life filled with art

"beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

my newest painting is an expressive painting.
I took a self-portrait and made it into an expressive work.
I worked quickly and without much thinking.
everything from the first layer is gone, except my eyes.
in my opinion, my eyes are my most distinguishing feature.
so I wanted them to stand out.
I used some very thick strokes & strong colors.
a few reactions:
"creepy"
"dark"
"disturbing"
"interesting"
it is now hanging in the painting house with a great black frame.

last night was the opening of the student art show at UE.
I had two pieces that got in.
one giant painting, which is like Jackson Pollock's action paintings.
one digital photograph, which is of a sewing machine in Ukraine.
my parents came over to be at the reception.
it was nice to see them.
many of my friends came over to see my stuff.

devastion

as many people have heard by now, there was a horrific tornado in my hometown of Harrisburg, IL on early Wednesday morning.
lives were lost, homes destroyed, stores demolished.
but we won't let that keep us down.
there have been people from all over  have been pitching in to help rebuild our little city.
people have been working hard, every day.
I'm so proud to come from a town where this can't and won't bring us down.
Mayor Gregg, such a wonderful man, has been quoted saying, we will rebuild and this will make us stronger.
even though it's for awful reasons, the New York Times did an incredible picture slideshow. 
you can see it here: NY Times Slideshow
right now, prayers for strength and peace are much needed.