Public Option Annie

When a bunch of artists protest - it can be fun, creative - and still make the point.

Republican pollster Bill McInturff (the force behind the 'Harry and Louise' ads in 1994) was the keynote speaker on the final day of AHIP's issues conference.

AHIP is the powerful insurance lobby that spends 5 million dollars a week trying to kill health care reform.

And Billionaires for Wealthcare, a grassroots network who is looking to stop them - with song.

AHIP has resorted to out-right lying and scare tactics to block health care reform.

They sent letters that lie to seniors about what health care reform means for Medicare, and they issued a report on the costs of health care reform legislation that is so misleading that the reports embarrassed the authors who distanced themselves from the way AHIP used their work.

Every year, 45,000 people die because they can't get access to the health care they need. Yet AHIP continues to stand in the way of health care reform that would provide coverage to millions of Americans because the industry is more concerned with protecting profits than saving lives.

Here are the lyrics to “Public Option Annie” (sung to the tune of “Tomorrow” from Annie)

I've been humming this all day:

SINGER #1: No, thank you!

FOR KILLING THE PUBLIC OPTION

AND BLOCKING ANY HOPES OF ITS ADOPTION

THANK YOU, SIR!

SINGER #2: Sure,

BUT WHAT ABOUT COMPETITION?

IT’S AN OLD AMERICAN TRADITION

OR SO I’VE HEARD?

SINGER #1: Meh.

SINGER #3:

WHEN OLYMPIA SNOWE

SAID NO,

IT CROAKED

Right?

SINGER #2:

NO, THE OPTION’S NOT DEAD

SINGER #3:

OR RED!

SINGER #1:

EXPLAIN!

Who let these people in here?

SINGERS #2 AND #3, and CHORUS MEMBERS:

IF WE GET A PUB-

LIC OPTION

WE CAN SNIFF OUT WASTE

JUST LIKE A DACHSUND

COSTS COME DOWN!

SINGER #1: Hey, those “costs” are my profits!

SINGERS #2 AND #3, and CHORUS MEMBERS:

THE OPTION

THE OPTION

THE PUBLIC WANTS OPTIONS

WITHOUT IT,

IT’S A GIVEAWAY

SINGER #1: Exactly. To us. Am I in the right room?

THE OPTION

THE OPTION

THE PUBLIC WANTS AN OPTION

SINGERS #2 AND #3, and CHORUS MEMBERS:

OR REFORM IS A CORP’RATE GIVE-A-WAY!

Obama's Plan in 4 Minutes

Here's what he's trying to give us. It's pure and simple - and straight from The President himself.

You might have noticed that Fox News and other right-wing noise machines are trying to twist this into something sinister and dreadful called "socialism or fascism."

It isn't.

Health care reform is only decency and common sense.

A Candidate for Sensitivity Training

I love a good joke.

But laughing about losing your job and watching your health insurance go down the tubes isn't good - and it certainly isn't a joke.

Georgia's GOP Rep. Phil Gingrey is gonna block health care reform no matter how much it hurts us.

While we wait for Chuckles to complete the Sensitivity Course I've recommended to him, let's Lobby Congress ourselves:

House and Senate

(202) 224-3121

The White House

(202) 456-1111

Call today and give your congresscritters a piece of your mind - it won't cost a dime.

Tell the operator who answers what state you live in and she'll connect you to the right person.

You may not realize it, but your opinion counts more than any high-paid professional lobbyist. You have the leverage they don't - your vote.

And in a democracy, this is a big deal. Use it or lose it.

The Ethical Use of Gummi Bears?

I was reading labels on some new art materials this morning and thinking about keeping my paintings archival.

There's a lot of chemistry involved in traditional painting.

See my sad tales in blue at the end of this post.

I used to love the experiments we did in grade school chemistry class.

And here's one of my favorites that involves Gummi Bears.

Now, of course, we will no longer be allowed to take gummi bears on airplanes.

And we must consider the ethics of using gummi bears in experiments like these.

Besides a sweet tooth and a passion for red Gummi Bears, why did I post this?

I've made some awful stupid (sometimes chemical) mistakes. They took me by surprise - sort of like that video clip above.

!. I've got cracked paint from not following the "fat over lean" rule. I fixed that by following the rules and using Winsor-Newton's Liquin or Gamblin's Galkyd Lite in all of my layers.

2. I once got a tip from a painter I admired (and unfortunately trusted) in The Netherlands who said he used house paint to tone his canvas. When I did that a sweet little still life cracked and the paint flaked off after 4 years. Grrrrr, it still hurts.

3. I once mixed my own rabbit skin glue and it took a week to get that smell out of the studio. I had to toss out an expensive - but smelly - canvas.

