As the cofounder of b.a.l.m., which is a small group for encouraging and promoting artists in life and art, I have gotten to co-dream and facilitate this show with my husband.  The heart image on the call for entries is an altered photograph I took of an aluminum heart sculpture I created years ago.  I haven’t poured metal in years.  The original concept for the WHITE SHOW came from a friends in Oklahoma, which they offered us.   From that point, we came up with a context of inspiration of sorts.  The discussion on LinkedIn , Twitter and Facebook regarding this concept is fascinating and may help in deciding on work to create and submit for the show.  There are already numerous aesthetic, philosophical and material discussions circulating in cyberspace.  We look forward to more and hearing from you.

Incidentally, I had a great time celebrating a plein air friend’s birthday on Sunday and painting together some fabulous people and artists.  I was thinking “white” of course, and was almost in a white wedding as I painted the light that filtered throught the trees on my canvas from behind the tall grass where the bride and groom were being photographed.  Nevermind my adventures painting the trains, barns and the grain elevators previous sessions.  There are stories to tell.  Being lost in the country with Jane could become a white painting of a more conceptual nature, more of a confusing fog kicking up the dust of country roads in the broad summer sunlight near Vinland, and eating my annual piece of gooseberry pie.  I wish I could have painted the sunset I saw as I walked the other night around our neighborhood, as the color drained away until the sky was the color of a pale, slightly yellow riesling in a glass.  And I drank in every last drop.  Anyway, my studio is lined with many of my interpretations of white, from abstract studio paintings and sculptures to a few plein air candidates.  Just like everyone else, I will have to see which pieces I decide on for myself and which one Sam picks for the show.  Can’t wait to see everyone’s pieces…  I wonder, will there be a white elephant?  What is white?

Call for Entries for the Juried “WHITE SHOW”

b.a.l.m. announces the “WHITE SHOW” call for entries, a juried art show.

On October 23rd, 2009 b.a.l.m. will open its art show at Signs of Life Gallery in downtown Lawrence, Kansas and will run till January 18th, 2010.
The show is open to all artists 18 years and older, and the entries are due September 4th, 2009 before 11:59pm. There will be a minimum of 3 cash awards given at the judgment of the jury and committee.  Awards and totals TBA at a later date.  If you are interested in helping sponsor this event please
contact Darin.

We are happy to announce that Samuel W. Kho has agreed to guest jury the show.
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About Samuel W. Kho

Samuel W. Kho enjoys a diversity of roles in many an art world— most importantly, in organizing exhibitions with artists.
Kho currently serves as Curator at All Things Project, a gallery located in Greenwich Village, New York City.
Previously, Kho was co-director of Hayworth Gallery in Los Angeles and had his graduate studies in the Art Market (FIT-SUNY).
To Samuel Kho, art, like life, is like a cactus: it ought to be thorny just as it could be beautiful. His constant mission is to gather and
empower a dangerously prickly assortment of people, classes, and beliefs.
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All work should be a majority of white in color.
There is no size or material requirements, however the gallery ceilings are 11′ and 12′.
The jury and committee is open to all 2-D and 3-D mediums.

The jury committee has put together an inspiration that will encourage artists with some glimpses of the concept.

If you are interested in submitting work please see the files below, read them carefully and follow the instructions.

If you have any questions contact us here.

WHITE SHOW INFORMATION PG 1

WHITE SHOW APPLICATION PG 2

we reserve the right to change this information at any time
-all rights reserved and copyrighted b.a.l.m. 2009

see original post here

These custom portraits were digitally freehanded by moi’.  Please let me know which ones are your favorites, as I am in need of feedback.  I am trying out some different styles.  The looks were customized to each person.  I also tried a few effects, which I may share later but still felt the freehanded paintings were stronger as they are.  Thank you to these sitters for staying still for awhile — amazing!  I hope you enjoy your portraits…

HEARERS & DOERS digital painting copyright Shannon White 2009

Digital media is just too fun!  I am painting wildly and there is no mess to clean up.  This is my husband, for those who know him and may see the resemblance.  It’s either him or Van Gogh…  It is NOT Eric Fischl.  I am taking commissions and selling prints of these.  You are next.  Recession, recmession.  The enjoyment of such a piece outlasts that of a film by at least a few years.   Make me your best offer, and it should probably be over $25 dollars by the way.  

