HAPPY NEW YEAR AND A NICE SURPRISE!

Tim, the fuzzy ones and I would like to wish everyone an incredibly happy, safe and prosperous New Year. And don't worry -- maybe the Mayans ran out of space and the calendar continues past 2012 on another rock somewhere. Either way, I'm not gonna stress nor am I packin' my stuff...just yet.

Now onto some really nice news and a lovely way to start the New Year!

A few days ago I was notified by a colleague that I was up for a Making A Mark Award! The blog -- in which artist and writer Katherine Tyrrell draws and writes about art for artists and art lovers -- is number 3 in the top 25 art blogs in the UK! I was very excited by this news and equally shocked, as I make it practice not to enter competitions. Admittedly, this practice is based solely on my rather distressing inability to accept rejection of any kind like an emotionally mature adult. Kidding...sort of.

I then received an email from David J. Teter, a phenomanal artist that I admire greatly, apologizing for not contacting me before nominating my painting. He had been under the impression that I would be notified by Katherine. So, rejection issues aside, I was thankful for David's nomination and hopped on over to "Making A Mark" and found that "Alvin the Ant" was nominated for Best Picture of the Year (Nature) on an Art Blog in 2011! This, as you might well imagine, made me very happy indeed.

However, as I read through the nomination requirements, I found that Katherine had specified in the rules that entries should not have been overly reliant on a photograph not taken by the artist, so I contacted her to let her know I depend on others photos for my "Bug Narratives." Alas, while I have contemplated searching for, catching and trying to pose the little critters I paint, the absence of a high end close-up camera made the venture an impossibility (not to mention the trouble I imagine I might have with some overly-stimulated and arrogant arachnid!) So I came to the conclusion that relying on photos from generous collectors, fans and semi-inexpensive stock photos as reference for my "bug narrratives" would be my best option.

Happily, after giving it some thought, Katherine decided that if the votes dictated a win that she would let it stand! Yes!

Thank you David so very much for nominating me, thank you everyone who voted for Alvin the Ant and thank you so very much Katherine for allowing my painting to remain in the competition. And, I got to experience this wonderful feeling without the angst of entering anything!!  How very nice indeed!