Montana Artworking by Cindy Betka

'Is it finished?', do you ask? Well, I am working a bit loose and trying new things. I feel my style is finally coming together. So if these 2 paintings look unfinished then perhaps that is just my way of painting. More textures and many more layers of color is what's going on here. 'Cloud Barn' Oil 8" X 8" 'Early Evening Service' Oil 16" X 16" 'Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.' 2 Thessalonians 3:16

These are 3 small 8" X 8" paintings I completed recently. They were much fun, painted in degrees of looseness. I worked on simplifying and putting in less to engage the viewer to complete.

How does your garden grow? Up here mine doesn't grow real well if you want vegetables. So, I have been most successful with wild flowers. The creatures stay away from the flowers, perhaps just not appetizing enough. They love the dandelions and those we have plenty of. Right now is the peek of the flowers which are soon going to go down hill certainly by the end of August. Enjoy a look at a few friends and some beautiful blooms. 'The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;' Psalm 24:1

Photos - Walter Hinick -Montana Standard  The Irish festival celebrates the Irish culture in Butte Montana every year in August. This year there was no admission charge and the main stage was at the Original mine yard. This mine was the first mine established in Butte. They have restored the head frame and buildings along with landscaping the grounds to accommodate an audience. The stage is underneath the head frame which all makes for an unusual setting. Perhaps not so unusual for Butte. There is a ‘Social Bridge’ to Ireland; and to quote from another blog, socialbridge.wordpress.com, Jean writes, “ Every time I pass the main evidence of the mining works, which are located overlooking the sea at Tankardstown, my mind crosses the ocean to Butte, Montana. We know that many of the miners emigrated to Butte when the mines closed in Bonmahon. I often wonder how it was for those who settled in Butte and if many of their descendants have any real sense of...

There has been some intriguing research into the human brain and how mood disorders enhance the creative mind. PBS News Hour aired a story 'Connecting Strength and Vulnerability to the Creative Brain', read the full story at this link -   http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/connecting-strength-vulnerability-creative-brain/ . Dr. Nancy Andreasen, M.D., Ph.D, in the MRI lab at the University of Iowa Hospital Center has researched for decades on the physical differences in the brain. She uses neuroimaging to compare a normal educated human’s brain to that of a highly creative person with a mood disorder, especially schizophrenia. To quote from the news story  JUDY WOODRUFF: In the 1960s and ’70s, she took advantage of the University’s nationally renowned Iowa Writers’ Workshop to study writers who taught there, like Kurt Vonnegut and John Cheever. She wanted to see if there were a higher-than-usual occurrence of mental illness among them or their ...

All you need is a computer and access to the internet and you can see the world. Delve into different cultures to see how art is integrated into how they communicate. Of course, you can also go to your near by art museum. From the other side of the world, Korea, there is a traveling exhibition, 'Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910'. This exhibition is now showing at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art through Sept. 28th. It will move on to Houston from there. What I fine fascinating is the folding screens from this dynasty. Below are a few examples with some close up detail photos. You can get an idea of the symbolism used from the second image with side bar of symbols in black.

Last early evening storm that dumped ½ inch of rain and hail on us. A good friend of mine that is in the healthcare business sent me this link of a wonderful story about her colleagues. The article is titled  ‘Skokie man inspired to build summer camp for kids in need has died’. Here is a link to the article;  http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-80784376/