This particular piece is commending those people who actually live the amazing dreams they speak of, the amazing few.   They make the most of their human experience and they encourage others to do the same.  Thanks, Darin!

Gary, Ken, Shannon, Jeff & Skip Whitcomb (juror) Award Ceremony

June 2009 Plein Air Paint Out at Glenn Eyrie, Colorado Springs, CO

From 6:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. about forty-five artists responded creatively to the red rocks, green slopes, blue skies, mingling mountain sheep, ravines, pines, architecture and the “open air” of our fabulous Colorado setting.  I was stunned to receive third place for my quick painting of a footbridge in heavy and varied, lush foliage.  Many other artists there could and should have received this award.  I have to thank Jane, my plein air painting partner back in Kansas even for my participation in the event.   Many vendors of art supplies donated frames, umbrellas, panels, brushes, etc…  for which we were so grateful.  We toured a retrofitted painting VW and heard its many stories, shared a meal together and then benefitted from expert painting advice of some seasoned pros.  I met some wonderful people that day, too.  If you would like to see some of my other landscape paintings, feel free to schedule a studio visit.  My studio will soon exist outside my garage — YEA!

WINTER'S LOSS: BRINK OF SPRING by Shannon White copyright 2006

When I painted this painting several years ago, I t was realizing the need to “learn to fly” by leaving the familiar nest, to use the knowledge I had grown fat with for lack of use.  I am in favor of learning by sitting in chair, listening, processing and gleaning to a certain extent.  I hope I continue to learn and share throughout my entire lifetime in many different ways, as we all have something of value to offer each other.  At some point, one has to begin to try what one has learned in the real world,though, to live, experience, learn more, try, take informed risks, fail and begin again.  This, too, is a vital part of the learning process and also of the propagation of future generations of learning and of sustaining life.  

As I painted this painting, I noticed empty nests everywhere, especially in the work of other artists, symbolizing a season of life, in which the artist had experienced some sort of winter and was participating in a sort of springtime.  These images acknowledged with a frankness and consideration of the role of loss as seasonal and temporary but that the empty feeling left behind is very real.  This is what I am experiencing now, as our family has experienced the tragic loss of our son to an unexpected cancer, the heightened emotions, the dullness and dampness, the questions, and still the occasional joy of living, the comforting arms and the faithfulness of God.  The winter of loss is painful and chilling and cruel, but I look forward to the decay-composted ground revealed beneath the melting snow in its richness of new beginnings ushered in by the delicious breath of Spring, premempting the eternal.  This also embodies the spirit of the Easter season in a personal way for me.  Birdsongs will reemerge as nests are rebuilt, and the trees will grow green and fruitful again, my dear.

The following is an original poem I wrote about the same time I painted the above painting:

 SOUL HOUSE

by Shannon White copyright 2006

Don’t say goodbye,

Sad, sad song.

The tree is about to bud

And the snow is 

Melting around my heart.

Rouse me under the apple tree,

And stay awhile.

Darkest waters,

Cold and glassy

Stream over me,

As I lie and gaze 

At the bright stars,

Letting the water

Wash away my tears.

I sleep till misty morning,

Swaddled and warm;

Someone has cared for me in the night.

Eyes still shut,

But the light is dawning its mad colors.

Laughter shakes the air around me,

And the storm changes the color of the grass.

Everything vibrates now.

You don’t have to see it to believe it.

The sorrowful song is still in my heart,

But it has a glad twist.

Listen to the birds being themselves —

Oh, there is no shutting them out!

Pieces of music and chattering twitter,

Clarion tones of flutes and chimes,

Feathered instruments of Grace.

Even somber whistles resonate in the soft silence and

Carry on the wind the sound of Freedom.

Nest in my soul,

Bird of Paradise.

Make your Home with me here.