4. I once painted a canvas with Genesis, forgot that I had used that special kind of paint and a year later I "varnished" it. The paint wrinkled up like an old prune and refused to dry. A painting I liked was ruined and had to be tossed. If you use Genesis Paint (it is wonderful non-toxic stuff) you must not mix other materials with it.

5. I stretched a piece of linen on regular stretchers - 24" x 30," and slaved over the painting for a long time. It hung framed in my studio one winter when the heat was turned off for a week. The linen suddenly dried out and shrunk snapping a long stretcher bar. The painting had to be restretched and I lost 6" off the right side. It wrecked the composition and I cannot sell it. Now I only use heavy-duty stretcher bars for work 20" x 24" and larger.

Truth is an Absolute Defense

Rep. Alan Grayson was born in the Bronx and grew up in the tenements.

He graduated from Bronx High School of Science and worked his way through Harvard University, graduating in three years, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

"Truth is an absolute defense."

-Rep. Alan Grayson

He then began graduate studies and simultaneously, in the next four years, earned a law degree with honors from Harvard Law School, a masters in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government and passed the general exams for a Ph.D in government.

In recent years, Atty. Grayson specialized in war profiteer and whistleblower cases aimed at Iraq war contractors that had overbilled the U.S. government by tens of millions of dollars.

Personally I'd like to see Alan Grayson run for the Senate.

Extremely Florida

Best:

Rep. Alan Grayson speaks for me too.

Worst:

GOP Weekly Meetings at a Gun Range?

"A South Florida Republican said it was a mistake to shoot at a target with the initials of the Democratic Congresswoman he is trying to unseat. Candidate Robert Lowry made a brief statement to a local newspaper but refused to speak further Friday about the incident, which happened Tuesday during a weekly GOP meeting held at a gun range."

- As reported by Matt Sedensky

A friend pointed out that there was no mention at which end of the gun range they were meeting...there's always hope.

Video Mimics Classical Oil Painting

I do love a shortcut.

It took me months to paint this portrait of Gwyneth.

As you can see by a small selection of stages below, there are a LOT of layers and a lot of drying time in this painting.

The entire process and how I did it - step by long painful step - explained in detail here.

- OR -

You can watch this little video I found on youTube by EclecticAsylumArt.

EAA's stages of electronic painting with MS Paint mimic the method of classical oil painting I often use.

He begins with a drawing.

He blocks in big flat shapes and determines light, medium and dark areas.

EAA also determines the general feeling of the overall color scheme.

He begins to define the general light and general shadow on the face.

When light meets shadow, the character of the halftone is determined. i.e., does light move quickly into shadow or more slowly thus making for a more gradual halftone?

He begins to work realistic light and shadow. And adds defining details over the background shapes.

Ta da!

EAA's painting took a mere 2 1/2 hours. And it looks pretty darn good to me.

I am humbled by the speed and flexability of digital software.

Here's the entire video from youTube:

I was (and still am) amazed at how close this video is to the reality of working in oil paint. I wonder if a digital artist could make up and use an Old Master's working palette?

In the hands of EAA, MS Paint* appears to be a good teaching tool...for oil painting!

*Note that since I have a Mac, Corel's Painter 11 is more likely to be the program I'd use. I'm going to have to seriously look into this program (and a Wacom Tablet).

Still Lifes Redux

Other than weep discretely into a paint rag, "what to do" when a painting doesn't sell?

Out of a batch of small still lifes I sent to a gallery, these two paintings didn't sell. I set them aside and took a couple of weeks to figure out what to do.

Red Grapes Still Life

Oil on Linen, 8" x 10"

From long (and sometimes painful) experience, my best advice to others is:

Have a plan - don't pick up your brush until you're clear about what you need to do.

If you cannot figure out how to correct your mistakes - let the painting sit - for however long it takes - until you figure it out.

Sometimes I have painted myself "into a corner" and in frustration set the painting aside. Even a year or so later when I look at it again with a "fresh eye," I'll know exactly what to do to fix it.

I spent all morning making the grapes look more edible and building more light on the fruit and the cloth.

Lemons Still Life

Oil on Linen, 8" x 10"

I had originally painted a bug into the background of these lemons. It was way too realistic (and more than a little creepy) so I spent the afternoon painting over it. (But I did keep the little spider in the lower left).

I also spent some time building more light on the lemons and the cloth.

I think they're improved.

Painting small still life can be a nice break from painting portraits.

Karen Wells

Barack Obama Wins the Nobel Peace Prize

I'm purring like a kitten in a butter dish over this delicious news.

Here is today's press release out of Oslo:

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.

The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play.

Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations.

Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future.

His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman.

The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

After eight grim years of Bush's "peace is for sissies" attitude, I wanted to print it all.

