This painting was done last summer, for an invitational exhibition at the Miller Art Museum Sturgeon Bay Past and Present... It is the backside view of THE RED ROOM an historic pub in town where you can get a great burger. The front of the building is tarted up a bit, the back side seems more authentic in some ways, I wasn't around 40 years ago but the interior probably was. I did an earlier version of this painting complete with pick up trucks parked in back, but decided to do this painting without the trucks, the completed painting has more cracks in the pavement, a weed or two. I loved the little neon sign above the door, and the blue and white awnings. Someone loved the painting - it sold to a local. That made me happy knowing that this painting titled GETTING THE RED ROOM made it to someone else's wall. It was one of two paintings I sold last year. I am not breaking new records but I feel some pleasure in doing the painting my way, and then having someone get it their way. Doing art affords me the opportunity to learn about the world in my own personal approach. I know more about the Red Room now, having studied it for several months. It may seem like a humble thing, and in many ways it is, but its a great thing to be able to do this.

Winter in 2011 starts with some amount of rude adjustment and great sorrow on a national level. A shooting in Arizona, a little girl is dead and now a household word, images of a flood in Australia prompt a higher than average number of questions from casual acquaintances at the Y, is the flooding affecting Steve and your property over there? And "Benign" was a word I welcomed today, and I realize I don't blog more than once or twice a year. Because its enough just to look out at the sky and snow falling gently and just feel like getting on with it, another day in the north.

For nearly a year to the day, I have  ignored this blogspot, I am still timid about the technology and holding back on my activity.  My travels have been limited this year since our return to Australia last February and March,  we have settled in to our Door County  Wisconsin home, I am painting more en plein air and on occasion I break out of that to explore the altered book, assemblage and  collage in  found object.