A luminous figure appears — just in time for Valentine’s day! — and she reads a short, sweet poem to you as you watch her disappear
Mike ChambersOctober 31, 2021
Cara is Italian for beloved. What do you say to your beloved when you see her pausing in the doorway, her cup poised just above the saucer midway to her lips, barefoot, and enchanting? Do you say, "Hey!" Or do you just stand there, gaping, speechless, arrested by her charm?…
Mike ChambersOctober 31, 2021
One of the quintessential tools for the visual artist is the easel. It is the structure that holds up the canvas while it morphs from stark and blank to refulgent with symbolism, meaning, technique, content, emotion, and -- sometimes -- healing. The light of inspiration floods the studio. The colors…
Mike ChambersOctober 31, 2021
What better way to tell you about Richard Diebenkorn than telling you a story through a painting? Diebenkorn's "Ocean Park" series was completed during the 60s, 70s and 80s by this most illustrious artist. Composition is (arguably) everything in a two dimensional work of art and he demonstrated his mastery…
Mike ChambersOctober 6, 2021
A red paneled door is shown slightly ajar in a blue and green casing with a decorative rounded header. The floor is impossibly vertical, but leads to the threshold. Enter if you want, but you may want to pause and consider. Or reconsider, as the case may be. See more…
Mike ChambersOctober 6, 2021
An open door can represent a new opportunity, a choice, a chance for a new beginning, or a passage to something different. When we "open the door" to new possibilities, we make a conscious decision to move from where we are to a different place. Sometimes we weigh the risk…
Mike ChambersOctober 6, 2021
A doorway opens into a room at odds with its own perspective. This is either A) a mystic portal to a magical new reality, B) a symbolic reference to the one of the first films ever made, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" or C) one of those times where the…
Mike ChambersOctober 6, 2021
Which do you choose today -- Door Number One or Door Number Two? What would Zuzu do?
Mike ChambersOctober 6, 2021
Long before the movie, the term La-La Land referred to a place that existed only in one's imagination. Often the word indicated that the person who was visiting that faraway place was missing a cog or two in their thinking apparatus or, at best, day dreaming. I like to think…
Mike ChambersOctober 6, 2021
Two French doors are side by side in a mysterious room. One set of doors open into a room with a mysterious light. The other set of doors is closed. Through the windows of the closed doors the checkerboard pattern on the tiled floor continues into the background. See…
Mike ChambersOctober 6, 2021
The real entrance to Venice is, as you might have guessed, under water in the Adriatic Sea. Somehow you can see it clearly in spite of the murky ocean that surrounds the city. You just have to open your eyes. It's one of those things where you just need to…
Mike ChambersOctober 3, 2021
Two sets of French doors face you in the room. Which door will you choose? Take your time. There's no rush.
Mike ChambersOctober 3, 2021
After crossing the river Styx, you'll pay Charon, the ferryman, with the coin you hid under your tongue. You pass the gates of the underworld, patted Cerberus on his massive head (you always had a way with dogs), and now you face the choice between Tartarus on the left and…
Mike ChambersOctober 3, 2021
An artist's studio is rarely tidy. Usually it's filled with paintings (and paint!) all over the walls, discarded sketches and paint brushes on the floor, color swatches, inspiration in the form of images ripped from magazines, anatomy books opened to the pages of those hard to draw body parts (like…
Mike ChambersOctober 3, 2021
This room where Valentine lived in the French Quarter was decadent with color. Having pinks, purples, and blues as your favorites, it was perhaps easier to just say, "My favorite color is stripes." The doorway to the balcony offers a momentary respite from the sensory overload. But, to the room…
Mike ChambersOctober 3, 2021
You might think that a solitary chair in a corner of an otherwise empty room would be a symbol of loneliness. But it ain't necessarily so! We can learn to treasure those quiet moments, enjoy solitude, dwell on a joyful thought, or just find a moment to draw a deep…
Mike ChambersOctober 3, 2021