I will go back for more- Also got a great shot of reclining skateboard shot on the same day. 6 images posted over the last three days several more will follow - it might be worth a sub-gallery. Progress on "Troubadors" continues... more tomorrow

Here is a shot of the incredible Jazz Musician Peter Welker at Aqus cafe in Petaluma - "Writing number 14". Might make a good painting.

Happy Pi Day

It is interesting to me that the still images I have seen on the internet of the massive event are even more deeply thought provoking and disturbing than the videos of the destruction as it moves across the land scape - but there is a before and after comparison that is fascinating - beyond the sheer destructive power of nature over the fruits of our technology - it's like the chaos that was wrought had "reverted" the components that made up our "orderly" world into a layer of rubble that will be "unearthed" by some future culture. The Yin and the Yang at work. - "Instant entropy" again on an apocalyptic rampage through the works of man built too close the the living skin of mother earth.. More on this line of thought later as the paintings I envision emerge.

Voyager - Monument 2 A slower paced "Entropy" has worked hard to achieve this colorful abstract surface on the the hood of an old truck - Chrysler I believe - caught just the right light as I was having a tire repaired- serendipity or ...? This one has a lot of possibilities to it - Giclee on Canvas, Oil Painting or straight abstract painting approaches.

A strange couching creature of mechanical technology, waiting to unfold it's wings and spin the people round and round.

Great shots of girders and struts and hydraulic gear intermixed with sensor devices and lights. Plus the art!

Great fodder for a more extensive Micro Macro series. Here is the main profile but more images are emerging in my portfolio.

A day in the life!

Seeing reality through the eyes of an artist By YOVANNA BIEBERICH, ARGUS-COURIER STAFF Photo - Terry Hankins

Richard Standard’s painting “Quartet,” shown in the background, will be on display along with some of his other work at the Petaluma Arts Association’s Library Show opening Friday, Feb. 25 at the Petaluma Library. Art has always been in Richard Standard’s blood. As a child he would sketch things in school and for matchbook contests, but it wasn’t until his early 20s that he embraced the idea of becoming an artist. “I was always interested in art, but I didn’t do much about it until after my time in the Navy,” said Standard, a Petaluma resident for 25 years. “I took an art class in college in San Diego and I just become more interested.” His work back then included a lot of experimental art. He learned to paint with oils while in college in Marin County, which is where he discovered new realism, an artistic movement focused on finding new ways of perceiving the real.“During this time when I was doing new realism, I got more interested in the part of the painting that makes realism, which is creating abstract brush strokes next to each other to imitate reality,” he said. “I got more and more interested in abstract painting with photo realism.” Over the years, Standard has received numerous awards and distinctions in competitions and festivals, and has had a number of one-man shows in galleries in Northern California. Many of his works are in private collections throughout the United States and abroad. Standard has also served on the Marin Society of Artists Advisory Council. He is a member of the Petaluma Arts Council and past president of the Petaluma Arts Association. One of his latest pieces, “Quartet,” will be featured at the Petaluma Arts Association’s annual Library Show held Feb. 25 through March 10 at the Petaluma Library. This is a piece I started working on in the last year and a half,” said Standard. “The inspiration for this piece with musicians is the different viewpoint it has. It’s looking down on the musicians from up above them. It’s a point of view most people wouldn’t have of a quartet. It has the feel of being a photograph. You can see the sheet music on the stands.” Standard said that in doing the painting, he wanted to do more than recreate a scene. “There’s an element of outer space to it,” he said. “And compositionally, there’s a lot of triangulation that comes in to play with the way the lines are in the cement. There’s dynamic tension, so movement is inherent even though it’s a still shot. There is an implication of movement in a moment in time.” In addition to his art, Standard has been involved for many years with art in local schools through the Dulcimer Project, which gives second- and third-grade students the opportunity to create dulcimers out of recycled cardboard. “I’ve been doing that since 2000 and storytelling in schools for more than 20 years,” said Standard. “The dulcimers are made from cardboard by kids. The children do the artwork on the bodies and complete the instrument.” To learn more about Standard’s Dulcimer Project, visit www.storiesandstrings.com. The Library Arts Show will feature “Quartet,” along with some of his other artwork, and the work of other Petaluma Arts Association members. The Petaluma Arts Association and Friends of the Petaluma Library host an opening reception for the show from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 2. Regular show viewing hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. To learn more about the show, visit www.petalumaarts.com. To learn more about Standard’s art, visit www.richardstandard.org.

. More on "Troubadors" tomorrow.