I was very pleased about the 'Raven' and 'Grizzly Bear Father' paintings being accepted into the upcoming Sooke Fine Arts Show in July.

But I've also been dismayed about the silence around the Journeying With The Totems series, other then the exhibitions which have been well received. But try what may, my website and blogs don't generate any interaction with viewers even though I've included accessibility through Contact Forms and email. I'm not sure how to read that. One thing that I conclude from the silence is that I am failing to connect with people, and most certainly, failing to get the word out to circles that haven't heard about my work. An artist cannot produce within a vacuum.

There is a general perception that artists just work in their studio out of passion and funding bodies won't assist artists deemed as working 'commercially'. Commercially! What does that mean exactly? I don't know any artists, who are working professionally, who don't need some income to survive. Income from sales of their work is a prerequisite in order to remain in the studio. If not in the studio, and having to find other sources of non-arts income, then the artwork is lost.

So while I try to determine what is behind the silence, and how to tackle the promotions game without funding, I am working on a different subject matter to explore (from my recent photo shoot). Don't get me wrong, I have many other totems paintings left wanting to be done.

This is a very early stage in yesterday's start in the painting. I'll see where it goes and how successful it will be.

The process of working old pier poles, which had been tarred and aged by salt water, is a slow process. It is just the natural poles without any carving, and so the patina and layers of colours are more subtle, along with the rusted hardware. So I'll see how the nest few days go.