YOU CAN VIEW MORE TREE THEMED ART AROUND LAWRENCE THIS MONTH.

copyright 2008 shannon white

copyright 2008 shannon white copyright 2008 shannon white

I have painted vegetables for years now, mostly interiors, and have within the past few years been fascinated with the carrot, as mentioned and shown in previous posts.  The carrot painting is only one of three panels to this piece (the other two panels are not shown).  Only today, have I been introduced online to other carrot and vegetable fanatics by my good friend, a. (a writer who is currently fascinated with spiders).    I feel part of the international community now.  You can visit the carrot museum site for a good dose of laughter and education on the hopeful carrot.  Most of all, you MUST not miss the vegetable musicians, true artists who tour all over and are unmistakably serious.  let me know what you think.  my children were truly inspired, my daughter using a fork to make ridges in an eggplant top in order to create a new sound.  And with the rest of the eggplant I made supper — cooked and sauted in olive oil, sea salt, balsamic vinegar & sugar, in a fresh garden basil, oregano, tomato and garlic sauce, all simmered together and poured over angel hair pasta.  If you watch the above vegetable video, be sure to watch the broccoli christmas song next (played on a broccoli).  enjoy!

MAHATMA CADEN leftover tempera on construction paper by Shannon White 07

My son was painting a reindeer for Christmas craft time in the craft room of the cancer ward at Children’s Mercy Hospital.  As I watched him thin and bony, his aqua hospital gown sliding off one shoulder and his head shiny with hair loss from all the chemotherapy he was receiving, he reminded me of the peaceful resistance figure, Mahatma Ghandi.  Caden was fighting as he could to live, carrying a deep God-given spiritual life within him which radiated from the darkeness of the situation into a luminescent hope.  The beauty of suffering with a purpose struck me as I sat beside him.  I struggled to maintain this hope and my own identity as I used his leftover paint to express this mysterious beauty of life which carried in it a vigilant prayer and I am sure, the prayers of many others who joined us in this journey.  There has been victory in this quiet battle as Caden’s cancer is now gone.  Thank you to all who have been a part of this resistance.

CHILDREN of PROMISE Portrait, oil on canvas, 12″ x 12″ copyright 2007 Shannon White

 It felt great to complete this portrait, the final details of which were put on hold from May until now by Carolyn, the gracious patron.  The children depicted are grown, now, making their way in this world.  They danced in a circle, free and full of potential, one with a rainbow on her shirt, each beautiful in their own way.  I loved being in my studio again, smelling oil paint, linseed oil (maybe a bit too much linseed oil added to the drying time) painting people.  I was thankful for the opportunity!

Destination: Eternal Hope  mixed media 4″x6″

Destination: Soul House   original construction photo with original poem 5″x7″

above images copyright 2007 Shannon White (will be featured in show)

Show Opening Friday, Nov. 16th, 5-8 p.m.

Art Affair Gallery, 7th & High St, Baldwin, KS

BALM artists & Baker’s Anniversary Show

Beautiful pieces by area artists in all price ranges for gift giving.   Other featured artists include Karen Jacks, Vernon Brecha, Heather Smith Jones, Darin White, Jane Flanders, S. D. Dunlap, Sam Wagner, Anh Sawyer…  Continue the conversation we began at the original “destination” original art postcard gathering with us.  

Pregnant Promise painted  in 1996 & copyrighted by Shannon White 2007

While caring for my son in the hospital, last month, I received an e mail from an international doctoral student requesting the use of my Pregnant Promise painting image for her thesis on minimal counseling in the case of an irregular pregnancy.  The timing of the request caused me to think of how much my son means to me, cancer or no cancer, and what my fears may have been had I known he would struggle with it before he was born.  He is a gift and ever full of promise.  My life is so much richer for having him.  She had given much thought to her approach to valuing the pregnancy, the parents and the doctor and other medical staff.  There was a consistent respect of life while there was also a respect of freedom within the existing legal system.  She was not a legislator, but dealing with medical counseling.  I was honored to cross collaborate my artistic voice with her medical voice and was, again, amazed at the poignant timing.  Blessings to you in your life & career, Jolande!