I finally have my new digital camera; a great replacement for the one that imploded not too long ago. So, now I can concentrate my attention and my lens on the exceptional artworks within our beautiful blue space.

art251 has been open for around 6 weeks. In that short time we’ve had lots of customers comment on our whimsical flying machines. They’re made by Jay Garrison. He constructs all of his works from recycled household objects. What better way to make use of all that spare “stuff” that clogs your attic or basement. In fact, Jay will take commissions and make a personal craft just for you, from your very own household extras.

We have 3 of these delightful winged contraptions dangling from our ceiling. They’d look great in a family, play or children’s room or your friendly pediatrician’s office.

I’m lucky to be surrounded by great art, every day — it comes with the job! I think all the art inside art251 is beautiful to look at; sometimes the beauty is in the subject, or the composition, or the colors, or the narrative. Some of our art makes me feel and even think, and of course it may or may not make someone else feel completely different or even nothing at all.

On September 24, I attended the opening reception for Rita Barnard’s solo show at North Lake College in Irving. Entitled “Ball of Confusion”, Rita’s show contains select pieces of her thought-provoking mixed media. Rita is one of the few local artists who we’ve seen whose work shows concern for some of this country’s recent tragedies: the Iraq war, hurricane Katrina, the Enron financial scandal. Her art can’t help but make you think and feel.

Perhaps her greatest work is the immense “Tribute to the Fallen”. It is 44 feet long, and is made up of 22 panels, each 2 feet wide by 4 feet high. Each panel holds 209 toy soldiers. Each little plastic figure, carefully placed on a panel, represents one of the lives lost in the Iraq war. Each is an individual — we can read his or her name and place of birth and learn how each lost his or her life.

Regardless of which side of the debate you are on, I would urge you to go and view this work for yourself — you cannot help but be moved. This and other works by Rita Barnard are on display in the Gallery at North Lake College in Irving until October 15. For directions, click here.

One of our east walls features “photo-impressionistic” art from Michael Longhofer, and several more pieces by Chad Beene (works from Bible Series).

Michael Longhofer

Michael paints a broad range of subjects including contemporary cityscapes, of which we have several in art251. His style of painting is realism. Michael uses perspective, depth and color to create the illusion of light, which adds significant atmosphere to his works. He is also experimenting with composing his subjects in ready-made frames such as windows and doors. Michael also builds exquisite wooden boxes, some of which we have in the space.

art251 welcomes Drew Liedtke. Our turquoise walls love his art.

Drew Liedtke

Drew’s paintings —  yes, they are paintings — are eerily monochromatic. He loves to paint portraits. Drew uses oils and draws much of his subject matter from old black and white photographs.

We love Trish Biddle’s work. Part of our space is dedicated to several of Trish’s originals, both large and small, including “What Are the Odds”, Official Art of the 2008 Kentucky Derby.

OK, I’m a curator now. So, I couldn’t resist juxtaposing a few select works by Trish Biddle and Marnie Vollenhals, featuring mans’ best friend. We’re delighted to have both artists in art251.

Trish Biddle

Trish’s paintings take us back to the era when style and sophistication was a necessity. Her works are sleek and exude grace and charm. Trish is a rising talent. Her works have a growing base of regional and national collectors. She is the official artist of the 2008 Kentucky Derby and will be official artist for the 2009 Westminster Dog Show. art251 is home to half-a-dozen of Trish’s beautiful originals.

Marnie Vollenhals

Marnie is another talented local artist, and like Trish, is constantly at work. Her paintings focus on the delights of the young, and young at heart. Marnie’s “Rocket Dog” series focuses on the adventures of a little four-legged super hero. Superheroes are much in vogue at the moment.

We’re so glad to have some of Chad Beene’s work in art251. Our outward facing west wall is turquoise, and we had originally set it aside for black and white photography and bolder, contrasting works. However, when it came time to hang Chad’s works “[Johnny] Cash” and “Hank [Williams]” we knew they were meant to be on this wall!

