SPLASH, Cornel, Oatmeal and ?

Thanks for being patient while I took a little vacation. I hope you all had a nice Memorial Day and are getting geared up for the summer. Texas is my home state, but there is so much new in the area I'm in, I just kinda get swept away...art galleries, antique shops, garage sales, neat little knick-knack shops and gorgeous country...rather mind-boggling.



Now, the next time anyone asks you if you know anybody that lives close to Oatmeal, Texas...you can tell em: "Yeah, there's this old coot artist named James Parker from around there". Real place. Real small...actually a coupla flakes and a few raisins.



I have so much to catch up on...painting and blog visiting and posting and what not, I don't really know where to begin.

SO..........

Michelle Burnett, being the wunerful, wunerful person that she is, awarded me the SPLASH award. When she first told me about the SPLASH award, I figured maybe she was giving me a hint or something, and went and took a shower. However, it seems that the award is for an alluring,amazing, bewildering, impressive, and inspiring blog. Great superlatives, but you left out weird and wacky. Thank you from the bottom of my gizzard, Michelle...big hug the next time I see ya :-)



And I have selected these talented artists to pass the SPLASH to....

Darlene Twitchell Cathyann Burgess

TWEEDLES

Mona Conner Dyanne Parker

And.... Cornel Gingarasu, who I also chose for the Noblesse Oblige.

Two weeks ago, Sheila Tajima awarded me the
Noblesse Oblige....refer to THE NO BLOG (just click)

for all the details. Deb Keirce also bestowed this
delightful award to the Windows to the Words Challenge. Thank you Deb, for the award and the
flattering comments (blush, blush). I have chosen Cornel Gingarasu to pass this award on to, because
of his remarkable photography/art blog.

I love to recognize bloggers and artists whose work is "something else"...those I find that step outside the boundaries and offer original, inspiring, off-beat, and just downright enjoyable material on their blog. Cornel does that in a big way. Hailing from Romania, Cornel mixes exquisite photography with humor, spirituality, sensuality, and some really deep stuff that frazzles my little philosophical brain. I have, with his permission, posted one of his works, from a few weeks back, titled "Silent Meditation", below...


There is a written work entitled "Desiderata". It begins "Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence". One thing I have become painfully aware of in recent years (maybe just cause I've got older and crankier, but I don't think so) is the level of noise in today's world. And the inability to find silence. Noise wears on the spirit like sandpaper on a graham cracker. It's a subject I could expound on for hours on end. But I won't. I'll save it for another time and place.

Below is a Work in Progress...maybe. Don't ask me what it is. I'll let ya know what it is when I figure out what it is.

Remember...only 5 more days for Windows to the Words, Sunrise/Sunset.
And the next blog...tomorrow....is GOING TO THE DOGS!!!! But you probably already knew that. Cya down the road.

Thought for the Blog... " I've had a great many worries in this life...Most of em never happened." Mark Twain

Masters, DSFDF, WTTW, Etc.

First off, thanks for the nice comments on my previous blog, Noblesse Oblige. But there's one thing I must add to my little commentary on "Why Blog?" It's a little saying that is almost a philosophy for me:

"We make a living from what we get. We make a life from what we give."

Michelle Burnett, the beautiful, multi-talented, exceptionally creative, originator of "Following the Masters" challenge presented the work of Joquin Sorolla y Bastida as the reference for this month's challenge. I always have a little "spin" towards a humorous adaptation of the piece. So on this one, I tried to do a Don Johnson "Sonny Crockett" type beach bum eyeing this attractive throwback from the 1800s. He's no doubt thinking "Yo, what's up with this...gotta check it out..she may be playing my tune". She, on the other foot, is probably thinking. "Hmmm, we didn't have his sort in the 19th century....He may appear somewhat primitive by some standards, however, ..he is definitely one big "hottie". I have decided to title my rendition: : "Miami Vice Reruns on A&E".

