Trippin' and jumpin'

"Pain in the A$$ ♥♥"  by Hilary J. England, oil on hardwood panel, 16" x 20" 2011

We are bounding through summer.  I leave on my roadtrip to Montreal in a few weeks, so I'm prepping for the possible "tornado" damage I'll return to when the housesitters leave.  The old saying, "when the cat's away..."  Ah well...these are the little pitfalls of traveling and still keeping your home safe.  At least my Dad is on top of things while he's managing the place!

Above is my newest painting, called, "Pain in the A$$"  I'll let you figure it out, just from her mischievious facial expression.  Sigh...teenagers.  Boredom.  Mischief and energy.  Know it alls.  I wish I was that age again, sometimes.  Just to have the energy and optimism.  But, when I think of going through life up to this point all over again, the idea makes me shudder.  So much for reincarnation!

Aaaaaaaanyway...going out for the day and leaving all inhabitants behind in the house.  My mediums are drying up in the heat, and I can't believe I've run through so much, plus, I have paintings to pick up at the framers, and other errands.  That's the glamorous life!

Enjoy♥

Astounding!! Florence Biennale 2011

"Single spiral seashell study" by Hilary J England, 8" x 11" oil on canvas panel

I received a packet today inviting me to participate in the prestigious Florence Biennale 2011.  This morning, I received a large envelope in the mail from the Scientific Committee of the Florence Biennale inviting me to participate in the 2011event. Very exciting indeed!!!!

Initial inquiries led me to understand that I had been selected from my website. There is a committee of some 30 members world wide who look for artists to invite. These members have credentials that allow them to choose artists with a degree of ability and attainment in their chosen field of the arts.

After the initial listing of your name for consideration by the worldwide committee member, your work is submitted to the Internal Scientific Committee before final acceptance. This is done before you receive the invitation. So should you receive an invitation, then it is important to remember that you have already passed this process...pretty cool
Also, once you are invited, you are always included for life......again, pretty cool.

The Florence Biennale is the largest democratic artist supported Biennale in the world with over 840 artists from 180 countries. It hangs 2500 artworks for a period of 10 days mainly in the one center. It is part of the United Nations initiative "Dialogue between Nations" and is expressly for the bringing together of artists to unite in peace and share with each other. It is not an Art Fair as the work is not for sale; It is not a commercial venture for artists, but a juried art competition with awards. It is an excellent opportunity to promote your work, meet other artists and learn from them. This Biennale is more about providing a venue for artists to learn what is happening word wide in the arts from each other and gain an understanding of each other and build networks in a democratic way.

Many really great artists have participated in this event, including internationally acclaimed artists like Marina Ambramovic, Shu Yong, Gilbert & George and David Hockney, to mention a few.
Another plus about Florence is it is the seat of the Renaissance, the home of Leonardo and Michelangelo, the Uffizi and the visual arts, while Venice is the home of theater, festivals, masked balls and performance art-- as a visual artist, Florence is truly the place to be!

So, after initially being bowled over by this great honor, then the wheels of logic began to spin--and the mechanics of participating in this great event, but, one step at a time...more to come on that subject!

In the meantime, I will just post another little tidbit to keep the happy and warm thoughts going:
"Single spiral seashell study" by Hilary J England, oil on canvas panel, 8" x 11"

Hugs!♥

Up and running

I am up and running this today...actually, I got quite a bit done, which makes me feel relieved...I had a large list that was starting to grow even larger...that never sits right with me!

I dropped off my one painting to a local venue I'm going to exhibit in, and after some confusion on the part of the organizers, was able to deliver the artwork with no problem.  It is "Alejandro on a swiftly tilting planet," and it will be on display in the Bethlehem (Pennsylvania USA) City Hall Rotunda through January 9th, 2011.

As for the other two paintings that I have going from that series, they will be going first to N.A.W.A. NYC, in Dec./January, then to Red Dot NYC in March, then off to Europe and Japan for the Summer and Autumn of 2011...so, I am busy, busy, busy!

I spent a lazy night last night, lying on the couch after dinner, the house completely still--both kids upstairs either on their computers or chatting on their cells, and Mark was napping before work; it gave me time to just zone out, while Chorkie decided my fingernails needed to be nibbled and groomed...she is the funniest little dog--and she literally puts me into a trance when she goes into her grooming mode--she washes her own face with her little paws, and that instantly strikes me dumb, like a great white shark getting put into a state of catatonia by grasping it's snout...it's immediate.  She is the most relaxing mini dog to watch as she goes through her routine, and then ends up, all 6 pounds of her, sprawled on her back like she owns the couch!

I watched the old 1927 German silent film "Metropolis," last night.  It was quite an amazing film, but I think the scene that really threw me "for a loop" was the scene in which "Maria" has become the Machine-Man, and performs this eerie, spooky and erotic dance as the Whore of Babylon...it literally made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up!  Brigitte Helm had this lanky, blonde waifishness about her, and as the reincarnation of the Whore, she does this darkly contorted, pseudosexual "horror show" dance, in which she incites the men into a homicidal frenzy of sexual hysteria...it's really an astounding scene, and one that is timeless in it's effect...

I also watched "The Walking Dead," and brother, that is just a yucky, Zombiefest!  A totally guilty pleasure!

Anyway, my painting in Berlin has grown legs, and will now toddle over to another exhibition, which is wonderful.  I heard from Infantellina this morning, and I will post the details of this new exhibition.  I am also now looking forward to going to Barcelona in two weeks for the "Square Foot--Rhapsody in Barcelona" international exhibition at the Galeria Con...

So, it's been a busy and fulfilling week...even got to go to the gym with Gabs!!!  Nice....