~ A WEAVERVILLE CHURCH - WATERCOLOR ~

I painted this watercolor yesterday from an old photo that I had taken in 2000, in Weaverville, CA. It's doubtful whether the structure is still there. The painting measures 12 x 16 inches, on a watercolor block. It was one of those back-burner projects that I finally got around to. I have lots of those and so do you :), right?


....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

The Haitian Tragedy

It's really hard to not feel helpless in reaching out to those
in Haiti. They've endured more than we can imagine. I've decided
to donate 50% of sales from four of my websites (tonight through
midnight on Monday (72 hours)). I'd challenge any of you to do the same.
These people need our help....quickly. Thanks!

Site 1

Site 2

Site 3

Site 4

~ HYPER POETIC SURREALISM? ~

Every once in awhile I run into an artist whose work stops me in my tracks and Sara Umemoto is one of those artists. Her medium is digital art and photography. She will be having a show at our gallery "The Red Bluff Art Gallery" in March.....really looking forward to that. Her online gallery link is here.

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~ HAPPY NEW YEAR ~ 2010 ~

I just did this little drawing today - it's on the last page of Haggai in the bible that I've been drawing in for a couple of years now. Here is a recap of a post that I did last year (seems strange to say that....):



"For the past couple of years, I've been doing some pen and ink sketches in one of my bibles. My goal was to have something drawn on every page. These range from tiny 1/4 x 1/4 inch simple ornaments to 6 x 4 inch drawings. None are pre-planned, but are "improvised" on the spot - with no pencil, just direct ink. Some look like mandalas and all are self contained ornaments. I've been using a .005 Micron pen for most of these."


....(please click on the image to see a larger version)

~~~Merry Christmas Everyone!!! ~~~

Make a Smilebox greeting

Some Great Handmade Art Gifts

Had some health issues here, so I've been slow to post. I like to look at all kinds of art on the Web and I came across this nice hand crafted glass bowl. It is one of a kind by artist Renato Foti and you can see it online by clicking the image below. I hope that you are all having a wonderful Christmas holiday season.

A VIEW FROM THE RED BLUFF ART GALLERY

The other day, I was looking out the front window of The Red Bluff Art Gallery, where I hang out three days a week in the afternoon. I noticed a house way off in the distance that had an interesting fence, so I made a drawing of it. There was lots of traffic going up and down Walnut St. and some busy train tracks between the gallery and the house, so it was a bit of a challenge to get it done.



...(please click on the image to see a larger version)

- A Portrait in Pencil -

I did this drawing last week at The Red Bluff Art Gallery from a small color photo. It's of an artist that shows at the gallery. She is close to 90 years and commutes by car from California to an Eastern state, a couple of times a year. Pretty amazing! I used a 6b graphite stick (wood-less pencil) on smooth bristol board paper, with a felt stump and kneaded eraser.




...(please click on the image to see a larger version)

FUN WITH ARTFIRE

As an artist, or artisan, you can set up a free store on ArtFire.com and sell up to 12 items. They give you a domain name and don't charge any listing fees or sold item fees like eBay does. You can also instantly import your Etsy items if you happen to have an Etsy store. Here is a link to the store that I set up in about an hour and 1/2. Have fun with it!

Visit johnsminigallery's ArtFire Shop