Solo Show at Muse Coffee

The newest series, “Shades of Grey”, explores the tension created when the focal point (a person’s face) is overshadowed by a red object on a grey page. Our eye is trained to look at the face, however the brain overrides that desire by forcing the eye to jump to the red object. The tension that is created encourages you pause to contemplate the story of the composition.

Check it out through Jan. 2009 at Muse Coffee (on 10th Ave. W.) on Queen Anne in Seattle.

Tues. Tea - The TeaCup

I am so excited - my favorite tea spot on Queen Anne has just opened it's newly renovated store! It's much bigger and homier than the old spot. The staff at the TeaCup are so knowledgeable and friendly. Especially Brett - he is solely responsible for my pu-erh addiction. I started off a green tea drinker; moved to white tea; then from his recommendation an oolong / baozhang drinker. Then one Sat., I sat down to a Chinese Tea tasting with Brett and I tasted pu-erh. That sealed the deal. Oolong bothers my stomach (as does black tea) - but pu-erh calms it! And pu-erh gets better with age, unlike most other teas that only last about a year. All the better for me - that way I can collect it! And collect it I do!!!!

TeaCup is also where Norm had his first show - and a successful show it was!

So thanks to TeaCup and Brett. You can read more about it on Brett's Black Dragon Tea Bar blog.

SALE!

Black Friday (Nov. 28) through Cyber Monday (Dec. 1) I am offering 50% off all of my original paintings through my on-line store - http://www.artbynorm.etsy.com/ Yes, that is half price for an original painting. That's practically cheaper than ebay. Actually, that is cheaper than ebay, because there are no Norm's listed on ebay (at least by me). Which means you would have to go through Christie's if you were looking for an auction site, and we all know Christie's is not selling anything this cheap (and by that I mean the price, not the quality of the artwork).

Help support independent artisans this holiday season! Give the gift of art - especially art that will make someone smile !

If there is a painting that you've seen elsewhere, but you don't see it in my shop, send me a message - if it is still available I will sell it to you for 1/2 price during the sale time.

Enough said, start shopping - the economy needs you right now! :)

P.S. Alot of my other friends are having sales this weekend too - you can find out more by clicking here

IF: Opinion

In your opinion, am I fat or phat?

IF: Pretend

Give me red blanket, construction paper, and a big box - and I will rule the world!

Tues. Tea - Floating Leaves

In attempt to blog more, I decided that I should set aside certain days of the week to write about particular subjects. You may have noticed that on Fridays I partake in Illustration Friday. Well, T is for Tuesday and Tea, and I being what my family loving calls a "Tea Snob" gives me the opportunity to share my view of what real tea is!
That brings to me to a lovely Taiwanese teashop in Ballard (Seattle) called Floating Leaves. The owner Shuiwen is one of the kindest people I've met - not to mention she knows tea! Floating Leaves sells teas that will please even the pickiest tea geeks (I bought a 1979 Pu-erh Toucha a couple of years ago) or Shuiwen will help (with the utmost patience) guide the novice. If you haven't tried oolong tea (that isn't in a tea bag), you will be amazed at the flavors that await you! Alishan High Mountain Oolong is one of my favorites, although I have to admit I'm stuck on pu-erh these days!
and for those of you who are curious about how I got the label "Tea Snob", it is because I refuse to drink the family favorite tea (did you know in Canada they drink ALOT of tea?) - Red Rose - which is just the tea dust left over after they've processed all the tea leaves for black tea. It's like eating bread crumbs from a box when what you want is a fresh loaf of artisan bread.

Relay for Life Commission

Tera Murphy, who heads up a Relay for Life team in Ohio, commissioned me to do a painting of Norm walking along a path of luminaries. This is a print of the painting paired with a small palm-sized (as in hand, not tree) needle-felted "Hope" doll. The doll is just the right size to fit in an adult-sized palm, closed into a fist - and as most of you know, Norm's favorite activity is listening (to your hopes & dreams, prayers, fears, crazy schemes, million $ inventions, etc.)

Each luminaria that lines the path displays the name of someone touched by cancer. Their glow celebrates the lives of those that have won their battle with cancer, allows us to remember those that we have lost, and gives us the hope that someday there will be a cure.

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"Norm" was born as my response to learning that several of my friends and family members had cancer - he's my buddy through the emotional rollercoaster.

Tera Murphy commissioned the painting and 25% of all sales from the painting, prints and dolls will be donated to her American Cancer Society Relay for Life team in Ohio.

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prints, dolls, and more beneftiting the American Cancer Society may be purchased on-line in my etsy shop: http://www.artbynorm.etsy.com