WOO HOO

Sue Foley wins best female vocalist and Best Recording of the Year at the Maple Blues Awards and she is playing at NOA this year too! Plus she is such a darn sweetheart :-).
Today I met the the Livia Stoyke Foundation abou the mural - good meeting! Things are looking good. I also spent a good chunk of the evening discussing the mural with Lewis. We also lined up an Edmonton Journal interview for the Painting Party.

I went to see Debbie Boodram today for her CD release at the Pallative care unit of the Grey Nuns Hospital. It was very emotional. Debbie was bed ridden and was unable to really communicate due to exhaustion from her suffering. I just hope for her pain to go away. Its so hard to watch her suffer so. The evening as painful as it was - it was beautiful too as Debbie's music moved my soul and her words echoed in my mind as I thought of the days where she was singing at our shows. She is an angel....

I have returned home for a few days and have many good things going on to be excited about.Today we had the NOA Edmonton meeting which went very well. The Edmotnon show is shaping up nicely. We have quite a few teams confirmed for the Painting Party and also many positives as far as other sponsors. I met with Tanya Wood today to go over the fashion component. I also had a great chat with Carolyn from the Rotary Club who also had some great news about their contributions to the event.

Tomorrow I am meeting up with Lewis to go over magazine and mural details. I am also dealing with the magazine sponsors and getting more people involved in the centennial mural planning.

I also have a very sad and challenging part to my day as I am going to celebrate the CD release of Debbie Boodram. My close friend and a former singer in our show as well as the biggest supporter NOA had from CBC. Its sad because Debbie is currently in Pallative Care at the Grey Nuns hospital as her cancer is winning the battle against her. Her heart is so strong though and she is fighting it all the way. All we can do is keep praying that miracles will happen. No matter what happens with Debbie she will be taken care of. She is an angel on this earth. She will always be an angel to me.

1. I am sitting out her in Ottawa- or should I say running around out in Ottawa as NOA goes national!! We are just finalizing details on our Ottawa show and will soon be putting on our biggest show yet on May 7th. All the shows are coming together nicely and the magazine is just about ready to be finalized with all the details.

I am going to be buying a lap top tomorrow so I hopefully can keep everyone more up to date on where I am as it seems many want to know! So onwards and upwards!

VERY BIG DAY FOR NOA!!
Thursday was a very exciting day. After running around all day long meeting with the rotary club, painting a new series I am working on, meeting up with Paul Lavoie and of course beginning the set up for the Night of Artists show at Investors group, the best news of all came via phone at 4 p.m..
Thursday December 9th is the day that CIBC Canada came on board with Night of Artists nationally. After creating a big proposal and sitting and awaiting the reply- the good news couldn't have been anymore exciting. Now as we go national we have some major backers in CBC and CIBC as well as the Ottawa Citizen and the Edmonton Journal. This will only make the magazine that much better!! Wonder what good stuff Friday will bring....

VERY BIG DAY FOR NOA!!
Thursday was a very exciting day. After running around all day long meeting with the rotary club, painting a new series I am working on, meeting up with Paul Lavoie and of course beginning the set up for the Night of Artists show at Investors group, the best news of all came via phone at 4 p.m..
Thursday December 9th is the day that CIBC Canada came on board with Night of Artists nationally. After creating a big proposal and sitting and awaiting the reply- the good news couldn't have been anymore exciting. Now as we go national we have some major backers in CBC and CIBC as well as the Ottawa Citizen and the Edmonton Journal. This will only make the magazine that much better!! Wonder what good stuff Friday will bring....

Tomorrow is NOA at Investors group so today is the beginning stages of planning the set up and making it work out as good a spossible. Should be interesting to see what results come from this.
Yesterday the Edmonton Journal officially came on board and we are currently confirming the Ottawa Citizen and hopefully the Calgary Herald and Times Colonist as well.
The magazine is coming together nicely. Cathy Stevenson and Beth Dunlop seem to have it all under control.
I will be running around Edmonton like mad for the next few days getting stuff ready for a long road trip as I head to Ottawa for almost six weeks as I prepare the NOA expansion shows out east.
I will be going to Dubai in the United Arab Emirate in February as a guest of Sue Foley to witness an amazing concert and see about NOA in the middle east... that would be something eh? I hear those Arab fellas have a few dollars. Maybe I can make a career painting Oil derricks. I'll see what I can line up while i am there. Any suggestions??

Been a while since I posted something... darn computer has a weird virus so its hard to get into this some times. Anyways...Busy as heck as always as we try to expand NOA into Ontario and at the same time keep the show solid in western Canada. Have been very busy also trying to create the Centnennial mural for 2005 that will really make some big waves!

Its all very exciting what lies ahead in 2005.

