Painting: Buffalo Spirit

This is actually a painting I did many, many years ago. I'm not usually prone to hang on to paintings I complete - They only serve their purpose when they are in the hands of a collector, where they can be seen out in public. But this one marked a turn in a new direction for me, in a theme that still inspires me ... so I've hung on to it! Now I'm ready to progress in the medium of painting again, instead of just limiting myself to jewelry and sculpture, and so I think it appropriate to find this piece a new home.

Buffalo Spirit - 24" X 48"

I played around a bit with negative space turning into positive space - illustrating the concept that current reality, that which we can see and hear, is only an illusion created from whole-cloth imagination. The space, stars and planets represent the void from which we create ourselves, and the "gate" below hinting at a different reality.

Buffaloes (actually, bison to be technically correct) have always been a favorite subject. One of my customers once told me that they had heard of them referred to as "Whales of the Earth", because of their size and power. I liked that. It communicates to me.

It's 2 feet by 4 feet, a size and shape I like a lot, and it's acrylic on canvas. Here's a secret about this piece: When I painted it, I was a poor, skinny starving artist - so I repainted over an existing painting I wasn't really happy with. The other painting, "Sorcerer's Apprentice", was a bit too comic-bookish and hokey compared to the vision for this piece, Buffalo Spirit. Having no money for canvas, I painted over the first painting. I had previously photographed the original painting, so here it is for you to see:

The asking price on Buffalo Spirit is a modest $1600 unframed. Call me at the studio at (505) 296-1400 if you'd like to own one of my "milestone" paintings from many years ago. You can also email me for more details: David (at) StewartArt.com.

DESIGN, PHOTO AND TEXT © DAVID LLOYD STEWART - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

My First Published Poem!

As many of you know, my forte is in the field of visual arts, not performance or written words. Despite that, I have had a growing interest in those other fields, and was honored when one of my poems, "Lucky Boy" was included in a collection of poems by global poets MUCH better than me titled Spirit of Humanity - poetic visions of a better world, published by Artists for a Better World International. Clicking on the book cover to the right will take you to the Cafépress page where you can order a copy if you like:

Okay, So.... here's the poem (short & sweet!)
Lucky Boy

This is my favorite lifetime
of all that came before
Of all the times I've donned this flesh,
I have not loved it more.

No, I am not handsome,
Nor tall or debonaire,
Nor rich beyond my wildest dreams
with thick and rugged hair!

No, I was given other gifts
- I'm such a lucky boy -
For I can wield an artist's tools
and bring to others joy.

©David Lloyd Stewart
TEXT © DAVID LLOYD STEWART - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Weddings 505 TV Show Guest Appearance

WOW, so much news to catch up on! Look for more posts in the very near future. Let's start with this:

My good friend, Marcy Sargeant, is the host of a new TV show to make its debut in February 2008 called Weddings 505 ..." A Bride's TV & Internet Connection to the 505 Area"! It's a show about all the accoutrements and accessories of weddings here in New Mexico - the gowns, the cakes, and of course, the JEWELRY! I show a few of the wedding ring designs I've done in the past, and answer a few questions about wedding ring design.

Please click the image above, or this link HERE, to be taken to the website for the show, where you can watch the first episode online! When you've watched it, and looked around the site, click the "back" button on your browser to come back here, where I'll have new posts to detail each of the wedding rings shown on the show. ENJOY!
DESIGNS AND TEXT © DAVID LLOYD STEWART - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

PARDON ME! - a little on this blog

I just did the New Mexico Arts & Crafts Fair this last weekend, (more on that later), and I had a realization about this blog. Some of my fellow artists have "graduated" from doing fairs, and now sell their work only in galleries or on their own ... but there is something about doing a fair that gives you an interaction with your customers you just can't get any other way. There have been times when I envied those that have moved along in their marketing efforts - they get more studio time, time doing what they love doing.

And doing art fairs is HARD WORK. When you see an artist sitting in his booth in a festive atmosphere, among all these pieces of his work that project the joy of creation, it's easy to miss the EFFORT that it took him to be there! I'll get into that in a seperate discussion later on ... the point I wanted to make here was that despite the effort, they are worth doing if only for the chance to INTERACT with the wonderful people that collect my work. They honor me with their purchases!

Art is a channel for communication. It's communication on a very high level - a high quality that can't be achieved any other way - but it's communication nonetheless, and that requires having someone to communicate TO! Getting direct feedback from the people that I do the work for (you?) is paramount in importance to me. Sitting in my studio and creating work is only HALF the fun. So here's the realization that I had: I started this blog to show you what I was producing ... it didn't occur to me to share other things about the "artist's life" that you might find interesting! I have almost made this thing into a catalog, rather than a venue to interact with you as I do at Art Fairs. I'll tell you a few stories of things I've observed "on the road", share a little philosophy, point to a few observations and ask a few questions from here on out. I hope you will find it interesting. If you do, please feel free to leave me a comment, either at the end of the post, or a general comment in my Guestbook. I welcome the feedback!

INTRODUCTION - Hello!

Ahhhh, the BLOG - part website, part portfolio .... part newsletter, and a WEB LOG about the process of making my art! What a GREAT way for an artist to share with his friends and collectors, something of what makes him tick. This is a DYNAMIC tool, unlike a website that just statically sits there. It's a way for me to maintain a dialog with you, and tell you much more about the things I create and the reasons I create them than would ever be possible on a simple website. That was one of the things I really enjoyed about doing juried Art Fairs all over the country - it gave me the opportunity to meet you face-to-face, and see the effects my work was creating, in person. I really hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy telling you about it and showing it to you. If so, please leave me a comment. Your viewpoints are valuable to me!