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 Happy Earth Week! I hope that is an appropriate greeting. Surely Earth Week is a time to think about the many challenges we face, but I hope it has also been an opportunity to celebrate "beauty worth preserving."
I have plenty of news and information to share. As always, I hope you find it inspiring and engaging.
Please email or call with your comments or questions. I love hearing from you!
toll free: (877) 881-6630
PS--You can click on any photo below to go straight to its page. Use the left navigation bar on Great Lakes Editions to search by lake, city, state, or lighthouse. |
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Beauty Worth Preserving |
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I hope you all know that one way I live up to my tagline, "Beauty Worth Preserving," is by contributing 5% of my sales to nonprofits working to preserve the natural and cultural resources of the Great Lakes. You can see a description of the nonprofits I currently support on my website.
It is always gratifying when that support develops into a more personal relationship. For example, since winning the Great Lakes Photo Contest last year, I've gotten to know the fine people at Great Lakes Forever quite well. I've handed out almost 1,000 coasters at my art shows that introduce Great Lakes Forever to a new audience. And I'll be contributing two prints to a raffle that they'll hold at the Chicago Green Festival.
The folks at Freshwater Future have also become good friends. They have a nice slideshow of my work on their website, and I recently allowed them to use a photograph of the Crisp Point lighthouse for a set of notecards that they offered as a premium for a fundraising event.
I hope you'll consider supporting the work of these great organizations as well! |
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Fun Art Events |
The largest exhibit of my work to date will be on display at Terryberry Gallery in Saint Cecilia Music Center in downtown Grand Rapids from May 1 to June 30. The show will feature new work created while I was artist in residence with the Glen Arbor Art Association last fall, as well as a selection of recent favorites.
I'm having an opening reception on Friday, May 1, from 5:30 to 9:00 pm. I hope many of you can attend. There'll be refreshments, live music, and a festive atmosphere. Bring some friends!
Another fun art event is the annual Salon Thursday reception at the Muskegon Museum of Art on May 7, from 5:30-8:00 pm. Artists from throughout West Michigan bring one or two pieces of work to display during the evening. There is always a lavish spread of refreshments and lots of great art and conversation.
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"Is this photography?" |
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"Is this photography?" That is one of the most common questions I'm asked at art fairs. I think the fact that my style emphasizes very simple compositions leads people to puzzle whether my work is photography or photo-realistic painting. I'm really quite complimented by this reaction, since it confirms for me that my work is an artistic response to nature--not just a snapshot.
 In my last newsletter, I mentioned that I am now offering my work printed on cotton canvas. Since I've been showing this, it's almost comical how often people ask this question! The texture of the canvas adds a dimension that complements the painterly qualities of my work. |
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New to www.greatlakeseditions.com |
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 I've also finally posted some photos I took while doing a circle tour of Lake Erie in the summer of 2007. This was more of a scouting trip/vacation, so I don't have an extensive portfolio. But if you browse through the Lake Erie sections of my website, you'll see a few good shots. |
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Rich Blue Skies |
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 People often comment on the deep blue skies in much of my work. They wonder if this is something I've "photoshopped," since it is not something they've seen in nature.
The photo at right is a good example. And let me say that while I certainly use Adobe Photoshop as my "digital darkroom," I don't do anything that Ansel Adams would have been uncomfortable doing in his darkroom.
The deep blue in this image comes from the fact that the camera is able to "see" in a different way than we are with our eyes. This photograph was taken long before sunrise. To your eyes the sky and water would have looked almost black. But what looks black to our eyes is really a very deep shade of blue that the camera was able to "see" over the course of a 30-second exposure. |
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2009 Art Show Schedule |
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My art show schedule for 2009 continues to fill up. I'm especially excited to be attending the State Street Area Art Fair in Ann Arbor. I'll probably do one or two more shows in September and will update this list as time goes on. I'm reserving the months of August and October for creative work.
- May 9-10: Birmingham Fine Art Fair, Birmingham, Michigan
- May 16-17: East Lansing Art Festival, East Lansing, Michigan
- May 30-31: Promenade of Art, Arlington Heights, Illinois
- June 5-7: Festival of the Arts, Grand Rapids, Michigan
- June 13-14: Grand Haven Art Festival, Grand Haven, Michigan
- June 20: Reeds Lake Art Festival, East Grand Rapids, Michigan
- June 27-28: Glencoe Festival of the Masters, Glencoe, Illinois
- July 15-18: State Street Area Art Fair, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- July 31-August 2: Gold Coast Art Fair, Chicago, Illinois
- September 11-13: Art and Apples Festival, Rochester, Michigan
- December 3-6: One of a Kind Show and Sale, Chicago, Illinois
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Current and Upcoming Exhibits |
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- March 5-May 31: Industrial Arts West Michigan, Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, Michigan
- May-June: Terryberry Gallery, Saint Cecilia Music Society, 24 Ransom Avenue NE, Grand Rapids, Michigan
- August 1-31: Clark Retirement Community, Grand Rapids, Michigan
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