Above is my painting Fat Tuesday, acrylic on panel, 24x24". (Available) Painted on Mardi Gras 2015.
Laissez les bons temps rouler!

With this being the Month of Photography here in Denver, I was wondering who was the first president to be photographed rather than only painted. It was William Henry Harrison, our 9th president. This image was captured by daguerreotype in 1841. He passed away at age 68 due to complications from pneumonia, after serving only 31 days in office. The shortest term ever served. (He was the grandfather of our 23rd president, Benjamin Harrison, who was president from 1889 to 1893.) William Harrison and John Tyler were nominated by the Whig Party for the 1840 election. Harrison earned the nickname Old Tippecanoe for an 1811 indian battle he fought in, prompting the election slogan and song: "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" He was the last president born as a British subject. 

"Pain is a shortcut to mindfulness."  -- Unknown

This unfinished Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington, (February 22, 1732-December, 14, 1799,) known as the Athenaeum Portrait, was painted in 1796, during the last full year of his presidency. Stuart did 100 paintings of Washington, all of which were based on three live portraits, of which this is one. It is the image from which the engraving for the one dollar bill was taken. It is jointly owned by the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. To learn more, please click: www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2005/stuart/philadelphia.shtm

The quote was taken from my US passport...

This is my painting Krishna and Radha, which I finished a couple years ago on Valentine's Day. The original has sold, but I have a few reproductions of it left...
An 8x10 image size, includes acid-free mat and fome-cor backing, (finished size 11x14) for $35.
And a  5x7 image size, includes acid-free mat and fome-cor backing, (finished size 8x10) for $25.
​Be the Love you wish to see in the world!

Romantidote (ro•man•ti•dote)  -- romance, a cure for loneliness

Roy Lichtenstein's Hopeless (1963)

I was over at Kaiser Permanente's Franklin Street building the other day. They have a great art collection there! I firmly believe art heals, both in the doing and in the experiencing. One of my favorite paintings there, in a walkway facing a wall of windows along 20th Ave., is Carlos Fresquez's, A Westside Wedding. It's big, larger than five foot square, and the color and bravura brushstrokes are amazing and uplifting to behold. Pictured are a bride and groom on the steps of St. Cajetan's Church, which was the center of the Spanish speaking community there. It was built in 1925, and has a special place in my heart. The Delgado side of my family were members, and my mom was baptized there in 1927. It has been designated a historic landmark by both the National Register of Historic Places and by Denver Landmark Preservation Commission. That is probably the only reason it is still standing, as much of the neighborhood around it was demolished to make way for the Auraria Campus, which holds the University of Colorado at Denver, Community College of Denver, and Metropolitan State University at Denver, my alma mater. It is also Carlos Fresquez's, who graduated with a BFA from Metro in 1980. I had returned for a second stint there at that time. I never met Carlos, but I remember seeing his work in the studios and at Emmanuel Gallery, another beautiful old church/synagogue that escaped the wrecking ball. To see more of Carlos Fresquez's work, click: http://carlosfresquez.com/index.html

Its First Friday, and if you are heading down to the Art District on Santa Fe, I highly recommend stopping by Spark Gallery to see Lydia Brokaw's exhibit OUTSIDE IN. Her mixed media sculptures are a combination of materials found in nature, fibre and handmade paper. As you can see her work is unique, wonderfully diverse, and not to be missed! OUTSIDE IN runs through this weekend and closes Sunday February 5th. Spark Gallery is located at 900 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204.  Hours are: Friday 12-9, Saturday 12-5 and Sunday 1-4. To see more of Lydia's work, click: www.sparkgallery.com/lydia-brokaw.html

HAPPY GROUNDHOG'S DAY
Well, at Gobbler's Nob this morning, the Groundhog, good ol' Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his lair and reported seeing his shadow, which means Spring won't arrive for another month and a half. Dang! Don't get me wrong, I'm not yearning for anything over 75 degrees, but I bet there are a bunch of plein air painters chomping at the bit to get out there and do some work! As for me, I will probably stay in this evening, avoid the icy roads, and watch the 1993 classic film, Groundhog Day, featuring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell, from which the still above was taken, as is weatherman Phil Connor's touching quote below:

"When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter."