New portrait underway…for a demo

Enigma

I will finish this portrait during a demonstration that I will be giving on 11/4/09. It is only 1.5 hours long, so I had to paint most of it today, leaving the juiciest part, the eyes, to finish at the demo tomorrow. The name of the demo is “Portraits: Transforming the Ordinary into Magical, the Perception of Presence”.

New portrait

My newest completed piece of art: an oil on panel, 16″ x 24″. The model’s name is Zwanda. She sat for 3 days.

“My Fair Lady”

Here’s a sneak peak of my interpretation of a wonderful portrait of a German woman from the ’70’s called “My Fair Lady”. Upside down view shows a lot in the interpretation. I’m glad I have differences; but I think I am capturing the essence.

New watercolor “Fleur de Feet”

Feet can wear flowers, too.

Finished on 052809, “Fleur de Feet” is a watercolor of my own feet. The top soles of the sandals were a fluorescent iridescent material. I tried to capture it, but realized I needed a couple of wacky colors to actually get it right. Fortunately I did have Opera (a hot magenta color) and Peacock Blue. I needed a similar hot fluorescent green, though. All in all, I think I did alright.

BEARING WITNESS TO THE LIGHT: Merton’s Challenge to a Fragmented World

Thomas Merton

BEARING WITNESS TO THE LIGHT: Merton’s Challenge to a Fragmented World

The Eleventh General Meeting of the International Thomas Merton Society
Nazareth College – Rochester, NY – June 11-14, 2009

In June 2009 the International Thomas Merton Society will hold its Eleventh General Meeting in Rochester, NY, on the campus of Nazareth College. Featured participants in the conference include:

• Rachel Fell McDermott, Associate Professor and Chair of the Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures Department at Barnard College where she specializes in South Asia, especially India.

• Herbert Mason, William Goodwin Aurelio Professor of History and Religious Thought at Boston University where he teaches in the field of Arabic and Islamic Studies. For a number of years he corresponded with Thomas Merton.

• James Conner, OCSO, a monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani. He was a student of Thomas Merton and was Merton’s under-master for novices. He has served as chaplain to the Benedictine Community of Osage Monastery, Oklahoma, and, for five years in the late nineties, as Abbot of Assumption Abbey in Missouri. He was fourth President of the ITMS and has written on Thomas Merton in Cistercian Studies, The Merton Annual, and in the volume Thomas Merton Monk: A Monastic Tribute.

• Judith Simmer-Brown, a Professor at Naropa University and a prominent Buddhist scholar. She is on the Board of the Society of Buddhist-Christian Studies, and a member of the Lilly Buddhist-Christian Theological Encounter.

• Kate Campbell, originally from Sledge, Mississippi, the daughter of a Baptist preacher. Kate’s formative years were forged by the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and those indelible experiences continue to inform her music. Kate has performed at some of the most prestigious festivals at home and abroad including the Cambridge Folk Festival and the Philadelphia Folk Festival.

• Donald Grayston, now retired from teaching at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, will deliver the presidential address.

Many other Merton scholars will also be participating in concurrent sessions and workshops.

Other highlights will include:

• Opportunities for interreligious prayer and dialogue

• Exhibit of photographs by Thomas Merton

Full details of the conference can be found on the conference web site: http://www.merton.org/Rochester/
Reserve your place now – late registration fees apply after May 15th

In peace,

Paul.

##########################
Dr Paul M Pearson.
Director and Archivist,
Thomas Merton Center,
Bellarmine University,
2001 Newburg Road,
Louisville, KY. 40205.

Tel: 502 452 8177.
Cell: 502 693 1937.
Fax: 502 452 8452.

www.merton.org

“Thrill on Bluebonnet Hill”

Thrill on Bluebonnet Hill

True, I found my thrill on bluebonnet hill at Shambhala Ranch this past weekend. During a meditation retreat, we had a break on one of the afternoons, a perfect time to capture this simple shock of lavender blue lupines, also known as Bluebonnets, set amidst stately Redwoods.

Duck Crossing

Duck Crossing

A Starry Sky Above a Coral Sea

This is a fun free-form where I started with a watercolor wash, used salt, and when dry, I painted in the shapes that the wash created. I had no idea what would transpire. In the end, it looked like…”A Starry Sky Above a Coral Sea”.

Brown Thrasher

Brown Thrasher Watercolor

“A large, skulking bird of thickets and hedgerows, the Brown Thrasher has one of the largest song repertoires of any North American bird. Boldly patterned, it is conspicuous when singing on its territory, but is hardly discernable during the rest of year.”
The Brown Thrasher is the state bird of Georgia. Click this link to hear its song: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/audio/Brown_Thrasher1.html

First painting of the New Year: “Little Hummer”

Little Hummer