"Did you know that laughter heals the heart, increases your metabolism, makes you happy and touches even the grumpiest demeanor?" Austin photographer Lorri Honeycutt has produced photo-illustrations for a real estate firm, hair salon, sign company, medical group, software company and, of course, many restaurants and wineries. Honeycutt’s work is sold at Fortneys and Sparks, both on 6th Street in Austin, and is available at art festivals in Texas and along the East Coast and I was lucky enough to encounter her work on a trip to Tampa, FL. "I think that a sense of humor is a gift. Meeting those who share your odd sense of humor is joyous. Which means, I think we would get along famously. "All the photos were taken with a Nikon SLR digital camera macro lens, and a lot of little figures. None of the photos have been digitally enhanced or created." I just love the little figures! "At the very least, I hope my photos bring you a smile." And smile you will when you window shop at The Gallery at 916. Three of Lorri's photos are for sale at The Gallery. Or visit her online gallery at www.bigworldphoto.com.

Tis the Merry Month of May

May is just a week away and we are busy collecting art to honor the two great May traditions of Kentucky: The Derby and Mother's Day.

Brenda Brown, our Russellville artist, keeps our gallery bright and cheerful with her mixed media horses and cows. Our newest piece is titled "254." It is a mixed media piece that features a black and white Holstein named, "254." We also have "Calvin" on display. It is also a mixed media piece that features the "winningest" jockey from last season, Calvin Borel. We are looking forward to several more pieces from Brenda for this most exciting of seasons.

Faye Christian Phillips promised me that she planned to set yesterday aside to paint, paint, paint. I haven't heard how successful she was but I am looking forward to seeing her new work. She has quite a followingher at The Gallery and her admirers anxiously await new work as eagerly as I do. She had several ideas that she wanted to commit to canvas for Spring. We will photograph and post as soon as we can, so stay tuned.

Working on an exhibit with Angela Kuprion, Helen Nash, Rhonda Hartis Smith and others for the fall. It takes a while to go from the talking stage to an actual exhibit and I will keep you informed as we progress through the process.

Gallery News

The exhibit for Cindy O'Daniel and Bob Goodwin is sadly coming to an end. It has been a wonderful show and The Gallery has never looked so striking! We continue to have clients come in who have seen the exhibit not once but three or four times! They usually have a "first timer" in tow and they do the gallery talk for me! It is that amazing.

Although Bob and Cindy have been in several art shows, this is the first time they have exhibited in a gallery. Not knowing what to expect at an artist reception, they were thrilled with the turn out and the interest displayed by the guests. They were gracious to the end, explaining the process and philosophy behind their art.

They did not meet until the reception on Friday evening and after spending several hours enjoying each others work, they made plans to get together and work! Bob is most interested in learning more about oil painting and from the first time he saw Cindy's work, he said, "I want to take a few lessons from this lady!"

After the exhibit closes, The Gallery will continue to have a limited number of Bob's pieces available and we are currently working with Cindy to feature her prints on canvas.

Nashville Art Debut for Amanda Sears

On Saturday, March 6th Amanda Sears will be making her Nashville art debut during the First Saturday Gallery Crawl, at The Arcade downtown.

She will be showing a few pieces in a group exhibition at the Davis Art Advisory/The Showroom, is located upstairs in The Arcade. She invites you to stop by anytime from 6-9 p.m. It's FREE and it's FUN!

She is excited and we are excited for her and for our clients who already have her work in their collections. She is a tremendously hard working and determined young woman whose art speaks of strength and depth.

We have several new pieces of Amanda's work and we will post photos next week. If you would like to view the art now, visit her website and look for Dirty Money, Pangaea, and Butterfly Tree. Prices are available on request through The Gallery at 916

ARTWORKS * MEMBERS 3RD ANNUAL FINE ART EXHIBIT

The Gallery looked fabulous, the refreshments were fabulous, the music was fabulous and the artwork was divine! Last evening a select group of art lovers had the opportunity to preview the ArtWorks Members 3rd Annual Fine Art Exhibit. The classical guitar of Wyatt Roselle and the outstanding artwork by 44 Artworks members had the guests in a very mellow mood. Steve and I made our guests as welcome as possible as they sipped their favorite beverage, courtesy of FLUID and munched on spring rolls and the award winning spinach dip from 440 Main.

Steve took lots of photos and if they do not appear with this blog, check out the news section of the website. He also took a photo of each and every piece in the show, all 88 of them! Some pieces are already sporting the classic "blue dot" that signifies sold but should you see one you like let us know and we will get you all the information you need to make it your own.

The exhibit was juried by Amanda Dillingham from The Renaissance Center in Dickson, TN. I wasn't in on the jurying (cleaning in the back studio) but I know she was quite impressed with the high quality of work she was judging. At this time the list of winners is being guarded by Price Waterhouse (if they still exist) and the awards will be announced at 7pm on Saturday evening. You are all welcome to join the throng that will be assembled here for the excitement and merry making! So either way...say tuned or come on down to The Gallery at 916

Let it Snow!!!

January ended with a small explosion of snow here in South Central Kentucky which was welcomed by every kid, young or old, I know. The newspaper had multiple stories about sledding on this hill or that; how many sledding injuries made it into the hospitals and whose car slid into whose. The photos that accompanied these stories featured smiling red cheeked faces. My favorite photo has about six kids on one sled on the hill behind the junior high school. Hospital Hill, which is in the center of town and in my estimation the scariest of sledding spots, due to multiple trees and boulders, was the scene of a traffic jam for most of Saturday! Cars were parked on both sides of all the streets leading up to it. Oh, it was fun. Gallery was closed and I took the cross country skis out to the golf course for a little ungroomed trail blazing in the bright sunshine.

I grew up in the Buffalo, New York area and winter rolled in around November 15th with one big gray cloud that stayed until April. I thought every one's winter looked just like mine. When I was a kid, I never could figure out how photographers got those gorgeous shots of blue streams flowing through pristine white snowbanks with the sun shining through the pines. And then, thank God, I moved. I had never until then seen the sun come out after a snowstorm! It was heavenly! Although that was many years ago, I continue to marvel at that natural wonder made up of kids, sunlight and snow. And so it was this weekend. And it was fabulous.