KETCHUP: Edward, Henri and the Norman art experience

Last night was my first Norman Art Walk. After scouting for the wedding I'm shooting today-it's going to be B-EAUTIFL by the way- Shevaun, Terence, Gary-a friend of T's and myself popped over to the Mainsite Contemporary Art Gallery to see Carol Beesley. She's a friend of Shevaun's and also a New Mexico frequenter. Her paintings reflect the NM influence. Such beautifully saturated salmons, blues and marigolds. Also showing were the talented Alan Atkinson and Debby Kaspari. Oddly, I was pouring myself a glass of water at the bar and saw a face watching the gallery flow from a laptop. I stuck my head over and asked "Are you live?". It was Debby Kaspari, skyping from Massachusetts where she was a resident artist at the moment. We chatted about this and that. It was such a wonderful simple human experience.
I love mingling and hearing the stories of artists. There is such passion whether gregariously portrayed or subdued, I am addicted to the art driven soul.

After the showing, we met up with a gathering and I was not only introduced to more amazing souls but lead into rooms containing original photographs of photographers I admired from the pages of my art history books. This is the one that completely shook me. The Henri Cartier-Bresson portrait of Alfred Stieglitz not long before he died.
Subtle and simple, the portrait of a well-lived soul.

Alfred Stieglitz, New York by Henri Cartier-Bresson 1946

And this Edward Weston image called Johnny. I've never actually seen this before but it has all the soft curves characteristic of a Weston. And can you get enough of that texture? I think not. Again, such subtle, simple beauty.

Johnny by Edward Weston 1944

I've been composing an email for some time now, intending to update family and likewise friends of where I've been popping around since Paris and where I could possibly be now.
It's just not the same without photos. So, please bear with me if you are already informed or are otherwise uninterested in my wee comings and goings.

I was emailing around Oklahoma for freelance assistant work while Sam settled back in from Afghanistan and I prepared for a move to NYC. My plans suddenly changed when I was offered a full-time position at Shevaun Williams & Associates and ever so quickly become the Associate Photographer of the studio. With a commitment to stay for at least a year and a very busy season ahead, I also found myself a new resident of Norman, Oklahoma-moving into one of the spare rooms of my boss, her husband, Terence and their cat Johnny. It is evident kismet. I couldn't have fallen into the lives of more active Norman residents. Terence and Shevaun are true "promoters". They give the DL of every little thing and I can't deny the true pure inspiration I've experienced here. Shevaun was recently awarded the recognition of the 2011 Celebrated Artist of the Mayfair Arts Festival. More ART.

In a whirlwind of events after only a month, I found myself in the newspaper next to my new boss and roommates in my new place of residence, Norman, Oklahoma.


I feel like I've found another version of my beloved art community in Seattle. This time closer to my family and with the promise of daily inspiration to get out and execute all the shoots and ideas I've been carrying around with me. I know when this chapter comes to a close I will be just as heartbroken yet hopeful as I was leaving the Evergreen State but with the kismet in the air, a killer portfolio to knock the next chapter dead.
Thank you world.
Kiss Hug
V