1.  New website design!

2.  See my paintings at the Flying Saucer!

3.  Upcoming: come join the Ganesh Experiment!

4.  What comes after Sputnik?  Art of course!

5.  Adventures in Second Life!

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1.  Website 2.0 is now live!  If you haven't visited my gallery website in a while, please stop by and check out the new look, and improved image gallery.  With the help of Gallery 2.0, I'm able to more easily update images, while providing a better viewer experience. 

2.   Up now: works on paper at the Flying Saucer in Brooklyn, New York!  I have 9 lovely works on paper up at this intimate and charming cafe, located at 494 Atlantic Avenue between Third Avenue and Nevins Street.  If you missed the show at the Tea Lounge last month, this is a must see. 

3.  Be a part of the Ganesh Experiment on April 4!  I will be a participating artist in this art happening at Brooklyn Artists Gym in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn.  Tickets are $10 at the door and there will be a cash bar.  Read more about the Ganesh Experiment here.  I hope to see everyone there! 

4.  Announcing the AfterSputnik Art Project: "A three-day celebration of debt relief and enlightenment, The AfterSputnik Art Project has invited artists from around the country to create and display pieces speaking directly to their own indebtedness and the large fiscal burden the student loan industry has created in the United States."

Having intimate personal experience with student loan debt, I have created a thoughtful piece for the event, which runs from Friday April 10 through Sunday April 12.  Friday night's opening gala is $20 at the door; Saturday's Speakeasy event is $15, or you can get a weekend pass for $30.  Proceeds benefit a new organization that seeks to address the burdens of excessive student loan debt.  The art is also for sale!  For more details, and to buy tickets, please see the AfterSputnik website.  I hope to see you there! 

5.  Are you in Second Life?  Finally, I'm pleased to announce that I am constructing an artistic presence in the virtual world, Second Life.  If you are in-world, visit my gallery at: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cicero/163/74/172 or contact my avatar-agent Zizonus Serapis, who will be happy to show you around!

Whew!  I think that about covers it for now.  Have a wonderful Spring!

The show runs from February 2 through February 28.  There will be an opening reception on Thursday, February 5, from 7 to 9 p.m. 

The Tea Lounge is at 837 Union Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues, in Park Slope, Brooklyn.  It's convenient to most of the subway lines that go to Brooklyn.

Contact me if you have any questions, or need directions.

I hope to see you there!

Now up!  I am pleased to announce that four of my paintings are appearing in a group show titled "Encryptions" at MH Art & Framing Gallery, 9 West 20th Street (just west of Fifth Avenue), New York, NY 10011.  The dates of the show are December 6 through January 24.  We are having an opening reception on Thursday, December 11, from 6 to 9 p.m.  I hope to see you there!

New on the website:  I recently released what I'm calling 'version 1.5' of the gallery website.  New works are featured, and I've continued to make some tweaks (hopefully improvements) to the site design.  I'll be continuing with those tweaks over the next month or two.  Hopefully sometime in the spring, I'll be ready to unveil an entirely new concept -- let's call it version 2 -- for my site.

Introducing the Store page!  I've created a store page where items will be offered for sale through Paypal.  Currently, I am offering a blank greeting card that features a beautiful reproduction of my watercolor painting, "Solstice Tree I."  The price is $3.00 plus NYS sales tax (total price of $3.25).  Get them while they last!

Also, don't forget that reproductions, including greeting card format, of several of my paintings are available on Imagekind.  These make wonderful gifts.

Upcoming:

A show at the Tea Lounge, in Park Slope, Brooklyn is in the works.  Look for me there in February, 2009.

Finally, October is here.  That means that the Annual Gowanus Artists Studio Tour is upon us.  Next week, in fact.  The A.G.A.S.T. tour happens on Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 6 p.m.  On the tour, you'll find me at the Brooklyn Artists Gym unveiling my new work, Symbiosis.  (Below is a sneak peak!)  I'll also have a number of my other recently completed pieces.

Check out the AGAST website for more details about the tour.  I hope to see you there!

At the same, and also at the Brooklyn Artists Gym, several pieces of mine will be included in a show titled "BKLYN:111."  This show is a benefit for the BAG Fund, and runs from the 17th through the 25th of October.  The shows ends with a gala party where every ticket holder walks away with a piece of art! 

Read more about BKLYN:111 and the BAG Fund here.  I especially encourage everyone to buy tickets, while they last!

My Gallery website will be updated soon with pics of Symbiosis, and more!  Stay tuned.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with it, SecondLife is an online virtual world where members can build and create just about anything and interact with one another in a three-dimensional way.  

My SecondLife "avatar," Zizonus Serapis will be available at  an opening reception for the show on Monday, September 8, at 3pm SecondLife Time (6pm Eastern Time).  See you there! 

If you're on SecondLife, follow this link to the Catcher in the Pie cafe and gallery:slurl.com/secondlife/Twist%20of%20Fate/195/194/28.

If you want to know more about SecondLife, visit their website.

Below are some views of the gallery and show.

Please visit my imagekind gallery at: JohnAzelvandre.imagekind.com

I'm pleased to announce that a show of artwork, titled "Lifeforms," is on display now at Dizzy's Restaurant, on the corner of 8th Avenue and 9th Street, in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

 The work in "Lifeforms" is inspired by the following thoughts:

 "The time is long past due for us to begin treating fossil hydrocarbons and their derivatives as precious materials, easily on par with gold and diamonds, amber and pearls. This photosynthetic labor of countless living beings -- stellar energies stored up into the very marrow of these living bodies -- is all too commonly burnt up or refashioned into cheap, tawdry, "disposable" items. Instead, let it form works of beauty that give honor to our biological ancestors and compatriots. The very molecules that form the polymer emulsions, quinacridones and phthalocyanines in these works are not only "the journeywork of the stars," but intimately connected with the efforts of lifeforms, past and present, only dimly imagined by us. These works explore and celebrate the vital powers of this transformative life, perhaps on Earth, or perhaps on some distant world, where surely "nature" effects equally wondrous, albeit strange, generations."

 The show will be up until mid-August.  Many thanks to everyone involved for making this happen, especially Michele Jaslow and all the folks at the Brooklyn Artists Gym. 

 Dizzy's is conveniently located  at the front (east) end of the 7th Avenue stop on the F-train.  If you're in the neighborhood, stop by for some great eats and cool art!

I've updated the gallery website, and it's online! (www.azelvandre.net)  I'm calling this Version 1.40.  Check out the newly completed work, and newly added descriptions and statements.  I've also tweaked the artist's statement, and streamlined the appearance/navigation of the site.

Yet to do: customize the pages containing individual images.  That might have to wait for the next version.

Enjoy, and as always, I welcome your feedback!

--John

Enjoy!