Karin Jurick's ever popular Different Strokes From Different Folks challenge provided a reference photo of a NYC traffic scene. It depicts a number of vehicles amassed on the city street in a frantic hurry to get someplace they don't want to get to in the first place. It also depicts a plethora of ugly buildings rising so high that they might seem to be attempting to tickle the feet of God. It may be that God doesn't like His feet tickled. So He took out His eraser and got to work. Okay...so He's gonna need a bigger eraser.

"Fire in the Sky"

Deb Kierce

If Deb Kierce lived back in the "Old West", and was as fast on the draw with a pistol as she is with a paintbrush...Billy the Kid wouldn't have stood a chance. Her artwork, featured above, is entitled "Fire in the Sky". Deb was first to submit a rendition for this month's "Sunrise/Sunse" challenge for Windows to the Words. Unfortunately, Deb's submission is the only one so far. Can no one paint the sky?...Enya can...so can you. Granted, you won't do as good as God does, but He has a bigger canvas and more colors. Painting a sunset has a degree of flexibility. If you're doing a portrait, and add an extra eye, then you're in for a bit of criticism. If you add a little extra cloud in a sunset painting, no one will notice. C'mon..give it a try. Send it to JPolderndirt2@yahoo.com

Next month's challenge will be Old Folks..Love Them Wrinkles!!! I don't have any photos for that subject yet. Why doesn't anyone have a camera? Why doesn't anyone know any old people? Why doesn't my E-Mail box overflow with photo submissions? Why do cigarettes cost five bucks a pack? Oops...I digress. Sowwy. Send me a photo of some old coot like me with plenty of tale-telling wrinkles. Send to Jpolderndirt2@yahoo.com

And the WTTW submissions for last month's Children, Part 2 were very nice, indeed and can be viewed by clicking right HERE.

Blog thought: Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. Thomas Merton

Noblesse Oblige

A few days ago, Sheila Tajima (From Forensics to Fine Art) presented me with the Noblesse Oblige award. I am honored and flattered. Thank you, Sheila. I'm not much of a typer, but here's the scoop...

(1) Blog manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervade different cultures and beliefs.

(2) The blog contents inspire...striving to encourage and offer solutions.

(3) There is a clear purpose of the blog. One that features a better understanding on social, political, economic issues, and the arts, culture, sciences and beliefs.

(4) Blog is refreshing and creative

(5) Blog promotes friendship and positive thinking.

Bloggers who receive this award should....

(1) Create a post with mention and link to the blogger who presented the award to you.

(2) Display award conditions in the post.

( 3) Write some comments or a short story about what your blog has achieved..possibly citing an older post.

(4) The Noblesse Oblige award should be presented to bloggers in concurrence with the conditions.

(5) The award logo should be displayed somewhere on the blog.

Whew. OK. I'm completely fluent in Sanskrit, Koine and Aramaic, but my French is just passable. Noblesse Oblige is French for obligations of the noble...to display honorable, benevolent (if not somewhat aloof) to the "lesser" personages that might surround you, if you are on "noble" footing. Duh. I ain't noble and I don't consider anybody lesser. Only time I've ever seen the phrase was in William Faulkner's "A Poem to Emily" Anyway, in the spirit of award receptivity and the fact that the objectives of the award are pretty cool, I'm gonna pass this award to :

Dominique Eichii and Tweedles

Now...for a few comments on what my blog may haved achieved:

WHY BLOG?

You'll notice I don't really try to sell my art on James Parker Art. It's not that I don't need a few Shekels for what I do, but I am setting up another site to try to do that. I blog here to show off my work from time to time and to build up a reputation to some extent for the time I can rake in those big bucks. Yeah, right. :-) But that's not the real reason. I like to interact with folks. People that share the same interests to some degree, but everybody has "their story"...and that intrigues me. So I'm nosy...sue me.

