When I floated the idea of an online gallery back in December, I also put forward the idea (with a hat tip to Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse) that the community might enjoy sending works of art to places where they would be greatly enjoyed -- perhaps to a clinic, a hospice, a women's shelter, or some such place. A number of people thought that would be a cool thing to do as it would support the artist, bring attention to the place receiving the gift, and generally be a nice bit of micro-politics. After all, supporting the arts in a down economy is a very stimulative thing to do. Artists are among the first to feel the pain when times are hard -- and they do spend what they have. We may not have a WPA employing artists to create large pieces of public art in this hard time but we can, as a community, sponsor small projects that will touch hearts.
Let's try this with a painting and see what happens.
The first project will be a painting by our first Gallery Kos artist, David Woodward. The recipient will be the PALS Project in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, an organization that serves people with HIV/AIDS. PALS has been very important to David -- a lifeline, really -- and he is so happy that a work of his can be sent by this community to grace its walls. Look for a diary from him tomorrow that will introduce you to PALS, show you the space and tell you about the people who work there . He'll have information on how to contribute toward sending the painting to PALS as well as how to donate to their programs.
This is the painting, selected by PALS from David's portfolio as being something that their community would really enjoy. And you can see why -- the painting glows with light and warmth.
"Bahia Honda", 24" x 36" -- we will be looking for $700 to send this painting to PALS
For those who would like to get an early start with a donation to send this painting to PALS, send PayPal to DavidW at flabee AT msn DOT com -- or message him to find out how to send a check. Look for DavidW's diary tomorrow at 5pm pacific for more information about PALS.
We will have a little metal plaque made to be attached to the frame of the painting. It will read something like "Bahia Honda by David Woodward. Donated by the community at Daily Kos. www.dailykos.com". Once the painting is installed, David will take pictures and write a follow up diary telling about its reception -- so you will see the effect of your gift.
If this project with "Bahia Honda" goes well, we will be doing similar projects for each of our other artists. If you have not seen the gallery shows to date, please use the links below to visit them. The shows are all very different from one another and all very wonderful. Some pieces have sold but there are a lot still available if you would like to treat yourself or someone you love to something beautiful and unique. And while you are looking, don't forget to check out the Kos Katalogue and support our community's other small businesses.
Shop Kos Katalogue!
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