DOREEN'S MAGIC, pastel portrait on Canson paper

DOREEN'S MAGIC, pastel portrait on Canson paper, 28x22 in. It can be viewed in Doreen Mellen's studio at The Glashaus, in San Diego, California. Doreen is a gifted ceramist, originally from Tasmania, Australia.

She works her magic in white ceramic, day and day out. She's a true artist, because as one of my professor's at the University of California once said: "If you work with your hands, you are a laborer, if you work with your hands and your brains, you are a professional, if you work with your hands, your brains, and your heart, you are an artist."

PLAYING MY WAY... acrylic on canvas

PLAYING MY WAY... acrylic on canvas, 36x24 inches. It has been exhibited at the San Diego Law Library this past summer. Now it is in exhibition and for sale at the Bar/restaurant of Inn At The Park,  lovely hotel at 6th and Spruce, in San Diego, California. This is part of the Jazz series in exhibition at that lovely place. Go for drink! Stay for the art, then take some art home with you!

I was recently reading about Dušan Djurkaric, watercolorist,  painter of the moment, who has said: "There is no blood running through my veins, there's only color". He has also said: "The artist is the only one who can afford to mix in the affairs of God, because the things that God starts, the artist finishes."

Love me for Love's Sake

Love me for Love's Sake, watercolor, 6x9" (15x23cm.) available. I recently published a similar image, on Yupo, and bigger size (20x26) It's a different painting I did, after trying this small size I liked it so much I did the larger version. It's the larger version "Only You", that was juried in at the San Diego Watercolor Society this month.
My friend Lidia, an artist from Venice, told me today the story of Venice. It seems that the Romans were in danger of invasion, about 1800 years ago,  so they decided to save the "best and brightest" among them, the artists! They sent the artists on a boat to a farther away island. Once the artists arrived, they disassembled the boats, and with that wood built cottages and houses, sticking the poles of this very hard wood deep in the water. The wood was so sturdy, that the buildings stood strong, some even to this day. Venice was founded by artists and artisans.