I am going to try to get back into more of a rouitne with this. So here was my day today...
Spent the morning putting together multiple proposals for sponsors out in vancouver as i try to boost the show on the coast. Had a meeting with Deb Thrall to go over show management for the Edmonton region for 2005. Began hiring bands for 2005... always fun... yikes! Drove my mom to the airport as she left back for the coast where she and my dad are spending 6 months with my sister as she has our families first child (grand child/niece nephew)
Cheryl Bozarth from NOA had her baby a couple of weeks ago now. She is leadin the baby brigade as Summer Bozohora and Michelle Vekved will soon be following... Kinda nice to see the good stuff after a challenging 2004.
Spent the afternoon dealing with new and old sponsors. Have to re-apply to CBC for the west coast. Seems a little odd and will take up valuable time but I will do what is necessary.
Spent the day making contacts in Ontario as we continue to work on show plans out east.
I have a big meeting next week at the Westin as we try to get some more concrete things in place.
Rset of the week is crazy as I line up as much as i can before i head east on Sunday.

So November hits and we are on the verge of some amazing things in 2005. We have begun our NOA sponsor drive and it is looking absolutley fabulous! The magazine this year will definitely make some waves as it should be a fantsatic art and music magazine.
The dates for all the shows are confirmed now and we are just waiting on Ottawa to see if we will be part of the Alberta Scene or not. Hopefully they include us as we have created our own Alberta scene with NOA. If they do not however we will just take our show there on our own terms and be a part of the scene. The artists and musicians in NOa deserve to be there so we will be there one way or the other.
We have some big sponsors coming on board this year and we should be able to put on quite an exciting years worth of shows. My goal is to raise over $100,000 for all the charities and to also sell over $15,000 worth of artwork an the avearge at all the shows.
Almost all artists returned from last year and we also have many new ones that will really make the year very exciting!
I am currently working on mural workshops with lewis for the St. Albert Mosaic Mural. Sunday will be a meeting with the NOA Edmonton group. NOA Calgary is set and the group is fab!

Today Lewis and I held a workshop for the St. Albet mural and will do the same again tomorrow.

More later....

It is a few days before Halloween and I am about ready to make my way back to Edmonton from Ottawa. The shows are moving along as planned and we are beginning to get our sponsors lined up for the 2005 season. We also have many new opportunities lined up and may be having our first NOA art contest on line.
The possibilities seem endless for 2005 and it should be a year like no other. As I make my way back from Ottawa I am continuing to build the foundation for the Eastern Canada shows and look forward to an amazing year where we finally become a national show!

I am currently in Ottawa again still working on the expansion of NOA out East. We are also beginning the final stages for planning NOA 2005. We are no longer accepting new applicants for the shows as there are too many applicants and not enough space. Good problem. We will have our final line up established for 2005 by the end of September. We are also on the verge of our mural Grande Finale on October 17th at the Paramount Theatre in Edmonton featuring Sue Foley- Juno award winner, Rachelle Van Zanten and Mo Lefever. Also Lewis Lavoie and other artists from the group will be there to talk about the mural and what we have on the horizon. Things are looking great for 2005!

I drive home from Ottawa on the 2nd-5th of October.

Well 2005 is upon us - that is the 2005 NOA shows! I am back on line and back at the craziness. We are lining up all the shows and this year we will be national as Ottawa will come into the loop. Its quite exciting to see the growth over the years. We have 90% of the artists returning this year and we also will be adding about another 20 new artists at the end of the month.

I am in Edmonton until Wednesday next week and then i am off to Ottawa and Toronto again for three weeks.All I can say is.... her eis to another crazy beginning of another crazy year!!

I have been out in Ottawa the past few weeks relaxing , doing some new paintings, visiting with Sue and enjoying meeting new connections and selling my artwork at the Byward Market in Ottawa. Its been nice to take a break from the Night of Artists grind and just have some fun with my own art and some R & R. I will be back in Edmonton at the end of the month but until then I will just be enjoying some down time and exploring the eastern part of Canada.
I have had a few galleries decide to pick up my artwork and have afew new potentila locations lined up for Night of Artists as well. Should be a very exciting 2005. The mural is a hit out here in Ottawa as well. So things are still moving ahead while I take a breather.

Tonight I am finishing packing for my first drive out east since I was 13. I have flown the route many times but tomorrow I will get to SEE Canada!! NOA is going to be a national show in 2005. It is going to be my biggest challenge yet but 2004 proved that there is definitely a way when there is a will. I knew that NOA would not benefit anyone in the group if I simply remained idle in one location. We needed to get across the country so the people that are involved truly get some advantages. I am going away for a month and I plan on relaxing and at the same time expanding my horizons. It should be a memorable trip no matter what. I leave behind my prayers for Debbie and her family who i pray continue to be strong and I know if there is someone who can beat cancer it will be Debbie.

So- off I go with a little bag of dreams and the hopes of opening more doors. I am even going to Flin Flon Manitoba. NOA loves the north no matter what province we are in!

