Morgan

Morgan

Oil on canvas, 12x12. Commission

For those of you who are not nuts about dog paintings, don't worry! Landscapes are coming - but I still have dog commissions to finish, and for that, I am thankful.

This one delights me on all sorts of levels. The lovely woman who commissioned it had me paint it for her mother, as a Mother's Day present. The gesture - and the dog, too - touched my heart. And the woman who commissioned it could not have been more charming or engaging. I liked her from the moment she said hello - last fall! She remembered me and came back to LaSalle Road last Saturday to find me and have me make this painting.

On quite another note... I've often wondered just why one juried-show entry will delight one juror and, apparently, turn the next one off. It's opinion, I know. I know! It's whether the juror slept well, or had the right amount of coffee, or  was simply feeling frumpy and crabby one afternoon. It can be something as ephemeral as that.

But maybe it's something even more ephemeral. For the longest time, it seemed that if I wore a particular pair of earrings while I delivered work or filled out an application, I got in. Then, well, that pair of earrings seemed to be less effective.

I thought for a while that it was my "Wisdom, Montana" T-shirt. If I wore that when I applied - and particularly, if I wore it while I made the painting AND while I applied, I would get in. That wore off, too.

Now, Lori Rembetski, a friend and marvelous sculptor, thinks she has it, and I think she might be right: The key is Greek yogurt. If you have Greek yogurt in the fridge, you'll get into the show. That's her suggestion, and when I think about it, it seems to explain everything....

For those of you in the area of southeastern Connecticut, I have pieces in the Mystic Arts Center show "Long & Lean," and in the Hygienic Gallery show, "Fifth Crossing." The Mystic show's opening reception is Thursday evening, and the show is up through May 22, and is really interesting.

The Hygienic show's opening reception is Saturday, and that show also is up through May 22. I haven't seen the Hygienic show yet, but it promises to be interesting, as most Hygienic events are. The Mystic Arts Center is located on Water Street in Mystic, Conn. (in the parking lot); the Hygienic is on Bank Street in New London, Conn.