Auction, Art, Action

I am catching up after a bit of a pause and delay, so if you missed the past two blog posts they are here and here.

A good reason to post a blog this week is to promote an important auction I am participating in. The benefit auction has been organised by a friend and fellow artist from my school days back in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the brilliant jeweler Flannery Grace Good who is now based in Kansas City. The auction is supporting two charities, the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (The premier civil rights law organization in America). The winning bidder will get to choose which charity they will donate to directly, with 100% of the funds going to the charity. 

For this event, I donated an artist's proof of my (soon to be released) limited edition giclee print of my Accidental Portrait #17 (Fuck) on heavyweight archival matte paper (220gsm/81lb) signed in pencil. A3 sized/11.7×16.5" The bidding started at $65. The auction started Thursday, June 11 at 8pm CST and ends Sunday, June 14 at 8pm CST. So there is still plenty of time to have a look at not only my work (which as of this writing is currently going for $150) but also all the other wonderful items offered by artists all around the world. 

The auction is happening over on Flannery's Instagram page with instructions on how to bid in her feed. Please go check it out and support these vital organisations. Well done to Flannery for organising this, no small task at all. I am honoured to be able to participate. Let's try to raise as much money as we can. Thank you. 

My offering. I am very pleased with the colour and quality of the reproduction.
Stay tuned for more information about my upcoming print release!

In other news, I have been doing a bit of drawing and a bit of research for a new body of work or at least some preliminary sketches towards something new... only time will tell if it fully materialises. 

In continuing actions, besides signing more petitions and having more conversations, reading, researching, and listening, I participated again in the UK wide call to action to protest wherever you were, doorstep, street, garden, or a socially distanced group protest to take the knee and or stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. I took the knee and stood outside on the road with my hand-painted sign Wednesday night at 6pm and was approached by a bewildered and slightly confrontational "all lives matter" white man. We talked for a while and then he seemed to understand and peacefully walked away. I thanked him for coming to talk to me.

Go check out the auction. Next week, we will talk about the print release among other things. Keep fighting and talking. Thank you.

Action and Art

I am posting this two weeks later than the actual date, filling in gaps where I have been silent. I am doing this mostly so I can remember what was being created at this time. This blog often serves as a record for me in the future.

For the past two weeks, I have been quiet and listening, outraged and sad, and holding space in solidarity with black people around the world. It didn't feel like the right time to record a chirpy Tuesday Studio Video Visit, nor did it feel right to write another blog on Friday as if it was business as usual in the world. I haven't painted much since the last portrait (FUCK - that I shared on this blog last week and below) but I have been looking at a lot of art, reading, researching, donating, and being as politically active as possible and protesting from a safe distance and attending online rallies and discussions on racism offered through a black-led organisations.

Here are the organisations I have been able to aid in some small way so far thanks to my art patrons.

Showing up for Racial Justice
https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/
Organization for Black Struggle
https://www.obs-stl.org/
Family of George Floyd
https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd
National Lawyers Guild Mass Defense Fund
https://www.nlg.org/massdefenseprogram/
The Bail Project
https://bailproject.org/
Stand up to Racism UK
http://www.standuptoracism.org.uk/

Action for Breonna Taylor:

1) Email Mayor Greg Fischer to demand that the LMPD fire and revoke pensions of the officers who murdered Breonna; and arrest, charge, and convict them for this crime. Email: Greg.Fischer@louisvilleky.gov

2) Demand that special prosecutor Daniel Cameron comport with full transparency and accountability. Email: attorney.general@ag.ky.gov

Please join us in this fight by making your voice heard now. Further information is at FightforBreonna.org

Defund the Police: 

https://action.aclu.org/petition/divest-police-invest-black-and-brown-communities

UK Actions:

Action for UK Government Stop Arming US State Violence with Exports:

U.K. friends please email your MP. https://www.caat.org.uk/…/lob…/stop-arming-us-state-violence

Justice for Sheku Bayoh:

https://www.change.org/p/police-scotland-investigate-the-death-of-sheku-bayoh-in-police-custody

10 petitions to sign today that support Black Lives Matter in the UK:

https://www.you.co.uk/black-lives-matter-petitions-uk/?fbclid=IwAR2aJ7if_Z7ZZtRp9enWz9OTZ0IK2-dnvD_aU5tqZeKGWFfiyMhR95zni80

On Wednesday, June, 3rd at 6pm there was a UK wide call to action to protest wherever you were, doorstep, street, garden, or a socially distanced group protest to take the knee and or stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. I took the knee and stood outside on the road with my hand-painted sign. 

We must show up where we are, it might feel performative at first, scary, or odd. I had to examine that within myself. I had to look back at my white life and privilege, acknowledge my mistakes and missteps, talk about racism and bias, and ask questions of my friends and family. Why is my Instagram feed so white, why are the cities I live in so white? Why is the art I see so white? What can I do about it? What do I need to learn? What do I need to change? This is on us as white people. I might get it wrong and when I do (not if) I will take responsibility and listen. I'd rather get it wrong and be corrected and learn than stand back in silence. We have to keep talking and taking action not just this week or the next, but for the rest of our lives.

Now to the art, I made around this time and the last studio video visit I recorded. 

Accidental portrait #15, mixed media
20x16" on heavyweight 250gsm paper.
It has a fine-grain linen-textured surface that has been double-primed and is acid-free.
£270

Accidental portrait #16
mixed media 20x16" on heavyweight 250gsm paper.
It has a fine-grain linen-textured surface that has been double-primed and is acid-free.
Sold

Accidental portrait #17
mixed media 20x16" on heavyweight 250gsm paper.
It has a fine-grain linen-textured surface that has been double-primed and is acid-free.
Sold

Until next week, I hope you are staying safe and well. Thank you. Keep fighting!

Funerary potatoes for a nation

I wake up at first light. I stand in the tiny kitchen in front of the window with the morning sun. I peel potatoes, they had eyes and were sprouting, but if I do this now I can save them. I am not sure what I am making. The sun continues to shine and the cool breeze enters the window. I feel fortunate to know that I can save these potatoes and that I can avoid waste. I assemble ingredients I have on hand and look up a recipe to confirm my instincts. I am making funerary potatoes for a nation. I didn't mean to but here we are, my eyes fill with tears when I realise. Hell, I might be making funerary potatoes for the world. I would share them with you and your family, you and your community, you in your time of loss, and you in your need for comfort. You with your rage, I would share with you too. 

Action Steps.

Organisations to support.