I am honored to be one of eleven artists representing the United States at The Florence Biennale, December 3-11, at The Fortezza da Basso, in Florence, Italy. Over 600 artists from 60 countries are invited by a committee of twelve art curators, who represent major museums in Europe, The U.S., China, Mexico, Brazil, India and other countries. In 2001, the United Nations recognized The Florence Biennial as an official partner in their program "Dialogue Among Nations" in perfect harmony with Kofi Annan's statement: "Artists speak not only to people but for people. Art is a weapon against ignorance and hatred and a representative of the human conscience. Art opens new doors for learning, understanding, and peace among people and nations."

With that in mind, I created 2 pieces representative of my own Pacific Northwest heritage, which involves water- theme compositions and subject matter. They are titled "Passage" and "Diversion", done in 2011 in pastel, from field studies, drawings and paintings made en plein aire from Washington, Oregon, Idaho (my birth state) and Montana. Both measure 27.5 x 33.5 (framed) and are offered for exhibit at the Biennale. They are for sale at $8000, each.

My wife, Judy, and I will be in Tuscany for 10 days, before heading to Florence, on December 3rd. I plan to take full advantage of the painting opportunity this region offers and paint outdoors (alla prima or "plein aire"). I will blog new images as best I can, while we are on the road, and plan to have a special exhibit of the works sometime in late spring, after we return to our home on Lopez Island, Washington.

To access the official web site: www.florencebiennale.org