I use James Parker Art as an extension of myself on the Internet...going to places, and meeting people that wouldn't otherwise be known to me without that technology. I use humor a lot. If I can help someone to smile or point the way to getting a little joy into their day, then that's worth more than a Van Gogh to me.

I've gotten some very thoughtful and meaningful comments over the past months (and some incredibly touching E-Mails). Those kind words mean much to me. I cherish my followers...but am so sad and regretful that the constraints of time in today's world prevent me from visiting more.

To sum it up, if I could claim any "achievement" of this blog it would be knowing that I had made even, just one positive difference in someone's life. Wow...that would be great. I DO CARE.

P.S.... Pokey and TacoBelle said they care, too!

Sorta Back in the BlogSaddle...Y'all

First Off...On June 1, I will draw a name from those that comment on the Empty Easel Post of May 8. It's about "Our Blog Community" and Dan was gracious enough to print it. The name I draw will receive an original frog painting or a custom pet portrait from me. It isn't exactly like winning the lottery....but it's pretty close.

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Next, we have Windows to the Words April Challenge...Children, Part 2. There are 11 postings for the three subject photos. They are quite nice and can be viewed by clicking HERE. The May Challenge is Sunrises/Sunsets for artists and writers. This subject should really appeal to artists...lotsa color and lotsa latitude. Writers should take notice....beautiful thoughts and words should spring forth on these subjects like "Black Gold" on the Beverly Hillbillies Farm. And there has already been a few submissions on the WTTW Writing site, which you can view by clicking HERE. I invite you all to participate.
These are my 3 renditions, which I hope won't place me before a firing squad of irate parents and grandparents.......

Maggie Mayer's daughter...the Little Gymnast"

Cathyann Burgess' grandson Cole

Two of my little buddies from Bocas del Toro, Panama

Nancy, the big-hearted, multi-talented, and infinitely-patient originator of Every Photo Tells A Story honored me again by selecting and posting "Sushi Tragedy"...a previous painting I had done on a Different Strokes From Different Folks Challenge. I naturally had to offer a couple of poems to fit the occasion, which Pokey and TacoBelle got a few chuckles from...but they have never been known for their good taste. One was a limerick. I hadn't written a limerick since I got suspended from high school for inscribing questionable ones in the boy's gym locker room. :-) Nancy made me promise not to mention it on my blog till the day after she posted it. So I didn't. But you can check it out by clicking HERE.

And,,,Sheila Tajima, the big sweetie, gave me a very special blog award....pictured on the right.
It represents positivity and problem solving. Well, this blog is positively running long, so I'm gonna post the details and my pass-along choices on my next post. But thank you so very much, Sheila for this very flattering award.




And Finally...Diana, Eat Your Heart Out!!!
It broke my heart to miss the submission deadline for Karin's last challenge...Statue of Diana and her dog. I had it finished in time, but the only Internet connection I had available was by carrier pigeon. But I am presenting it now. The reference photo she had provided showed the actual statue, with the admiring dog (more like the "Hound of the Basketballs" to me) looking up at her.
You can check the DSFDF site for the many excellent submissions. Well, I put Snoopy in there instead of Cujo. And when it comes to admiring dogs, I refer you to my new profile photo with Pokey and TacoBelle in reverent awe.
Ow...Pokey just nipped my ankle for being boastful, or sumtin. Anyway...I rest my case.

EMPTY EASEL ARTICLE ++++

The article I wrote for Empty Easel about our blog community has been published today. You can read it by clicking HERE.

AND,,,,GIVEAWAY DRAWING!!!!! For the rest of the month of MAY, visit this Empty Easel article and come back to this blog and leave a comment on the article. On June 1, I will draw a name from those that left comments and award that person an original 8 x 10 frog painting, or a customized pet portrait worth umpteen jillions of dollars. In addition, all commentors will get a big thank you from me and a big, juicy, slurpy lick from Pokey and TacoBelle.