We are not worthy....

If someone had told you when you were ten years old that you would become an accomplished artist and that your medium of choice would be colored pencils, what would you have done , would you have laughed it off and moved on or would you develop your skills and exceeded everyone's expectations?

Well 2007 Maine College of Art Graduate Joshua Dallaire  has done the later.  His work in colored pencil is at first glance astounding , upon further inspection impressive and after several moments of observation all I could chant is I'm not worthy as I humbly looked for a space on the floor to pronate myself and pay homage to the pencil master.
Joshua Dallaire has taken the colored pencil to new heights with work that has a mystical magical quality that he calls "Bio-Geo Luminescence. Josh has chops with a technique that bridges abstract impressionism and that of a realist painter , a kind of a Monet-Wyeth hybrid with a pencil.  The bottom line is Joshua has the "it factor", that blend of imagination, detail & understanding. To quote his web site his colored pencil work goes further it begs the question;  "where does reality end & abstraction begin?"   For Joshua it starts and ends on a sheet of 24" x 30" paper, and can be viewed live at Daunis Jewelery gallery right here in the Port City.  The show runs through next month and is available for viewing during the Jewelry gallery business hours 10am - 4:30pm. at 616 Congress street 3rd floor, right next to Mesa Verde & Portland Yoga Studio.

Why go see the Bio-Geo Luminescence art of Joshua Dallaire 

Because your good mind needs good art!





The Gallery Talk is made possible by the generosity of the WMPG Radio listening community.  The blog is the text version of the art rant heard every Thursday at 7am, 5 & 9:30pm on WMPG college and community radio
Broadcasting from the University of Southern Maine
90.9 , 104.1 and streaming on the web at http://www.wmpg.org/


Joshua Dallaire has a virtual Gallery and can be viewed by clicking into the link:  Joshua Dallaire Gallery

Water & Art; taken for granted...

The Earth, 
The 3rd planet orbiting a class C star in a spiral galaxy. Abundant with a variety of resources.
Here in the North Eastern corner of North America one resource is so abundant some people play on it, some play with it,  some curse it, some hide from it.
Water, in it's many forms affects our lives daily.  We even call our world "The Water planet"



Currently on display on the opposite side of North America at the San Diego airport and on line is an exhibit called: Water in Focus  . The exhibit is the result of a youth awareness & literacy project called Outside the lens. This San Diego based program calls youth to action around the globe as they document the existence, use, conservation and pollution of our most precious resource through words & images.
On a recent trip to one of the warm corners of America I was pulled out of a travelers fog by several huge 4' x 4' bold images of water.  Airport art is often tapioca, never hard or soft always inconsistent.  The Water in focus exhibit was different, powerful vibrant portraits along with water themed poetry & a variety of water factoids made this an oasis in an airport devoid of character and color. Visually & mentally stimulating I was  enlightened to the abuse and problems we have with this apparently (to me) abundant resource.
Here are a few of the factoids listed:
It takes 25-50 gallons of water for a 5 minute shower.
To flush a toilet takes 2-7 gallons
To brush your teeth takes approximately 2 gallons of water.
To wash your cloths in a typical washing machine uses between 40 to 60 gallons of water!
1.1 billion people are with out access to clean water & that by 2025 a total of 5,300,000,000 (5.3 billion)  folks are expected to suffer from water shortages.
Author Frank Herbert wrote the "Dune" series of books about a desert world that lacked water to the point that a tear held more value than a diamond. To paraphrase Herbert: The beginning of knowledge is when we take the time to discover something we do not fully understand. 
Once again blame it on the art, just by stopping in on the exhibit Water in Focus  my point of view has changed. Now I'm more likely to take a quick shower or shut the water off when brushing my teeth and not take for granted airport art or our most precious resource.


Why check out the 
Water in Focus exhibit on line? 
Because your good mind needs good art!






 The images above are from the exhibit to see more of the over 2,000 photos click:
Water in Focus ,
for more information on this San Diego based program that is changing the way we view the world one photo at a time please follow this link. Outside the lens

The Gallery Talk is made possible by the generosity of the WMPG Radio listening community.  The blog is the text version of the art rant heard every Thursday at 7am, 5 & 9:30pm on WMPG college and community radio
Broadcasting from the University of Southern Maine
90.9 , 104.1 and streaming on the web at http://www.wmpg.org/

Joie De Vere it's art for me!

Happy New Years to All!

New Years Resolutions, did you make one?

I was never really good at keeping them.

My Bride suggested I should live more in the moment!
I tell her that I am.  I'm jam packing those moments,  as a matter of fact  the other morning I had a cup of coffee, read the paper, ate a bagel, watched sports center, checked my e-mail & warmed the car up simultaneously!
She nodded and gave me one of those "That's what I'm talking about looks".
 So this year I'm changing it up a bit.   It was a friend, Peter that put this idea into my head the other day;
Joie de vivre,  That's it I'll resolve to Joie De Vivre!
It was the french that penned the phrase.

Anne Bridgeman circa1930

Joie de vivre, ( pronounced: WA - D - V ) literally translated the Joy of Life, Joy of Living.
I'm going to modify that and interpret Joie De Vivre for me as a joy of everything, a comprehensive philosophy of consciously living a more joyous life.
As far as resolutions go this could be tough so I'm going boil it down to doing at least 1 joyous thing per week and by the end of the year I'll have at least 52 joyous events under my belt and that could become the tipping point for my attempt at Joie De Vivre.

How's that relate to Art,
Let me bring it full circle for you,
For me art is a joyous thang, when participating in it I become immersed and time is immaterial, when I see it I become inspired, and when I see others viewing my works I become blessed.

What's your Joie De Vivre ?  I do not know, but give art a try .  Perhaps a diet of art once a week for a year could make you appreciate life in a different way, that could result in turning a good life into a more joyous life.

Why Art? 
Because your good mind needs good art!





The Gallery Talk is made possible by the generosity of the WMPG Radio listening community.  The blog is the text version of the art rant heard every Thursday at 7am, 5 & 9:30pm on WMPG college and community radio
Broadcasting from the University of Southern Maine
90.9 , 104.1 and streaming on the web at http://www.wmpg.org/