Two of our paintings, Cross River Gorilla Blue and The Night Watch, are on exhibit at The Art League of Lincoln in Lincoln, CA (580 Sixth Street, Lincoln, CA).

There’s a reception (free and open to the public) on Saturday, June 11, from 5-6:30 pm, and the show runs through July 9. If you get a chance, check it out — it’s a show of animal-themed art and promises to have some beautiful work. Beyond the reception, the gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 am to 3 pm, and admission is free.

It’s a high when a work gets accepted into a show, and when more than one is accepted, it’s an amazing feeling. We’ve shown two other works in this space (a digital animated video and a digital painting) and it’s a lovely little gallery, tucked into the historic district in Lincoln.

The first painting, Cross River Gorilla Blue, is part of the Meet The Neighbors series highlighting endangered species. The Cross-River Gorilla is highly endangered. All of the paintings in this series are confrontational. It’s a member of the species looking the viewer in the eye, making him acknowledge who and what is going to be lost, not a vague thing, “some sort of gorilla,” but this individual gorilla.

The Night Watch is the first in a trio of planned paintings featuring owls. I love the symbolism of the owl, guardian, guide, keeper of wisdom and secrets. I also love the look of owls, wide-eyed, solid, both soft (those special feathers, designed for quiet flying) and sharp (beak, talons). Symbolically, they’re a reminder that knowledge and wisdom have opposing sides, dark and light, soft and sharp. Sometimes you learn things you’d rather not know, and the knowing, even if good for you, can be painful. Some information is beautiful, some is not. The duality of knowing is embodied in the owl.

More information on the show is available at www.all4art.net.