Looking back on 2011, it’s been a successful year by many standards. In a declining economy, my sales are trending upward (thank you!), and I’ve had better acceptance than ever at art shows. I’ve managed to get into many of the top shows on my bucket list, some of which I would love to get into again, and some of which I’m glad I did, but have no desire to go back. My new work is pleasing not only you, but me as well. And even the theft of the Artanic in Fort Worth turned out to have a silver lining. So lets pray for continued success for the rest of 2011, and into 2012. Show apps are already coming due for the winter season. Fort Myers, Coconut Grove, Gasparilla, Winter Park — all due in the next thirty days or so.

And to top it off, I’ve won a few awards along the way. I got to thinking about it this evening, and realized that I had done NO horn tooting about it since last year’s Barrington ribbon. So, without further ado, here’s the list.

• Images, New Smyrna Beach :: Award of Merit
• ArtFest Fort Myers, Fort Myers :: Award of Distinction (1st place in Photography)
• Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, Tampa :: Selected for Judging (an award in itself!)
• Winter Park, Winter Park :: Award of Distinction
• Crosby Festival of the Arts, Toledo :: 1st Place in Photography
• Glencoe Festival of the Masters, Glencoe :: Award of Outstanding Achievement
• Levis Commons Fine Art Festival, Perrysburg OH :: Award of Excellence (2d Place in show)

I think that’s it. At least those are the ones that come to mind. Thank you, judges and jurors.