BEGINNINGS, BLUE RIBBONS AND TECHNICOLOR MACKENZIE

Two months ago I entered a juried art competition in Dallas at the Park Cities Presbyterian Church. The theme this year was Beginnings.

The art was to based of the book of Genesis. There were 4 themes this year:
Theme One - Beginnings of Creation(Genesis 1:1-2:3)
The seven days when God creates heaven and earth
Theme Two - Beginnings of Man and Woman(Genesis 2:4-25)
God's creation of man and woman, with His plan and purpose for mankind
Theme Three - Temptation and Fall(Genesis 3:1-7)
The origins of temptation and sin that lead to the fall of mankind - Theme Four
Judgment and Hope(Genesis 3:8-24)
The consequences of sin, the separation from God, and the subsequent search for hope

I decided to enter my work in the third theme, The Fall of Mankind.

First of all, the show had a new location! To celebrate their Grand Opening, the Villa Rosa Gables, located in the heart of Uptown at Cole Avenue and Cedar Springs, hosted the PCPC Arts Festival in their lovely new facility.
Second, the show dates were extended! As requested by many of the 2007 PCPC Arts Festival artists, they hosted a three week run of the show, Beginnings.
The Arts Festival was displayed in the Villa Rosa Gables in Dallas, TX, for the DADA (Dallas Art Dealers Association) annual Spring Gallery Walk reception on April 19 and the spring Uptown Dallas Art Walk on April 24. The show was viewed by even more people than the 4,000 who attended last year.
All of this took place while we were in New Mexico, so even though I didn't get to see the actual show, I won a blue ribbon!

The explanation of my painting was this:

Satan came to Eve in the form of a serpent. I have used the apple to represent Eve, though the scriptural verbiage was fruit, not an apple, to illustrate that it only takes one rotten apple to ruin the entire bushel. Satan tempted Eve with the fruit, and she, in turn, tempted Adam which was going against the Word of God ... hence the Fall of Mankind.

I have to be perfectly honest, I really don't like this painting all that much. I only chose the subject matter in order to be eligible to enter the competition. No one was more shocked than I was to have won! It goes to show that you never know what the judges are looking for. I also won a lovely coffee table book which I will leave out for all to see. I was both susrprised and pleased.

I am feeling much better today than I have in several weeks, so I decided to paint again. Frank had to run over to Dallas to pick up my winning painting, so he brought my things in from my studio and I painted while he was gone.
If you remember, our friends in Raton have a dog whose name is MacKenzie.




She was named after Spuds MacKenzie, the Bud Light dog in the beer commercial since her markings are so very similar. She has such a colorful personality that I decided to paint her in a very colorful style. I am calling her "Technicolor MacKenzie".




Doing this little painting has really lifted my spirits tremendously and I hope that it will lift yours as well. I have missed being at my easel.
We have decided to try something new and go out for dinner tonight. We'll go to a little place that none of our friends frequent so I can go with my hair looking less than attractive. Since I can't raise one of my arms above my chest for the next 6 weeks, all I can do is wash it with help. At least it's clean! Once the doctor gives me the go ahead, I will hopefully be looking like a normal person again and will get on with my life.
Have a great weekend and once again, thank you so much for your continued prayers. They're working ... I'm healing!!
XOXO, Pcasso