Gibb gave out CADD gift bags and special edition t-shirts.

A few glasses of wine, and a quick drive through Hollywood Heights brought the CADD Bus to the home of Dee Mitchell. Dee is involved in multiple areas of culture. I know him best from his art reviews in the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Observer, and now at Arts and Culture DFW. If you Google his name, you will find several artists' websites that link to art reviews that Dee has written. He supports what he likes.

The Library

A Cosy Bedroom

Dee gave us a tour of the his home which Ron Wommack built to showcase Dee's art collection. The works on paper above the bed are by Thomas Nozkowski. I absolutely love them. On the bus ride back to PDNB, the contrast between Dee's collection and Brian and Brain's, generated lots of discussions about  collecting art, living with art, and personal styles.

As we pulled up to PDNB,  I asked for comments or recommendations about our first CADD Bus Tour. After a hardy applause, one person said they had a great time but wished the tour was longer. I pointed out that tour had lasted 4 hours and 15 minutes. Everyone was very surprised. When your having fun, time flies. Later, 2 couples said they were new to Dallas and that the tour was a great way for them to see galleries and meet other people interested in art.

After turning in my clipboard, I drove home with a big smile, opened a lovely bottle of Lexicon Malbec and raised a glass to the Dallas art scene, Rightway Charlie (our driver), and to a total absence of cannibals.

Shout Outs and Link Love

One of my favorite resources for art information in the Dallas Fort Worth area is Art and Seek. On Thursday they posted a short article which included a shout out to my blog! The post also noted 2 other local art blogs Art This Week and This Week In The Arts, both of which I highly recommend, and are now listed on my Blogville Link List.

In honor of Art and Seek spreading the link love, I am highlighting 2 Texas artists from my Artists of Note list. Each have created wonderful sites.

Brad Tucker - His site begins with a standard artists website title page, but as you dig into it, you realized he is having lots and lots of fun making all kinds of wonderful things.

Tracy Hicks- It starts with frogs in jars, but it is so much more than that. This is a wonderful collection of art. Really beautiful to look at and think about.

Also in the spirit of supporting artists, bloggers and online art magazines in my own small way, I am creating a page on my blog that is dedicated to cultural linkage. So stay tuned for that.

Thanks again to Art and Seek. You Rock.

Manet Mash Up

As I was driving to Sulfur Springs yesterday I started listening to the audio book The Judgement of Paris by Ross King. The story revolves around two artists, Ernest Meissonier and Edouard Manet. In the book it mentions that Manet used the figure of Adam from the Sistine Chapel in his painting Luncheon on the Grass.

So here I am, Sunday morning playing with photoshop to see how it looks. Then I came across the album cover for Bow Wow Wow's Go Wild in the Country, so I had to add Annabella Lwin in to the scene.

Putting a Name to the Photographs

I mentioned in the last post that TEDxSMU had a really good photographer at the TEDxSMU salon SculptCad Rapid Artists exhibit. I just found out it was Kim Ritzenthler. Here is the link to her website and the link to the TEDxSMU flickr page.

Thanks Kim for catching the moment.

After the Art Salon Talk and Opening

It turned out that the TEDxSMU salon for the SculptCAD Rapid Artists exhibit sold out. The attendees were of very diverse back grounds. I think linking up with TEDx brought in an intellectual segment of the population that usually do not attend art openings.

As for the art talk, Nancy Hairston gave a strong powerpoint overview of the technical process. Shawn Smith then talked about developing his sculptural idea, followed by Heather Gorham with images of her sculpture being fleshed out. I presented last with a bit of babble about creating without touching. The acoustics in the One Arts Plaza lobby were so bad my voice bounced back at me in a foreign language. Thankfully for me and the audience I only had to talk for 5 minutes. Afterwords several people approached me with some great questions, so that was great.

TEDxSMU had an event photographer there, Sadly I didn't get her name, but when I do I'll post it. Anyway, her photos are now posted on the TEDxSMU Flickr site. Check them out.

TEDxSMU Salon and SculptCAD Rapid Artists Exhibit Opens tonight

As of last Saturday 140 people purchased tickets to the salon talk tonight. That's a pretty large group of people, and I must say more than I was expecting. It's 4 days later and the media has hit the wires, So now the event has changed from something fun to do, to something very serious. That means I now have to reconsider what I was going to wear as I give my portion of the art talk.  Of course when I start to think about it... what I am wearing is the least of my worries. I so hate the feeling I get just before I talk in public. But I know it's all going to be fun and I'll have a great time.

The Nature Of Sketchbooks

My use of sketchbooks began with a journal in high school. Journaling was a way to sort out and examine all the unexplainable actions and reactions that occur while coexisting in a building filled with hormone driven teenagers. Over the years my artwork and my journals have merged, resulting in sketchbooks filled with images that are maps through a world that still seems to be driven by questionable actions and reactions.

For a long time I used my sketchbooks as a kind of petridish, place to compose my thoughts and images, and then transfer that information to an outside medium such as painting or sculpture. Two things occur by doing this, first there is a shift from the reactionary thought process to the mechanical mind, a change from what do I think about this, to how do I reproduce this. Secondly, processing the imagery remove some of the personal baggage associated with that imagery. This makes the artwork more comfortable to display in public

The sketchbooks have a symbiotic relationship. I work in multiple sketchbooks at the same time. Some of them I have been reexamining and reworking for years. Others seem to fill up over night. All of them feed from each other to expose new possible relationships and directions.

There is a rawness inside the sketchbooks that is related to the subconscious grittiness of reactionary thought. Because of the imperfections and flaws associated with this rawness, the sketchbooks have always been held back from public viewing, but I have come to realize that this rawness also conveys an honesty and truth that is after all the foundation to all great art.