Eclipse: Homage to The Dead - part of the charity art auction at Clark Art & Antiques in Lexington.

Solo Exhibition at the Carnegie Center
for Visual and Performing Arts

October 26 through November 30; I was fortunate to have been juried into this prestigious venue (literally across the river from Cincinnati) and have been creating new work to use in the exhibit during the past year. This recent work -- all of which is in the solo show -- can be seen here. Keep an eye on the website -- there will be exciting changes soon, including e-commerce, allowing artwork to be purchased directly from the site. Also, a new product is on the horizon: art tiles!

And Now for Something
Completely Different...

My work in Lexington is represented by Tom Clark of Clark Art & Antiques, a unique shop containing truly eclectic collectibles (the former name of his business was exactly that) ranging from mint-condition toy robots from The Fifties and African masks to the fine artwork of famed Kentucky painter Paul Sawyier and contemporary artists such as myself.

Tom recently asked his artists to participate in a Halloween-themed charity art auction that involves the use of one of a dozen concrete-mold human skulls he acquired. My piece (left), Eclipse: Homage to The Dead (with apologies to Rick Griffin, Sixties-era Grateful Dead artist), is seen here. The art auction exhibit runs from Saturday, October 27 till November 3 at 192 N. Broadway in Lexington. Stop by and bid on these unique works! It's for a good cause.

Pressing Forward into Fall

Late last Summer I was featured in the Lexington Herald-Leader in this informative and well-crafted article:

When artists garden
The interplay of self-expression shows in their work

By Susan Smith-Durisek, Contributing Columnist and Fayette County master gardener.

Frank is a photographer who uses his background in graphic design to create images that generally feature a central flower or leaf pattern, with an enhanced background or border. Frank scans his photographic negatives into a digital format, then uses programs like Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter, employing pressure-sensitive paintbrushes to draw-in features that "transport them to a different setting ... for a new way of looking at the subject." The effects are sophisticated and striking. He calls his work contemporary botanical art.

Frank grew up in Miami, and many of his early images are of exotic-looking tropical plants. Since moving to Kentucky, his portfolio reflects garden interests on his farm near Georgetown.

Frank's works radiate with color and clarity, and most have a story behind them. Among the most poignant are his images of the Dorothy Draper rose, named for the famous American interior designer. Collaborating with Carleton Varney, now president of Dorothy Draper & Co. Inc., Frank created the rose images from rare blooms grown only in the Museum of the City of New York's courtyard garden for a retrospective exhibit honoring Draper's life and work. Frank's connection with the design firm -- his mother worked as Varney's assistant -- brought him in contact with the design world and the bright botanical prints that Draper introduced.

Quick Takes
and Future Shows

My recent piece, Sundial (above) is currently represented in the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana juried art exhibition "Digitized", in Evansville, Indiana.

I will be participating in a 3-person invitational exhibit in December at The Scott County Arts Consortium's Arts and Cultural Center (housed in a truly impressive restoration of the old jailer'’s house -- the track lighting for the artwork is world class).

Louisville will be hosting 2 solo art exhibits of mine in 2008: one at the Museum of Art and Craft, and one at the Kentucky Center Gallery. More details closer to the events.

In addition to attending the Kentucky Arts Council's Arts at the Market for my fourth consecutive year, my piece Mandarin Spin will be featured alongside other juried artists in the advertising for the 4-day event, including the website, post cards, posters, and the official program (below).

And lastly, as a member of the Exhibitions Committee of the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen (a juried organization including fine woodworkers, weavers, glass and ceramic artists, as well as painters and photographers), I have organized and will participate in exhibits at The Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, Kentucky (a burgeoning art colony in the Western part of the state) and The Audubon Museum in Henderson, Kentucky. These exhibits begin in the 2009 season.

And Speaking of Which...
Florida Gets Draperized! (again)

Early this Winter, from February 3 through June 23, 2008, The Museum of Art, Ft. Lauderdale, will feature the third installment of The High Style of Dorothy Draper. My Dorothy Draper Rose series will be featured along with other Draperabilia in their Museum Shop.

Excerpted from their website:

Once in a while there comes along a woman, so absolutely certain in her sense of style, that it makes every other person around her invisible by comparison. The High Style of Dorothy Draper examines the life and career of one of America's best known interior designers, whose outsized personality, extravagant designs and down-to-earth business sense combined to make her one of the most interesting celebrities, influential tastemakers and powerful design magnates of the mid-twentieth century. This retrospective features rarely seen drawings, sample books, vintage photographs, furnishings, and products from some of her most famous projects, including the Carlyle, Drake and Greenbrier. Items are displayed in galleries that evoke "The Draper Touch," a theatrical amalgam of baroque ornamentation, over-scaled stripes, cabbage rose prints, black-and-white checked floors and high-voltage color.