First Friday at Litmus Gallery

Not to be too Trumpian in tooting my own horn but I won first Place! LOL At least I don't talk about myself in the 3rd person.

If your in the Raleigh area, be sure to check out my latest painting seen below at Litmus gallery Nov 2-Dec 7

Litmus gallery

ANYTHING GOES 2018 This annual exhibit will showcase over 70 of the most creative works from more than 50 artists, incorporating any theme of the artists’ choosing, in an outstanding range of original visual art, including traditional, contemporary, and avant-garde creations. The art exhibit illustrates a wide range of techniques, including paintings, photography, sculpture, and mixed media. Come participate in an exciting evening celebrating outstanding local art in downtown Raleigh! Friday, November 2:  Exhibition wine reception, First Friday 6-9pm. Friday, December 7: Wine Reception: 6-9 pm / Exhibit closes 9 pm November 2 – December 7:  Exhibition open Thursdays 10am – 2pm and by appointment: Email [email protected] Facebook page: www.facebook.com/litmusgallery

An Americian Satire (Saytr)- The Hypokrites When approaching the current political situation I wanted to zoom out past from the partisanship, lies, opinions, and absurdity to a more cohesive view by looking at the roots of democracy itself, the archetypal world of tarot and mundane astrology to speculate the inevitable outcome and find solace from the seemingly unending uncertainty. Ancient Greeks Theater and the concept of democracy emerged hand in hand back in 500BC. It started out as a festival to honor Dionysius, the god of wine and fertility on the spring solstice . It would begin with a sacrifice of a goat. At first it started with just a chorus who performed songs, then eventually protagonists were added that would tell stories about the gods that often had a ethical or political allegory to them. The word for actor was hypokrites. The amphitheaters were built for the spring festival in a lot of the towns (politika, affairs of the state. polite-citizen) but then became used by the politicians and citizens the rest of the year to discuss current affairs. Here is a link to a really interesting video done by the BBC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAkLTWQUbG8&t=27s There were three kinds of plays -tragedy, comedy and the satyr plays. The root of the word tragedy is “ goat song”. Comedy comes from komodios or “revelry song”. Dionysius was often portrayed as a satyr, the saytr plays were both comedy and tragedy often with lots of lewdness and jokes about other bodily functions. There was a chorus of men dressed as saytrs with horns and exaggerated strapped on phalluses. It is a myth that the word satire originated from this, but instead from satur which translates to full dish, or from sated, or satisfied. It is fascinating to connect the dots after knowing the etymology and semantics of ancient Greek culture. We can now see how our current politicians inherited the characteristics that they currently portray. Overt licentiousness- porn stars and penis size come to mind, hypocrisy- wearing any mask that applies at the current moment to get applause. After all, we currently have a pathological liar ( lyre ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwRIgLt5At8 fraud, reality TV star as president, how did this happen? It would seem, not the majority but many, seek only "panem et circenses” or bread and circuses. It was Juvenal the Roman poet that coined the expression, here is a full quote- "Now that no one buys our votes, the public has long since cast off its cares; for the people that once bestowed commands, consulships, legions, and all else, now meddles no more and longs eagerly for just two things - bread and circuses.” It is the dumbing down and distraction of the masses by entertaining their most base impulses and desires to avoid dissent and win favor. The Tarot symbolizes archetypes of universal truth. Originating during the renaissance it may be somewhat of an anachronism but effective none the less. It could be seen as a metaphor to economics since playing cards are synonymous with gambling or the elements of chance and acumen involved in being fortuitous in the stock market and other investments. There is the minor arcana, the basis of contemporary playing cards and the major arcane, a more complex set of universal symbols. It would seem there is a card to define any human experience. The Fool- On a personal level it is symbolic of the uncertainty of trending on unfamiliar ground, the anxiety a lot of us are experiencing due to a lack of trust and faith in the current leadership. In relationship to Trump, it is symbolic of his gross inexperienced incompetence and lack of willingness to learn, his impulsive, petulant , improvisational style of making up the truth at any given moment for his convenience. It is likely that he didn’t really want or expect to win the presidency but sought it merely for self aggrandizement. The Hang Man- Personally it is about getting a different, detached point of view about any given situation which is what I have done here by seeing through the minutia. It is about a deferment of action until thoroughly contemplating the situation. For Trump, the obvious applies, it is a retribution for a wrong doing and the suspense and uncertainty that goes along with all that. The Devil-On a personal level we are all being forced to confront our shadow, those dark elements of ourselves that we have been avoiding-greed, bigotry, dishonesty, going bald. Ideally we recognize the projections and take the moral high road. In relation to Trump, He is the personification of just that-all that is vile, self indulgent, self interested and egoic. Much to his chagrin, there is still the element of free will, we can choose to be drawn into the vitriol and antagonism or not. Justice-The meaning of this card is obvious , it symbolizes truth, rational arbitration, righteous retribution. Taking the higher road, I hope that the current POTUS somehow finds the time and place to put aside all his worldly material ambitions and look within. Perhaps he will then see that he is physically, emotionally and spiritually unfit to serve and only does harm to himself and everyone else in doing so. If he ever learns to read I would recommend reading David R. Hawkins , the psychiatrist. In his book Transcending the Levels of Consciousness he has charted the emotions and awareness of the human experience on a scale from 0 to 1000. The president does not seem to ever rise above the level of 200, all the base negative egoic emotions and desires. Only above 200 do we start to see virtue, morality and idealism. Some of his other books include Power vs. Force, and Truth vs. Falsehood. We need more evolved, well rounded moral leaders to be an example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6955vsZhao Approaching the current zeitgeist with mundane astrology we have some challenging elements involved. Pluto transiting Capricorn from January 2008-January 2024, this involves a transformation of the infrastructure of business, finance and government; the possibility of a black president?, a woman president, a reality TV star president. What happened with the banks in 2008? Have we made new laws so that wont happen again? We have seen many old established business empires collapse with the new landscape brought about by the internet. Saturn is also transiting Capricorn from December 2017, to March 2020, its home sign since Saturn is the ruler of that sign. This can be witnessed in the rise of the alt right and nationalism world wide, Saturn is cold, rigid and restrictive in its adherence to the old, established, conservative, bigoted, fearful approach to things. Every 17 years Saturn by transit conjuncts or opposes Pluto, this usually manifests as some sort of transformative disaster. In Saggitarius-9/11 effecting travel and commerce, in Scorpio 1984, effecting sex and death, in Virgo 1965, free speech/spirituality/revolution, In 2020 I think we will see exposed all the truth about government corruption. What is the etymology of plutocracy? Trump will have this opposing his natal Saturn, Pluto does not tolerate BS. The USA will be experiencing its first Pluto return at this time we must reassert our original ideals put forth in the constitution and possibly make some ammendments to safeguard against would be tyrants. Saturn then enters Aquarius where we will probable see a new vision, possibly by the young which will unify with tolerance and humanitarianism.

