The Freer-Sackler Gallery in Washington Dc has a new show titled “Masters of Mercy:Buddha’s Amazing Disciples.” . The who runs from now to July 8, 2012, and it  ” regarded as one of the most impressive feats of Buddhist iconography created during the Edo period (1615–1868)”. The paintings by Kano Kazunobu are large (I’m guessing 3 feet by 6 feet) and often humorous, depicting everyday people and disciples with funny hair, strange faces, and belly fat, rather than idealized figures and faces. Please don’t miss this show.

What is it like to be an artist for this event? One picks a floor of a building, selects a space, and then paints the walls, or hangs artworks, or creates an installation. The photo to te right shows my space, after the first coat of paint. Exciting, huh?! I am hoping to hang two big paintings, one that I am justing finishing now.  I can’t wait to see you at Artomatic!

Mr. Gascot has a studio in Building 4 at the Workhouse Center for the Arts in Lorton Virginia. He shares a studio with Mary Gallagher Stout, and together they are creating a new series of art that is well worth viewing.  Also, check out John and Mary’s sweet interpretive dance  on UTUBE.

The painting Under the Wave off Kanagawa, Or “Great Wave” can now be viewed at the Freer Sackler Galleries  in Washington Dc. To see this iconic work in person is fun. The painting is small, maybe 10 inches high, and part of a series of watercolor paintings. Seeing this art in person, it looks more real. One can see the texture of the paper, the watercolors, and the line work , all made by a human hand. Moreover, unlike the crowds who gather around the Mona Lisa, one can get right next to this painting , see the details, and appreciate it’s beauty.

From the Freer Sackler Website

March 24–June 17, 2012

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

The most acclaimed print series by Japan’s most famous artist, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) contains images of worldwide renown, including Under the Wave off Kanagawa, better known as the “Great Wave.” First published for the New Year of 1831, the series was a landmark in Japanese print publishing, incorporating innovative compositions, techniques, and coloration and establishing landscape as a new subject. As part of the Japan Spring celebration, the Sackler presents examples of all 46 prints in the series—which was continued under its original title due to the great popularity of Hokusai’s designs—including several rare, early printings featuring unusual coloration. The exhibition lends context to these iconic designs and explores the artistic methods and meaning behind Hokusai’s depictions of Mount Fuji.

This exhibition complements two Hokusai installations in the Freer. Hokusai: Japanese Screens, on view through July 29, 2012, features a magnificent pair of six-panel folding screens of Mount Fuji. Hokusai: Paintings and Drawings, on view February 18–June 24, 2012, features such highlights as Boy Viewing Mount Fuji and three masterworks of Hokusai’s last years, Thunder God, Fisherman, and Woodcutter.

I am painting in my home studio these days, as my house is being renovated. I opened up my windows, placed my heated palate next to a window, installed fans, and began working.  I have company these days, as my black cat loves to sit in one window .  To make him more comfortable, I leave a glass of water on one side of the window, and a bowl of grass on the other. When I am tired, or discouraged, I look at him and smile.  There is beauty in him, and in a world  such as ours.

Suprasensorial, at the Hirshorn Museum of  Art, opened February 23, 2012 and runs to May 13, 2012. Don’t miss the fun! As a viewer, one gets to walk through great spaces: one filled with plastic blue vines (see below), one with green and pink lights in a totally white walled and floored room, and one hallway lit with a fence of intense fluorescent tubes that will turn your teeth pink. Want to know more? Click this link!

The painting to the left is titled “Suffragists and Earthquakes”, and is encaustic with vintage glass beads and hanging crystals on board.

See the painting to the right? This is my painting donation to the show. It is encaustic, with vintage buttons, vintage women’s college postcard. and vintage dress. It is 12″x12″and titled ” Know you’ll like it.”

The Workhouse Center for the Arts is hosting a night called “Collectors Showcase” on Saturday February 25, 2011 from 7:30pm to 10:30pm. For the low price of $150, one can attend a party at the Workhouse, and come home with a piece of art. Every Artist in the Workhouse donates a piece of art for this show, like my piece “Suffragist Dress 1″ , 6″x8″ encaustic with vintage dress and suffragist button.(See photo). It is a great opportunity to support Fairfax County’s Workhouse, and to pay almost nothing for an original piece of art.