I wanted to highlight and share an artist who I have been following on the Internet for quite some time. Her work speaks to me. I anxiously read her blog, awaiting her new paintings.

Her name is Jennifer Lommers. She lives in Oregon. Which surprises me, because her paintings are typically jam-packed with warm sunshine!

She has an interesting blog, sharing a behind the scenes view of this artist’s working life.

I have never met Jennifer, never emailed her, never corresponded with her, she isn’t one of my Internet friends. She isn’t here on my blog because I am promoting her in some way.

I just love her work so much and I wanted to share it with you.

You can connect with her at  JenniferLommers.com

I am camera shy. This has gotten worse over the years, especially since camera’s don’t lie.

I really have needed some better promotional photo for my art business. I use lots of pictures of my artwork, but not many pictures of myself. Although I will continue this, I was in desperate need of some pics for my biography and print materials.

I scheduled a photo shoot with Tammi a couple of weeks ago.

I must say it was absolutely the most comfortable and fun time I have EVER had in front on the camera.

She put me at ease immediately, no posing, no fiddling with hair, no fake studio lighting, no creepy backgrounds with lawyer books painted onto a screen. We shot in available light, and I basically just stood around and relaxed. She encouraged me to “just be myself”.

Tammi took care of the the rest. It was so EASY. And look at how what she did with the images!

The work speaks for itself.

She offers both full shoot sessions and mini-shoot sessions.

Tammi, I really can’t thank you enough for this! I feel like a whole new person!

Her website: tamminowackphotography

Tammi’s blog: blog

Tammi’s facebook fan page.

I want to introduce you to North Carolina’s Poet Laureate, Kathryn Stripling Byer. We met a couple years ago at the Southern River Art Expo in Camilla, Georgia. I am so honored that we have begun a seedling friendship.

She has South Georgia roots and returns to our area frequently to visit. I so enjoy reading her blog. I feel very inadequate writing here about her and her poetry, as you know, words are not my gift. It is better that you read about her for yourself on her blog titled, “Here, Where I Am“.

You can purchase her poetry books most anywhere. I suspect from reading her blog, she would prefer you to purchase them from a local, independent bookstore. One particular store, City Lights, carries most all of her work.

You can purchase her intriguing poetry books online, by phone, or in person from:

and yeah, if you are not into getting them from City Lights, you can get them on the usual suspects, Barnes & Noble and Amazon, etc.

Here is my Totem Ghost painting, which Kathryn tells me is her favorite. (She is very kind.)

I shall shamelessly shout it from the rooftops: “I am a painter”. Almost a decade before I was even born, painting was declared to be dead for the millionth time. Almost 100 years ago artist Marcel Duchamp placed a urinal on a pedestal, signed it R. Mutt, titled it “Fountain”, and questioned the validity of a singular and original work of art (painting seems a likely target).

Duchamp’s readymades created an artistic free-for-all. You can make art out of and into anything you like- there are no boundaries. Today artists are blurring the boundaries between science, music, technology, and political action.

With the emergence of “bioart” the boundaries between art and life, and I do mean life- literally, have been broken down.

So with all this innovation why would anyone admit to being a painter? Why would anyone risk not being on the “cutting edge” or risk being considered “old fashioned” or “irrelevant”?Landscape #6 by Nick Nelson

The answer that I’ve come up with, for myself, is in the value of the tradition of painting. Painting is a tradition that, as I see it, stretches 30,000 years. Some caveman or cavewoman (probably a cave woman) decided it would be a good idea to spread mud on a cave wall and make it look like a wooly mammoth. We humans have been at it ever since. It is this link across time and culture that makes painting valuable.

Even at its most hackneyed, a painting is a participation in a uniquely human activity that spans a sizable chunk of human history and crosses cultures and continents. Maybe I’m being melodramatic but that, to me, seems profound. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done my fair share of conceptually based installations (some of which I consider my best work) and I’m not promoting dumb, trite paintings. I am saying that it is my opinion, those “traditional”, “old-fashioned”, and “played-out” art forms will never die.

It seems silly that a handful of people working for the past 100 years or so can negate something that has been done by humans all over the world for at least 30,000 years. I think the question painters face in the 21^st century is not what or how to paint but why.

If you are a painter please leave a comment explaining why you paint.

Plowed Field by Nick Nelson.

