X

This very day marks the 10th anniversary of my dot art blog. It's a milestone as well as a somber moment for me. I'm reminded of my evacuation from and my return to the New Orleans area.

Last year I pursued an "X' design in three large dot paintings. This year I created three more large paintings using an "X." I also have a couple of batches, of smaller unfinished dot paintings, that are rooted in an "X" design.

As the Katrina anniversary came around, local newspapers published numerous photos of the aftermath from ten years ago. A common sight around the city was a giant "X' spray painted on the front of homes. The top quadrant marked the date a house was searched. The right quadrant included a code for what hazards lay inside. The left quadrant had the initials of the search squad. And the bottom quadrant had a body count.

For a few years now I planned to use the "X" as design structure in my dot paintings. But then this year I thought of another reason to include an "X." "X" can also be the Roman Numeral for "ten."

In last year's anniversary post, I mentioned being in an artistic rut. Well, I'm still in one, in spite of my seeking inspiration from trips to galleries and art museums in the area. I just have to work through this phase.

Ninth Year!

Today my dot art blog turns nine. Even though I have not been creating many new works, I still managed to create three new dot paintings for the Poydras Home Art Show this coming weekend. Naturally less painting has meant less posting.

Last summer a venue for my dot art, Ele Shoes & Accessories, closed. About the same time I was allowed to hang some work at The Rook Cafe. In September, I was invited to display a one artist exhibit there. The show is still hanging.

For now I'm at a creative crossroads. Hopefully I'll find a new direction to take my dot art. I cannot let my past process trip me up as I go forward. So, I anticipate some changes coming.

Eighth Year!

Eight years ago I became a blogger. For months I’d heard the word bandied about in various media. My curiosity got the best of me when I noticed a top-ten-blog-list on AOL. Before I knew it, I was clicking a button to create a blog.

My excitement led me to create more blogs. I had blogs for my old art and blogs for my new art. The blogs were prompted by the destruction of my art in a flood following Hurricane Katrina. The art wasn’t high enough off the floor in the house where I was storing it. Only some of my work was destroyed.

Then I bought my own digital camera. Up until then I borrowed my sister’s camera. Now armed with my own camera, I had more ideas for blogs. I busily documented local happenings as the New Orleans area recovered.

Little did I realize my camera was capable of shooting video. After some experimentation, I began making videos and posting them on blogs, too. My preference was to stay behind the camera instead of in front of it. Vlogging never appealed to me. A few years later I experimented with dot imagery.

During the last eight years my interest in blogging has waned a bit. Other life events have gotten in the way. My creative momentum has slowed which has made blogging a more cumbersome experience. Thinking up new material is hard enough, but I’ve had to find innovative ways to continue this effort.

Don’t worry. I have more dot artwork in progress. For whatever reason, I find myself stuck in the year 2007 with themes. It was an important creative year for me apparently. In the meantime I keep regular notes, which hopefully will inspire new imagery. Periodically I whittle down the list. Yes, I do have plans to cover other years too.

Seventh Year!

Seven years ago I created this blog about my dot art. In that time I have discussed the evolution of my paintings, my process for creating each new piece and my influences along the way. This blog has become part of my process as I write about these works and as I respond to comments and questions.

Although Hurricane Katrina was seven years ago, I’ve been reminded of the dangers of such storms several times since then. Four years ago, Hurricane Gustav precipitated my forced evacuation. One year ago Tropical Storm Lee hovered over the area for too long. Then this past August, Hurricane Isaac made an indecisive and dragged out path through this area.

Hurricane Issac was very frustrating because forecasters couldn’t predict accurately
its landfall nor its strength. After the storm, it was a while before homes and businesses had power restored. Fortunately, I never lost power. I only had to replace some ceramic roof tiles.

Too bad I wasn’t inspired to paint while cooped up inside during the Isaac drama. My efforts would have been a waste of paint. Not until the end of September did I start in on the paintings for the annual art show at Poydras Home. Each year I have submitted three new works for the show.

Stacks of small canvases await coats of paint and dots as I write this. Seven years have passed and I’m still creating more of these. People still want them. Last spring marked the tenth year I’ve been painting this way and last summer marked the shift to painting smaller canvases. Anyway, I need to paint . . .

Five Years Later

Five years ago I found my way to Blogger while exploring an AOL Top Ten Blog List. I was merely trying to find out what blogs were and why people were constantly talking about them. Suddenly I was prompted to create a blog. Surprised at first, I clicked away. A few minutes later I went back and created my first blog about my dot art. It wasn’t long before I set up several more blogs. I jumped in with gusto.

My first intent was to put images of my art out there since many of pieces had survived Hurricane Katrina and the Flood. I was grateful that the works were spared. Some of my college, and younger artwork, perished in the basement of my aunt’s house. The art wasn’t high enough, from the floor, to remain dry.

It’s taken some time for me to find a groove for this blog. Along the way I’ve been lucky enough to have regular readers. Several of them enjoy telling me what they see in these pieces.

Tonight I am working on some new dot paintings. The deadline to submit them is in the coming week. I still have many hours of adding dots to three 20” x 20” canvases. My process takes a lot of time.

A BIG THANK YOU to my readers who continue to visit this blog. Thank you to those readers who comment and regularly share their observations. I really appreciate your feedback.

Now back to work . . .

dot art Turns Four!

