April 2008

Paintings
I’ve been working on a series of paintings involving formal garden paths. I’ve managed to finish four of them so far, all 22 x 28”, and I’m happy with the results. They make me eager for the coming summer!

I’m currently deciding what my next batch of paintings is going to be. I’ll let you know when I get them underway.

Portraits
I shot my first CD! Taborah, formerly of the band Blackwood, is in Dayton and just finished her first solo release and came to me to shoot the photos for her CD cover and liner notes. It was a fun and energetic session and I’m looking forward to seeing the CD when it’s released this summer.


I had lots of other great shoots for families, models, and actor headshots recently. It’s been really fun to work with all the great people I’ve been so blessed to photograph.


Photojournalism
One of my favorite shoots recently was when the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur hired me to shoot a series of photos depicting the way students with physical and mental disabilities are welcomed and integrated into the fabric of student life at Chaminade-Julienne High School in Dayton. It was very inspiring to witness the way the students were accepted by the greater student body. There are good teenagers! A few of the photos were printed in the SND quarterly magazine Cross Currents, which you can view here http://www.sndohio.org/crosscurrentswinter08.pdf





Travel
We were able to make the annual trek to Tennessee for spring break this year and I spent several days shooting photos in the mountains. It’s always so nice to get away to the mountains and get a little sneak peak of spring. I’m hoping some of these photos will emerge as new paintings in the near future.


Family

My kids are doing great. They are really involved in their To Shin Do martial arts. They graduated to the blue belt level last month and are continually becoming more confident, disciplined, and dangerous!

I recently gave a talk to a local Cub Scout Pack about different types of careers in the Art field. It was really fun to see the excitement in the kids’ eyes when they were dragging their fingers across the thick paint of the painting I had brought as an example. It’s always great to give back to the community whenever possible.

The Miamisburg Art Guild retained me to judge their annual art show this summer. I’m looking forward to seeing the works created by these aspiring artists and to be able to give awards and encouragement to them.


Odd’s & Ends (Silly fun stuff)
Don’t stop having fun! My son bought me a pair of Heelys for Christmas, which are shoes with weels built into the heels. They’re really fun! It took me a few weeks to get the motion down, but now I find it really fun to walk out of the grocery store with two gallons of milk in my hand and roll down the parking lot to my van. You should see the crazy looks I get from the other adults!

Shocking Photos! A 14 year-old was caught with a camera rigged to deliver a 600 volt jolt! Read about it at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/03/national/a064913D37.DTL