Daily Video Blog

An artist friend has created a daily video diary, and it's fascinating. I'm hooked on it! Everyday she videotapes herself talking about something that's on her mind for about two or three minutes, and then a conversation ensues in the comments. She chooses interesting topics, and I enjoy hearing her talk and connecting with her on a daily basis. This is such a great idea! Check it out for yourself.

Little Brown Dress

I'm really drawn to the blogs of people who are experimenting with simplifying their lives and living intentionally. Here's another one along those lines that's great: Little Brown Dress. Alex Martin decided to wear the same dress everyday for a year, accessorizing it with things already in her wardrobe, such as sweaters, shoes, a coat, and jeans. Her intention was to make an anti-fashion statement by showing that it is possible to wear the same thing everyday and survive. In the process she learned a lot, and she shares her experiences with us on her Little Brown Dress blog. Her story is inspiring.

Living Green

I recently discovered several interesting blogs of people who are taking steps to live a more ecologically balanced life, some in the city, some in less urban areas.

The first is Little Blog in the Big Woods, written by "Greenpa." Greenpa lives in a log cabin in the woods, but he writes his blog for everyone -- city dwellers and country folk alike. He hasn't had a refrigerator for thirty years, and offers information on living off the grid.

Then there's No Impact Man, written by Colin Beavan. For one year, he, his wife, and their two-year-old daughter are attempting to live, in the middle of New York City, without making any net impact on the environment. No trash, no carbon emissions, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no plastics, no air conditioning, no TV, and no toilets. The only electricity they use is generated by one solar panel to power their laptop computer.

Rachel Kessel of San Francisco writes a blog called The Compact. She's part of a very large Yahoo discussion group also called The Compact whose aims are 1) to go beyond recycling, 2) to reduce clutter and waste, and 3) to simply lives. Rachel hasn't bought anything new in two years, except underwear, which she broke down and purchased recently.

I find this fascinating. It never occurred to me that I could live without a refrigerator.

Alternatives for Selling Art

Over on Edward Winkleman's blog they're talking about alternative venues for selling art. It's an interesting dilemma. If you veer too far off of the beaten path of the commercial gallery system, mainstream venues will reject you as not being a "serious artist." But the commercial gallery system isn't open to everyone. So what do you do while you're waiting for Gagosian to call? See what Winkleman and the people who have commented on this post have to say.

PaintersNYC

Do you follow the PaintersNYC blog? The work of a different artist is posted everyday, mostly those currently showing in New York City. It's a great way to get a feel for what's happening in the art world, and looking through the archives is like a catalog of every significant artist in New York.

The painting pictured above is "Sanctuary" by New York artist Hope Atherton.

Healthcare Fine Art

I'm the featured artist on Henry Domke's Healthcare Fine Art blog today! Thanks, Henry!

Everyday

Have you heard about the phenomenon of people who take a picture of themselves everyday -- for years? Every single day.

The best known of these is Noah Kalina, who has been photographing himself everyday for over seven years. He has turned these self portraits into a very beautiful six-minute video that you can see on YouTube.



It's a fascinating commentary on change, an underlying sameness, and aging.

Improv Everywhere

Have you heard about Improv Everywhere, the group that "causes scenes of chaos and joy" in New York City? I'd love to see one of their missions live, but alas, so far I've only read about them on their website. Each mission is well documented with photographs and video, and I could spend hours reading about the pranks they've pulled off. The one pictured above is a coordinated takeover of the brightly lit windows in a building in Union Square, across the street from a park. Another favorite of mine was Anton Chekov doing a reading and book signing at Barnes and Noble.



Very few people caught on to the fact that this wasn't really Chekov, and that Chekov died in 1904.

Charlie Todd is the genius behind Improv Everywhere. Check out their website when you're in need of a laugh!

Henry Domke Blog

Henry Domke is a physician and an artist specializing in fine art photography for healthcare facilities. The mural pictured below is Henry's "Purple Coneflower" installed at the Wellstar Blood Donor Center in Georgia.



Henry is also the author of the Healthcare Fine Art blog where he features other artists who have work in healthcare facilities and provides information and resources for artists interested in healthcare. Lots of good information here!

Painting-a-Day Blogs

What do you think of the Painting-a-Day phenomenon that was originated by Duane Keiser? One of his recent paintings is shown below, titled "First Bouquet of Spring."



The idea is that you do a small painting every single day -- rain or shine -- 365 days a year, and display the finished pieces on a blog. Usually the paintings are offered for sale, but not always. Duane has been fabulously successful with his paintings, and other painters have adopted the Painting-a-Day format. There's a blog called the Daily Painters Art Gallery that is dedicated to showing the work of some of them.

Some painters say that the discipline of painting something every day has greatly improved their work. I don't think I could do it, unless I painted something very different from what I'm painting now. My paintings take a long time to develop -- much more than one day.

Have any of you tried to do a painting a day?

PaintersNYC

I really like the PaintersNYC blog. A New York City painter is presented each day, and other artists discuss their work. I don't get to see many of the New York artists, so it's great for me to be able to see what's going on there. The above is a Julie Mehretu painting, which is being discussed in the comments today.

Organic Matters

I just started a new blog called Organic Matters to showcase the work of artists working in natural materials. This piece is rust on silk by quilt and fiber artist Liz Plummer:



More to come soon!

New Art Blog

There's a great new blog about the state of women in the arts titled Anonymous Female Artist (A.K.A. Militant Art Bitch), written by an artist named "Edna" in New York City.

Edna's first post reads, "Women who strive to be equal to men apparently have little to no ambition." Edna is not only witty and clever, but she provides good information, too.