Oxford Film Fest!

 We survived the Snow My God! Oxford got 5".

It is that time of year again- Film Fest! I went to the Lyric for the opening ceremonies and a special Thacker Mountain Radio. Robert Belfour performed on the radio show.

The most exciting thing is Bill Lilly Builds a Green House. Kevin worked on the container house in 2009 and maybe is in the documentary. I can't wait!

OFF to see some movies...

King Cake

 It is Mardi Gras time! We got a king cake from Honeybee. Yum!

Here is a painting update.

Laurie Fisher!

Ole Miss Alum and friend of Loutopia! Laurie is hosting a show about artists in KY. Great job Laurie!

If you want to watch her in action, here is the link.

Thanks Lizzy for the heads up!

Art and Etiquette

This is an amazing post about openings!

Robert Storr at Meek Hall.



Robert Storr and Bruce Levingston lectured/performed on Wednesday night. Dr. Storr gave an amazing lecture connecting music and art. He focused on the relationship between Phillip Glass (Ira's cousin) and Chuck Close. He also touched on Gerhardt Richter (one of my favorites). Bruce Levingston is a concert pianist. He gave an amazing performance- from Chopin to Phillip Glass. It was a great night. On Thursday morning, Mr. Levingston and Dr. Storr participated in a discussion at the Art Department. We discussed the possibility that the center of the art world has left Manhattan for Brooklyn. It was an amazing 24 hours and we hope they will come back. They had to skip the life-changing tour of the department by yours truly because of the weather.

Here is my new painting. It is small (24" x 36"). I am always interested in the compulsion to put faces on food.

Eicholdt Gallery

 Kevin and I headed south for the L.A. show opening at Spring Hill. We had such a good time! Of course, I forgot to take pictures while people are there. I love the tall ceilings and the checkerboard floor.

 It was cold in Mobile. The pelican fountain froze up.

After the show, Kevin and I headed down to the Causeway for dinner at the Original Oyster House. It was so good! We were the last people in the restaurant.

L.A.

I have been blogged! Read a review of the Spring Hill show here.

snow day!

 It snowed all last night...

Kevin measured the snow with his handy tape measure. We got 8 inches of snow in Oxford last night.

 Bottle Tree in snow...

I made a snow angel!

Hwy 45

 I went to Mobile yesterday to deliver my paintings for the show at Spring Hill. On my way back, I saw a familiar site, this slanted barn! I saw this a couple of years ago on another painting delivery trip and I fell in love. However, for whatever reason, I didn't pull over and take a picture. This time was different.

 I took some quick photos of the sunset while I was driving. The colors are much duller in the photos...

Flour Power

 Flour Power is done and is going to Mobile.

The cards for the show look great! I named the L.A. because when I was in grad school in Los Angeles, I went out one night when I was home. I ran into this guy I knew from high school. He asked me where I lived and I said "LA." He said, "Lower Alabama?" Mobile- the capital of Lower Alabama...

Huntsville Museum of Art

My mother and I scooted over to Huntsville yesterday. The Huntsville Museum of Art had a big expansion and it just reopened. Here are some images of my favorite things.

 American Studio glass

 Buccellati Silver Animals

 Mark Messersmith renders the coastal Southeastern landscape as a mysterious environment still inhabited by powerful birds, vigilant panthers, weary gators, blackwater swamps and old cypress trees—all vying with mankind for space and survival.

These painting are big, over-the-top, colorful, and contain dioramas. I should love them.... However, it was a whole room of paintings that where too close together. The paintings were all the same size and the subject matter didn't vary much. The paintings all had a diorama at the bottom and the carved pediment on the frame. The things hanging on the front were a bit gimmicky.

The strongest show was We Hate Jackson Pollock. That is an unfortunate title, but the show highlighted Pop and photorealism from the 1960s and 1970s. They had some Warhols, Lichtensteins, Stellas, Rauschenbergs, and some surprises.

 Richard Estes, screenprint

 James Vallerio, graphite on paper

A discovery- David Parrish. He is a Huntsville artist who shows all over the world. He makes giant photorealistic paintings of pop culture. He is like Glenray Tutor but more abstract. hmmm...

Christmas in Decatur

 I went home to visit my parents. Luckily, some of the Christmas decorations were still up. Old Decatur and Albany, the Victorian neighborhoods, have Christmas decorating contests every year. This is the overall "Best in Show." I love the apples and over the top lighting!

throwing "snowballs"

 This house won 1st place in Christmas with a twist. The car in the driveway had an "ArtEd" vanity license tag. The figures (we counted 11) are life-sized and plastic. I am envisioning a family art project with saran wrap and packing tape. This is an amazing group!

1st place- christmas with a twist

plastic people hanging lights

Finally, here is a bit of Christmas kitsch from my parents. My mother has a fiber-optic forest on the back porch. She has a least 12 fiber-optic trees. It is like a giant christmas lava lamp.

Bastrop, LA

On our way back from Shreveport, Kevin and I cut through the Delta. I am not sure what the most boring interstate in the country is... but I would vote for 55 north from Jackson to Batesville. I love driving through the country because of jems like this. We drove past the sign and then did a u-turn to take a picture. This is the most amazing slogan.

 Stage 1 with the background- It was working for me- too big, too many colors, not right

Stage 2 is much better in my opinion. I used a neutral (chromatic gray) and a tiny stencil. I am working on the tongs now.

I promise this isn't a knitting blog

However, here are a couple of things I made this month. This is a cowl from Norah Gaughan volume 7. Norah is my favorite knitting designer. Her version is much more classy. Mine is inspired by Nintendo, more specifically Super Mario Brothers!

 My grandmother's sweater. This is another pattern by Norah called Drift.

 And last but not least, here is the latest painting. I am making some progress. It is not finished, but it will not be long.  The main colors are pink and gray. While looking at it, I remembered a painting that I saw at the Frick a couple of summers ago. The painting is Whistler, Harmony in Pink and Gray, Valerie, Lady Meux 1881. 8881