Guest Blogger: Nick Nelson

“When asked to contribute to this blog I immediately saw it as an opportunity for shameless self-promotion. Unfortunately, the guilt and shame built up from years of catechism class and art school got the better of me and I decided to do something high-minded.

I decided to do something never attempted in the blogosphere. I decided to write something that would stimulate discussion. In November of 2006, I had the opportunity to attend a retreat for artists hosted by the Fire House Gallery in Louisville, GA . The purpose of this retreat was to discuss Southern art and aesthetics, if there are such things.

This Vase For America, Anthony Faris

There is such a thing as Southern Literature (Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Harper Lee, etc…) so it follows that there should be a counterpart in the visual arts. Since the retreat, I have been preoccupied with this notion of a regional aesthetics and the resurgence of regionalism in an increasingly globalized world.

So my question to “Internet-land”: Is there an aesthetic or artistic style unique to the South? Is a regional aesthetic or style even possible in such a small world? Is it even something that should be sought after? Because Flint River Gallery, the good folks hosting this blog, specialize in art and artists of the Deep South, I thought these questions would be appropriate.

I have a few offerings. The first is an artist named Anthony Faris who lives and works in Swainsboro, GA. The second is Parrott, GA’s own Meg Anderson. These artists have never met or seen each other’s work, but have adopted similar styles.

To me both artists make art that is about tradition but in non-traditional ways, both make art about sentimentality without being sentimental, both explore nostalgia through contemporary forms and both offer a sense of place through the use of found objects that once haunted places. Those are my humble thoughts.

Worn Gears and Missing Gear, Meg Anderson

What qualities do you, the good people of Internet-land, I think are indicative of a Southern aesthetic? Are there any artists out there, past or present, that you consider quintessential Southern Artists? Let the comments begin! ” — Nick

Nick Nelson graduated with a BFA from Georgia Southwestern State University in 2000. He went on to earn an MFA from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia where he taught observational drawing and two-dimensional design for two years.

He currently works in the Education Department of the Albany Museum of Art in Albany, Georgia. Nelson has shown his work regionally and nationally and is a member of the Stillmoreroots Group, an artist collective that exhibits site-specific installation in non-traditional spaces.

You can learn more about him at Still More Roots Gallery.

As a child, what were some of your chores and did you get and allowance?

A few chores were: cleaning room shared with younger sister,washing dishes with the same sister & some times we would throw wet dish towels and/or raw eggs at each other, vacuuming the cloth covered furniture because I had allergies, carrying in the coal for the cast iron heater(when we lived near the r.r.track). And at some point in time I received $3 per week for an allowance.

What were some of your first jobs? How much did you make?

freshman year during summer I worked with youth pastor at our church(no pay), during Christmas holidays I wrapped presents in a jewelry store(don’t remember the pay) 7. It was 9th or 10th grade as I was coming out of the movie theater with a group of girls, a car drove by with Buddy hanging out the window hollering my name-I wasn’t sure who he was but he had apparently scoped me out already.

Where did you grow up and what was it like there?

Janice Rentz

I grew up in southwest GA near a r.r. track. We had no air conditioning(the windows were up during most months) so we could hear well the train passing through every night and the jukebox playing from the drive-in restaurant next door. I would tell my sister(5years younger )to check under the bed for witches before we got into bed.

Tell me about a memorable moment in your life; a time you will never forget.

A very memorable time of which I made an artwork was on the road near the r.r. track I saw a taxicab stop, the driver drug his passenger out to the edge of the road and began to pistol whip the man about his head. When I saw the blood I ran from my hiding place to tell my grandmother who did NOT believe me. I was devastated that she would doubt my testimony & ran back to the scene. They were gone. It was a helpless feeling.
Another time was as an adult experiencing the “walk to Emmaus” in the Methodist Church.

When people look back at your life, how do you want to be remembered?

I would like to be remembered as someone who’s life & actions made a positive impression in the spiritual growth of another person’s Christian maturity.

What mischievous prank did you pull on someone and how did it affect you?

A prank I pulled: High above the street near the r.r. track my cousin & I sat in a china berry tree throwing berries at the people as they walked under neath. It was quite a lark until one of the unhappy recipients told my folks that we had broken his glasses. I was not reprimanded too severely because they thought the man just wanted a new pair.

Do you stand up or sit down to paint? stand

What did you like to do in your free time? What do you do now?

getting ready to create: think about it, read about it, make thumbnail sketches or photos then make art!!!