I am inspired to know that just one courageous person of good will can begin to turn things around and make a positive difference.

I have my hope back.

The BAD News:

Wingnuts throw their usual and predictable collective temper tantrum.

The GOOD News:

Banging their heads against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

The BEST News:

They cannot take the Nobel Peace Prize away from President Obama and they're gonna have to learn to live with it.

Other than this silly group of GOPers, here's an example of how the rest of the world sees it:

"The Nobel honor is a tribute to Mr. Obama's commitment to tolerance and dialogue between states, cultures and civilizations. It confirms the return of America into the hearts of the people of the world."

-French President Nicolas Sarkozy

I'd say that Sarkozy nailed it.

And This Family Has Health Insurance

45,000,000 million of us don't have health insurance.

This family DOES have health insurance - but CIGNA denied care anyway - and her daughter died because of it.

Hilda and Krikor Sarkisyan visit CIGNA headquarters in Philadelphia to confront CIGNA CEO Edward Hanway about CIGNA's denial of coverage.

What sane person would have us trust a health insurance company with our precious lives?

A Billionaire Speaks Candidly

Seeing the other side can help us put things in their proper perspective, eh?

Satire-Challenged GOPers often get confused and back the "Billionaires for Wealthcare" group. HA!

The Colbert Report Has a Good Idea!

Send all of your unpaid medical bills to Senator Max Baucus.

In the past 5 years he has received $3,244,105.00 from the Health Care Industry - so he's got the money.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Send Your Medical Bills to Max Baucus
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

To Contact Senator Baucus:

Sen. Max Baucus

511 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

(202) 224-2651(Office)

(202) 224-9412 (Fax)

Gone Phishing

Tough to believe, but there are scam emails targeting artists.

Sometimes they're downright goofy, and sometimes they're a wee bit creepy:

HELLO WELLS,

I AM VERY INTERESTING IN BUYING YOUR (Elizabeth Brewer Wells oil on linen)IN WHICH I SAW ON THE INTERNETS.

I WILL WANT YOU TO LET ME KNOW ITS LAST PRICE,,,,SO THAT I CAN MAKE ARRANGEMENTS ON HOW THE PAYMENT WILL BE MADE TO YOUR BANKING ACCOUNT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

EXPECT YOUR FASTEST RESPOND OF YOU SO I WILL ARRANGE TO SEND MY PEOPLE TO PICK UP ARTWORKS AT YOUR LOCATION.

SIR RAY,TERRY.

ESQUIRE

Send "his people" to my studio? Eeeeew, I don't think so!

However temptimg it might be to sell the portrait of my husband's Grandmother (above) for "last price" big bucks - I smelled a rat and passed on "Sir Ray, Terry Esquire's" generous offer.

The funniest scam-thing I ever read on the Internet was "The Porcine Princess Chronicles" by Brad Christensen. I found his post on the Cyber Museum of Scams and Frauds.

These photos above are from Brad Christensen's hilarious exchange with a scam artist claiming to be a filthy rich and pretty twenty-seven year old Princess named Maria Ojo Ofem of the Ogoni Kingdom in Nigeria. She emailed him "because she wants to invest $23,560,000.oo with him.....and he manages to drive "her" nuts.

Like the rest of us, Brad Christensen has been deluged with every type of "URGENT" offer imaginable from scam artists.

But unlike the rest of us, he decided to fight back by conning the con men.

With humor and imagination as his weapons, Christensen preyed on the scammers' abundant supply of both greed and ignorance.

Check it out. And have a good laugh.

Seriously, please don't ever fall for these art scams. Some are more sophisticated than others but they all have the same general flavor. I figure I get about three art scams per week.

Here's today's toxic tome that just popped into my inbox:

Good day to you.

I am so excited that I came across of your work on internet search,I am interested in purchasing these creative artworks from you.....................

Apples,Hopeful sky,Cherries,Meadowlands #4 and Pear still life

Let me know their various prices.and how much discounts are you going to give?I will be happy to have these selected artworks hanged in our new home in South Africa. As well, I want you to take out the shipping cost.I have been in touch with a shipping firm that will be shipping other house decoratives.

We are traveling from our Dallas home to our new apartment as soon as possible.On Paying for the artworks,I will be glad to pay you with a Money Order or Cashier`s check in US funds that can be easily cashed at your local bank,please let me know on how to proceed for the payment of the creative artworks.

I will await your advise on how to proceed.Have a wonderful day.

Take care,
Joan Morgan

Sometimes these email art scams are so unintentionally funny that I laugh 'till I cry. And I'm sorry I didn't save any of the howlers to post here.

Just hit the delete button when they arrive. Times are tough all over and I can only imagine how desperate the economy is where these scams originate.