So I finish the last show and I think its time to relax....HA!!!
Off I go again as we continue to showcase the mural pieces and look at creating another one.
On top of that I am preparing to head to Ottawa for a month while I focus on my own artwork for a while.
I am currently marketing my own jazz pieces and at the same time I am beginning a new series based on Leaonrd Cohen's music to be unveiled in September.

I am looking forward to going to Ottawa and seeing what new opportunities await. I will also get to spend some Quality time with Sue and relive my childhood as Ottawa was where I spent three memorable years back when I was 11-13.

NOA continues to grow and we are now begiining the new plans for 2005. Submissions will be coming in soon.

I am sitting in Vancouver 4 days before the show and the sun is shining as a great day comes along. The last NOA show of 2005 and it looks like it will be a GRANDE FINALE!!

Everything is falling into place nicely. I am having mixed emotions as of late though because as great as NOA has been this year we have had many sad moments and another one is currently being faced. We expereinced Holly Crictons son being seriously injured in a head on car collision. Then Bernadette McCromacks father passed away. Then Patrick Doyle's Mother passed away and now we are facing the serious situation of Debbie Boodram- a dear friend of mine and also the first person at CBC to notice Night of Artists and really get us connected across the country- who has just been diagnosed with cancer at the very young age of 38. She has been so instrumental in the growth of NOA in the past 2 years and has also been a wonderful performer in our show.

I love NOA and what it does for the arts and who we have had join us along the way. Debbie is one of those incredibly special people that have been such a builder of our show. Keep her in your prayers. She and her family need our support as Debbie fights against the cancer that has challenged her.

This week will be an amazing week for NOA but my thoughts will be with Debbie and her family.

The end of June has arrived and still one NOA show left on the horizon. I have been a bit wiped out so have been trying to gain my strength back. I had planned to have the artists from Night of Artists in the Works festival this year however due to a disagreement things did not work out with the Works and we were excluded from the festival. Unfortunate but sometimes we agree to disagree.
Nevertheless things are going quite well as the Vancouver show is shaping up incredibly well. July 10th will be a landmark date as it will be our first NOA show in Vancouver.
I am also busy getting ready to launch our NOA centennial mural on Friday July 2nd as well as participate in the two festival in Edmonton that we are very welcome in- the Taste of Edmonton and The ArtWalk. Both events are shaping up wonderfully and we are looking very forward to an exciting summer in Edmonton. I will be once again on the road beginning July 4th as I head west to Vancouver

I have been home for the last few weeks just trying to get my life back in order from being away so much this spring. Still have one more show to focus on so i am still pursuing that. Also I am dealing with the mural launch which we hope to have happen within the next couple of weeks. Never a dull moment. My focus is to finish of the NOA year with bang in Vancouver and then take the next month or two to relax and paint. I soooooo need it right now. Night of Artists will not be in the Works as we had planned due to some rather unfortunate and odd circumstances. Maybe its just as well so I can actually re-charge my batteries a little. It will be nice to have a break.

I am finally home ...sheeeessh!! Its been a long three weeks betweeen Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria. Driving to Vanocuver twice and back took a lot out of me.
The Victoria show was fabulous!! The art was amazing and we more then doubled our last years crowd. Sales as well!

All in all 2004 is a year where we have to be proud of what we have done. i am amazed at what hard work can do if you stick with it long enough.

I must admit I am a bit burnt out but now that i am at home I feel I can recharge for a week or two. One more show left and then looking ahead to 2005. Its hard to believe the miles I have covered since the first show in Slave Lake. Its been a great ride and I love the direction we are going.

Now that I am home I am looking forward to The Works festival and making new projects for the fall. But first... some sleep and a couple of rounds of golf. I think I deserve a break :-).

Still in Victoria getting ready for the big show. Looks like we will have double the crowd thatw we had last year. It just takes time for people to see what we are doing and undertsnd how good it is! I have been doing show prep and at the same time painting in my hotel room which i like to call me little jail cell. It is a small room with a little toilet in one corner and a shower in the other. They both have doors though so at leats its not exactly like a jail cell haha. But at least i am only payin $70 a night... yipes!!! Everywhere else is $100 + a night!
The hazards of doing a show in a toursit community. I only pray i sell some artwork so i can pay for my hotel room... or should I say my bail to get out of this jail cell.

I am in Victoria at the moment plugging away. Did the Corporate Painitng Party last night and it was great once again! The trunout was wonderful and Mc Morrans and Opus did a great job of creating an event for us! Next thing on the agenda is the show on Saturday. I am booting around Victoira chatting it up and its looking like it will be another great show!! I look forward to the evening and showcasing to Victoria/Sidney the second annual NOA event in the area!
I am in need of some rest soon howvere. The travle to Ottawa and then jumping in my car to head to the coast has me a bit out of whck with the time zone change. The body clock is a bit messed up... yipes.