These two mixed media pieces were juried into the Exposed Nude show at Litmus (see details below)

Litmus gallery Juried show

EXPOSED: NUDES IN ART 2018 Throughout history, representation of the human form has been charged with tremendous energy, both positive and negative. Whether a taboo or a revelation of mastery over form and expression, crafting life-like human figures has appealed to us. We use the human nude to master skill, understand ourselves, and push social and psychological buttons. Our goal for this annual exhibit is to discover how today’s artists explore and represent the human form. This year we are excited to showcase more than 50 original art interpretations of the nude, semi-nude, and implied nude human form created by over 25 artists. Friday, March 2: Exhibition opens / wine reception / video exhibit along with live improvisational dance and music directed by Steve Clarke will be presented: 6-9 pm March 2 – April 26: Exhibition open Thursdays 10 am - 2 pm and by appointment (email: [email protected]) Friday, April 6: Wine reception / special live event: Live Art 2018 will feature creative body art: 6-9 pm Thursday, April 26: Exhibit closes at noon Litmus Gallery & Studios 312 West Cabarrus Street Raleigh, NC 27601www.litmusgallery.com

My print "Bonsai" was juried into the annual Raleigh Arts Society exhibit, be sure to check it out if your in the area.

Shocking full documentary - narcissism / narcissistic personality disord...

POLITICS As an Artist, I feel it neccessary to do my part to bring resolve to this very unfortunate political situation this great country is in. Where do I begin? I am concerned and fearful of what damage a mentally ill malignant narcisist is capable of doing in a position of such power.

PRINTMAKING I made a printing press this past year using a composite of ideas on pinterest and some scrap plywood I had laying around from some of my cabinetry projects. I have been experimenting with woodcut/linocuts, drypoints, and different kinds of monotypes. It is a lot of fun!