On a more positive note: Google Art Project

Enough about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.  Google, with all their money, could have probably bought the museums but instead they have put together what appears to be a wonderful way to go inside 17 of the world's greatest without leaving the comfort of your home.  I'll admit that it's a little maddening learning how to move around within the museums but the Goggle Art Project has great potential.  Here's what they say on their blog:

You’ll find a selection of super high-resolution images of famous works of art as well as more than a thousand other images, by more than 400 artists—all in one place. And with Street View technology, you can take a virtual tour inside 17 of the world’s most acclaimed art museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA in New York, The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Tate Britain & The National Gallery in London, Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Have you ever wanted to get really close to a painting to see the texture or try to understand the brush strokes only to have the docent shoo you away?  Here's your chance.  A close up of Van Gogh's Starry Night at the MOMA.  Wow.

Thanks Google!

A followup on the Jeff Koons LLC idiocy

As you might remember the bookstore and art gallery Park Life was sent a cease-and-desist letter by über-artist Jeff Koons LLC to stop them from selling bookends made to look like dogs made of blown-up twisted ballons.  Yeah, you know, what street clowns all over the world make every day and sell to parents with kids in tow.

So Park Life's attorney has filed a federal complaint against Mr. Koons LLC.  ArtInfo has a summary of the document and six of its funniest parts .  The complaint begins:

As virtually any clown can attest, no one owns the idea of making a balloon dog, and the shape created by twisting a balloon into a dog-like form is part of the public domain.

Emma Allen ad libs "I'd like to call to the stand the first expert witness. Dr. Bozo, will you please raise your right hand?"

I have to say, I can't imagine wanting a bookend that looks like this:

The link here

A landscape this time.

I haven't done many landscapes and even fewer have ultimately worked.  I have a book by Pema Chodron, a Buddhist teacher, that has helped me over the last 5 or six years.  I love the cover, a photo of a park in the late fall.  Here's my version of the scene.

The Park.  Acrylics and charcoal on canvas.  18 x 24

A new abstract

This sort of started with a small study I did.  It wasn't intended but Karen immediately said, "What's the little nude about."  That's how her mind works I guess!  This was weeks ago.  So I took a big canvas that had not one, but two (maybe 3?) failed paintings under coats of gesso.

I started with the study and it went fairly well.  Here's what ultimately happened...

Another Nude.  Ink, acrylics on canvas.  24 x 30

Jeff Koons, ugghh!

To my art friends: Jeff Koons, who I consider the greatest con man/fraud of 21st century art (no matter what Stephen says), has laid claim to the rights to create dogs out of balloons. OMFG! Hey I wouldn't want anyone to steal my art either but I'm thinking that there were thousands of street artists creating balloon dogs, birds, horses, etc. ad nauseoum for a hundred years before Jeffie made millions doing it.

Just so Jeffie doesn't sue me, here's a link to one of his, ahem, dogs.