Saturday, February 11, 2012

Theft

This artwork was stolen from The Comfy Cow on Frankfort Avenue on February 5 . If you have any knowledge of its whereabouts or who took it, please call The Louisville Metro Police Department at 574-7111; or contact me.




The stole artwork was an original pen and ink drawing; the framed size is approximately 11 x 14 (image size 7 x 10 inches).



Friday, February 10, 2012

Minor triumphs

 
 
Went roller skating last week and only fell down 1 ½ times (fell once, almost fell but caught myself on my fingertips and righted myself another time.)
 
Went ice skating today and didn't fall at all.
 
Checked at Half Price Books for the fifth time yesterday and finally found a used copy of the second book in the "Song of Fire and Ice" series (the sequel to "Game of Thrones.")
 
…and that's about it.

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Books

 
 
A couple of weeks ago I finished reading A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, and I really enjoyed it.  I'm eager to read the next book, although I'll try not to hurry, because he's only written five books of the projected seven –book series.  Even if it takes me a couple of years to read all five books, I might have to wait a few years for book six.
 
It took me a few chapters to get into it.  I'm not super impressed with Martin's style of prose, though it's not bad.  It never seemed very creative or evocative.
 
The characters and story, though, were great.  At first, it didn't seem any better than a typical fantasy story, but as details accrued and character portraits developed it became very engrossing.  I especially appreciated the organic feel of the complexity:  The characters all have natural-feeling personalities and react in believable ways within a detailed setting, so the way the story progresses never feels forced.
 
I also appreciate the refreshing lack of romanticization.  The whole setting is believably gritty and dirty, and people who are motivated by honor are at a disadvantage.  There are characters I like quite a bit, and I'm worried they are going to die, or worse, turn dislikable.
 
Right now I am simultaneously reading two books: Who Wrote the Gospels by Gary Greenberg, and Who Wrote the Bible by Richard Friedman.  Both are pretty interesting.  I enjoy reading about the linguistic analysis and side-by-side text comparisons that went into the detective work.

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Showing at The Comfy Cow

Yesterday I put up nine drawings and paintings at a local dessert place, The Comfy Cow, on Frankfort Avenue. One of their rooms has an area designated for display of local artists, and the manager there was helpful and gave me the freedom to put up a selection of artwork. I put up most of what I wanted to hang, including all of my local landmark pen-and-ink drawings.




It will be up through the end of March.



After I was done putting up my works (and drinking a chocolate malt), I stopped at the nearby B. Deemer Gallery and enjoyed a retrospective of painter Robert Knipschild, who (I learned) was an instructor to well-known Louisville oil pastel artist Martin Rollins, as well as to two of my former university professors, Ying Kit Chan and Guinever Smith.



Here’s a picture I took yesterday when I was done putting up the artwork. It’s a cell phone photo, so it’s not very high quality.