Showing posts with label Dan Mitchell Allison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dan Mitchell Allison. Show all posts

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Dream World

"Drifting Aimlessly," an etching by Dan Mitchell Allison, from our collection.
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Do you ever have dreams of flying? Do you dream in color or black & white?

I haven't had flying dreams for years. Perhaps I stopped having them because they always ended with my being suddenly awakened by the sensation that I had just fallen from a great distance onto my bed, with my heart pounding in fear. I have always dreamed in color and was astounded to learn, as a child, that some people dream in black and white.

One recent morning when I awakened from my dreaming, I realized that I was always young in my dreams. At a point in my life I had stopped aging and was stuck somewhere in my late twenties. In my dreams, I had seamlessly transitioned myself from childhood into adulthood without the merest notice of having done so. But here I was frozen in perpetual youth in my dream world. When I mentioned this to Tall Husband, he reminded me that we are the authors of our own dreams.

So in the next few dreams, I seemed to be my actual age. But enough of that! Rewrite!  I am now back to being a mere slip of a girl. Whose dream is this anyway?

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Collecting Art at The Bunny Bungalow

Chances Are
Polymer Photogravuer on Reves BFK, hand colored in the plate; Artist: Dan Mitchell Allison



Acrylic on board by Linda Hickerson-Hofheinz


Clare, Patron of Skeptics
Acrylic on board by Linda Hickerson-Hofheinz




The Howling Hat
Acrylic on Canvas by Linda Hickerson-Hofheinz




Rebus
Acrylic on board by Linda Hickerson-Hofheinz


Tall Husband and I are modest but passionate collectors. Collecting art is such a personal, subjective endeavor, who can really explain why a piece speaks to us? We like to know the Artist and the piece has to appeal to both of us (if not those pieces are hung in our respective offices.) There are very few pieces of art on which we do not agree. We are both of the opinion that if the artist is out to shock, it's probably not art. Much like a radio shock jock is not a journalist. That's not to say that art is not to be provocative: we like a touch of edginess. But a giant, ejaculating penis crudely painted on a bed sheet (seen at a recent gallery show) is not provocative and it's not art. Come on guy, we already know you've got one of those!

Above are some works that we have collected, photographed in situ at The Bunny Bungalow. They are by Texas artists Linda Hickerson-Hofheinz and Dan Mitchell Allison. I have been collecting Dan Mitchell Allison's pieces since college. As a wedding gift, I gave Tall Husband a piece by Dan. Linda's work is a more recent discovery. We both are blown away by her medieval take on modern themes.

My advice on collecting is to train your eye: go to museums; study all styles of art in art books; visit museums and galleries on line; get on the mailing lists of local galleries and attend the shows. Oh, and be careful about that free wine at gallery openings. Mixing booze and art can be like going to a pick-up bar: the more you drink, the better it looks.