It’s now been four years since I created this blog about
my dot artwork. My journey began in AOL’s blogging area.
I was exploring a top ten list when I was suddenly confronted by Blogger’s friendly question asking me if I wanted to create
a blog. I was startled at first and clicked away from that page.
A little while later I went back to the page, and set up
several blogs.

Having returned from my Katrina evacuation to Memphis, I was relieved that my adult art had survived the post Katrina flood. Unfortunately I had stored my kid art on the first floor of an aunt’s home – that flooded after the storm. Some of the art, placed high enough off the floor, survived. The rest of my art, which sat in water, had to be pitched.

Over the last four years I’ve posted images of dot artwork as I created new ones. I’ve explained their inspiration and talked about my process. Many of you have given me your interpretations of what you see. Thank you to my readers who continue to visit this blog. Thank you to those readers who comment regularly. I really appreciate your feedback.

Today I am working on some 20” x 20” ‘s for a show that will be hung next week. Don’t worry. There’s plenty more to come. Some of my “e” series paintings are in the dot stage now. I’ll be posting them very soon.

dot art Turns Three!

Three years ago I started this blog about my dot artwork. My journey started with AOL’s blogging area. However, AOL didn’t cater to Mac users. When I was poking around a top ten list, I soon found myself being confronted by Blogger’s friendly question asking me if I wanted to create a blog. I was a bit startled at first. But then my curiosity got the better of me. Soon I created several blogs.

At that time I was very grateful that my adult art had survived the post Katrina flood. Unfortunately I had stored my kid art at an aunt’s home – that flooded after the storm. Some of the art, that I had placed high off the floor was alright, but the other works had to be pitched.

Interestingly enough, AOL has decided to not only shut down its blogging area, AOL Journals, but also to shut down its web site area, AOL Hometown and AOL Pictures. For those who wanted to transfer blogs over to Blogger, AOL had made arrangements. After receiving those three blue envelopes, I’m a bit skittish about receiving any more of them.

Two months ago New Orleans was all set to recognize the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the flood. But Hurricane Gustav had its own plans for Labor Day weekend. Many locals found themselves evacuating, yet again. Some decided to stay this time. All things considered, the city lucked out.

This Saturday begins an event in New Orleans, called Prospect.1 New Orleans [P.1]. It is an international biennial that will run through January 18, 2009. The show will showcase global and regional artists – 81 artists scattered across 24 city locations. I like to refer to it as an “art world’s fair.” That at least gives locals an idea of what is happening. Prospect One was curated by Dan Cameron of the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center. One piece discussed in our local paper, The Times-Picayune, is an ark installation in the lower ninth ward.

Anyway, it’s now three years later. My dot art has done well with tourists and locals alike. This blog has served as a place for feedback. It also has become part of my dot art process. Happy birthday, dot art.

Happy Two Years Old!

Two years ago I had to find out what a blog was all about. First I found an AOL top-ten-blog list. I began exploring examples of blogs. I was looking at a Blogger blog when suddenly I was being asked to create one of my own. OK, I chickened out when prompted with a dialogue box.

Well, I decided to take a tour. That made me comfortable enough to plunge in and start one. I already had photos of my artwork that I had taken with sister’s digital camera. I used them on an AOL website. I had to create it on her Dell computer because the software for an AOL website was not Mac friendly. She loved kidding me about that.

It wasn’t long after that that I bought a digital camera and took more pictures. The camera even had the ability to film video. Since much of my adult art survived Hurricane Katrina and the flood, I was determined to have more of my art online. I figured blogs would a useful vehicle for putting work out there. Oh, I did look into blogging using AOL. However what was available for a Mac user was very limited. Blogger just made it so easy to jump in and make a blog.

My Other Art

The dot artwork didn’t really come together until 2002. So, what did I do before that? Well, twenty years ago I graduated from Mississippi State with a BFA in Graphic Design. I had other emphases in painting and photography. The art professors who instructed me pushed traditional academy art; however, many of them shared their experimental methods with us as well. Prior to going to college I had become jaded about my art.

In high school, a drama instructor told me I painted like Henri Magritte and gave me a book on him, as a gift. I painted several murals for stage sets. In college, I worked more abstractly. The art professors weren’t always sure how to guide me. Their own experimentations were usually for backgrounds. So, since I graduated, I’ve worked somewhere between totally non-objective and surreal. My college experiences made me more excited about making art than I had been since middle school.

Remember when you see impressive fireworks and exclaim “ooh” and “ahh?” Well, that’s how I felt about my art when I graduated from college. Suddenly I had numerous ideas and techniques I needed to try. At any rate I’m still trying methods and media.

workshop adventures


Here are the blogs that cover my other art:

mind places

slingin paint

graphite only

dance energy


Then there are these works that have come about in the course of developing my “dot art.” Teaching art had an effect on my process and my experimentation. Prior to Hurricane Katrina I got into a more random mindset. The anal teaching environment helped push me there.

got grid

c’est collage

art at random

random wood

My dot art has been my focus since Hurricane Katrina and the flood. It is selling more consistently than my other work. But I do hope to take some detours again. Often the galleries have picked on me for pursuing so many artistic directions. Well, I suffer from visual boredom very easily. Surfing the Internet has only multiplied the number of ideas buzzing around in my head. OK, I need to finish some art. Stay tuned . . .