SOUTH END OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND

SOUTH END OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND is this weekend , Saturday and Sunday Spetember 25 and 26th. 300 south end artists open their studios to exhibit and sell their art. My studio is participating of course, #223B Harrison Ave, Boston. It going to be beautiful weather, there are great restaurants, there is even some free parking but most of all there is fun!

(Our apologies to the Jamaica Plain Artists because our dates were changed to their weekend out of respect Yon Kippur). That just means there is double the fun this weekend in Boston.

La Dolce Vita is my featured painting on the blog this week. It translates to "The Sweet Life" and as one should expect, the painting is much larger than life (46 X 46 inches) in celebration of LIFE!. This style cookie is ubiquitous in Italian American communities. Cookies, just like these, have been at all my life's celebrations from birth, birthdays and every time my Aunt KAren from East Boston comes to visit. These cookies will be at my funeral so they represent a life, in a way.

This is a very textural painting. Texture is a big part of many artists's work but it's a part that most artisit do not share texture and touch with the public because, as a rule, one should not touch a painting.

That's WRONG for this one! It cries out to be touched and so you can touch it. I paint on panel.The panel does not flex and so there is no danger of the touch pressure causing the paint to flex and weaken the bond with the substrate. Another reason to want people to touch it is that it is irrisitable to touch. Also, when it is sold, it will be easy enough to wipe it downn and apply new varnish. But I hope that in some way, the buyer would want the touching to remain part of the painting and incorporate those human touches into the sweet life of the painting.

I have a special story to tell next week about a very special re-connection that occured because of this painting and people touching it. Life isn't just sweet. It's strange.