Chad Beene

Chad’s work is vivid and simple, but not simplistic. His broad range of work comes from his passion for subjects, whether old country music or his faith. Chad likes to paint with flat silhouettes of color, which he uses to represent the deeper details of his subjects.

We’ve set aside part of our wall space for some inwardly focused spiritual art. Here we have some pieces from a talented local artist, Aditi Samarth.

Aditi Samarth

Aditi’s works feature repetitive images and patterns to represent visual incantation from eastern meditative traditions. She also plays with opposites such as chaos and order, and pattern and color.

We’ve set aside the central part of our north wall to some colorful abstract art from: Melissa Ayr and Fil Booth.

Melissa Ayr

Melissa paints large and bold. Her fluid forms have both vivid color and rich texture.

Fil Booth

Fil’s work offers subtle tones of color and geometric forms.

We are honored to have art from two gifted artists: Faith Scott Jessup from Denton and Brian Davis based in Dallas. Both paint images of flora and fauna, but in completely different styles. Kim and I have named this our nature wall.

Faith Scott Jessup

Faith’s paintings of lizards, flowers, insects and other animals, often juxtaposed with interesting objects are lush and full of curves. She has a great eye for detail, and a fine hand.

Brian Davis

Brian builds his canvases of birds, insects and other animals from his observations of fauna in his surrounding, urban landscape, near White Rock Lake in Dallas. His works are extraordinarily textured and feature broad washes of color.

Over the last few months our effort to find, choose and sign artists for art251 has become rather intense.

We have tens of piles of hundreds of pages of thousands of images of art and artist bios and statements scattered (neatly) all over our house. We’ve categorized the type of art we’d be excited to display in art251, we’ve listed the artists whose work we’d be honored to show. We’ve sorted and classified, and mixed and matched, and grouped and prioritized. Although, in part, this has been an analytical process, it’s also been rewarding and enjoyable to look at so much wonderful and diverse art.

However, this has paled in comparison to meeting the artists themselves. We’ve been welcomed into people’s homes. We’ve been treated to detailed tours of artists’ studios. We’ve visited studios in suburban garages (yes, the great American entrepreneurial dream lives on), converted offices, spare rooms bursting with art, beautiful downtown lofts, back rooms overlooking calm and quiet gardens, studios in gardens, upstairs in reclaimed guest rooms, and downstairs in re-purposed dining rooms.

Above all, we’ve met some great people with vision, creative talent, intellectual curiosity and passion. Some have been shy and intense, others effervescent and assertive. Yet, all have been open and trusting and welcoming and warm, and genuinely excited to join us in this crazy quest to enliven and stir-up the suburbs. Over time, we hope the artists with whom we work will grow in stature and reputation, and it would be a delight to have them as friends. For us, we look at this as a great learning experience, and although we’ve yet to open we’ve been learning new things each day. Sometimes we find ourselves acquiring very discrete and interesting knowledge: glass fusing techniques, laying encaustic, inventing colors, sculpting steel or digitally stitching prints. But more often than not we also find ourselves learning at a broader level: taking in alternate world views, soaking in new perspectives and listening to diverse philosophies and politics. So, while we’re just at the very beginning of this process, I’m finding this experience to be beautiful and mind-opening, and I’m overwhelmed at the level of trust that greets us each time an artist opens her or his door to us.

The cover has been blown on London’s, and perhaps the world’s, most famous street artist. Banksy, has been scrawling and air-brushing graffiti and street art around London, and other cities, for around 15 years. Now, according to a variety of British newspapers, we know Banksy’s real identity. Apparently, Banksy is a middle-aged, middle-class guy named Robert Gunningham.

It’s not clear yet what effect Banksy’s outing will have on his increasingly visible and collectible art — some Banksy prints, created from his street art stencils, now fetch over $20,000. Regardless of who is the real Banksy, I like his work and his critiques on topics such as ubiquitous surveillance, police harassment, corporate greed and militarism. It’s interesting, but not surprising, to see that he’s an “ordinary bloke”, as the Sunday Mail put it.

Banksy’s Can Festival. Image courtesy of J.Dyson / Getty Images.