Still trying to figure how to transfer this lovely from a digital photo into an image I can use for painting ...

Not much happening on the studio as weekly art classes have been suspended for a month- this one started Jan. 30 looks almost finished...

According to the Chinese Almanac, it brings luck for the rest of the year to see the first Full Moon of the year. I passed the information on to Dan Pearson in the parking lot after his talk.

Last night I attended a lecture sponsored by the Garden Conservancy and the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show- in the photo : Kay Estey, Garden Show producer talking to the presenter Dan Pearson, a noted British garden designer.( I was excited to get in as the website announced SOLD OUT.) I was thoroughly inspired by his vision in the public spaces he's created, one being Maggie's, a beautiful cancer care center in urban London and the other, a 400 hectare property, the Tokachi Millenium Forest in Hokkaido, Japan.

I've sent an email request to show my work at the Westside Cafe in west Berkeley. I'm following up on a lead in the Art Span bulletin. It feels good to keep the momentum going. On Feb. 26th, I'll find out if I got a place in the show at the Falkirk in San Rafael.

We've settled on a price and I'll be getting a check in a couple of weeks. Yeah ! The Year of the Rabbit is auspicious for selling artwork and items that beautify the home.

Last night I got an email titled- "Conversation about buying a painting ". What a sweet Valentine. She told me how much she liked my work and pointed out one of my paintings is NOT on my website- an omission I'm fixing asap. This is the season I'm getting my paperwork and digital files in order so that the business end of my artwork can run smoothly and I can devote myself to creating more wondrous sea creatures.

A Facebook friend- a person I've never met - sent me a link to a photo stream of Australian Great Barrier Reef fish, shot by a friend of his,taken with a Canon S 90, the same camera I have. I tried printing some of them in the hope of using them for source material. Unfortunately, the photo processing darkened the exquisite aqua color of the sea and the fish enough to render them useless to me. However, I now have direct access to the guy who shot the lovely photos-he's got more. I have to figure out a way to use them - a good photo printer/ digital photo display method. I love looking at the photos- I feel like I'm underwater, turning into a fish or sea dragon.
Rainy weather = studio time.

I mailed my entry form to the Falkirk Cultural Center and submitted 3 digital images ( jpgs.) by email. The deadline is Feb. 15th and notification of the jury's decision is Feb. 26th. I received a check from the Maui Ocean Center yesterday for $ 7.58. In 2006 I consigned a number of small( 8" x 10" matted )digital prints and occasionally received a check. Since I picked up most of the prints in 2008, I didn't expect to get another check. Anther sign of the great mystery that guides my art career- and my life.

This morning I picked up my paintings, neatly wrapped and ready to travel from Bucci's. They are now resting comfortably in my studio, waiting in the wings for their next performance. Two upcoming projects- first, applying for the annual juried show at the Falkirk Mansion in San Rafael, due Feb 15th, and second, call the owner of one of my large paintings to get permission to reproduce it as a giclee. I met a friend on Chinese New Year who lives down the block from this painting so I figure it's time to act.

I just received an email from Ken, whom I met through Craig's List personal ads - "Mention on you in online article ". I thought he meant someone had written about my show at Bucci's restaurant. However, it was a request to use my first name in an article he is writing on his online dating experience during the last year and a half ,to post on his website. "On July 15th, I met Rosie, an artist, a gardener, and a Buddhist practitioner- a few weeks later, I attended the opening of a show of her paintings, acrylics of sea creatures." - my show at the LightRoom in Berkeley.