Rise

Another week has gone by before I'd really even gotten a good start on it. So much has happened lately that my head's spinning. Not all that unusual for me I suppose. Not all of those things have been good, but that's life, huh.
I did manage to sneak in a couple of painting sessions and am nearly done with Spiral. Good thing too. More and more opportunities are coming my way and I need to buckle down and get working. It's good for me to have some deadlines. Keeps me focused. Keeps me moving forward.
I figure I've got one more session before Our Lady of the Many Arms is finished. She's needing some finishing touches on her hands and arms plus I need to soften up her torso. The line of her ribs and tummy is too hard. I want her to be muscular-looking, but feminine, lithe. I'm thinking tonight's the night. We'll dance one last time and then I'll let her go. Other projects are looming. That means putting her down, but not before we've finished with each other. I've got ideas for some other surrealist pieces, but I don't have time for them right now. So I've sketched and notated enough so that I can come back to them in the future. Stay tuned. I went waaaay out in left field for a few of them. It's a place where I feel at home with the things lurking behind the curtains of my subconscious. Private things.
So on to the new work. Right now I'm doing a logo for an architectural firm in Chicago thanks to an old and good friend. I don't do a ton of graphic design work, but I do enjoy it and would like to do more. So if you've got a line on some... think of me.
In some really great news I've been commissioned to create a new cityscape of Des Moines for the big Des Moines Art Festival this Summer. It's a great event attended by thousands and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. The image will then be enlarged and divided into about 1000 squares which will be reproduced by Art Fest attendees. Those squares, when completed, will be mounted onto a framework resulting in a billboard-sized reproduction (roughly 30'x50'). That's HUGE! I'm really pumped up for this project. Working with specific contraints and with a committee will be a new experience, but I'm totally up for it and can't wait to get started.
On top of that there are shows coming up and contests, AND I might be speaking to an Art History and Architecture class. I love public speaking, but I'm a little nervous about this one. I'm up to the challenge tho.
I'd like to give thanks now to those people that have presented me with these opportunities and to those people that have and continue to believe in me. I won't let you down. I appreciate you more than you know.

When opportunities arise you rise with them.
Sometimes you bite off more than you can chew, but it's better than starving.

Cheers!

R