I am pleased to say that I finally found the time to update the paintings on this site. When I logged in to make the changes the program informed me that the last changes or additions I had made were done in early September of 2006. That is damn near half as long as the total time I've been painting. Yikes! Time flys when you are having fun!
I'm reluctant to actually call what I've been doing fun. Painting looks to many people to be a fun and relaxing way to spend some time. Although on occasion it can be both of those things it is typically anything but. The more I begin to understand about painting the more I know I don't know. That is a sometimes painfull and absolutely perpetual state to have to accustom ones self to. The act of painting requires levels of focus and concentration that in themselves belie any perceptions of "relaxation". Though I must say that when it works the rewards are way worth the struggles. So, I will struggle on keeping in mind the open ended challenge of knowing that it may take me a couple of my next lifetimes to gain the level of proficiency that I can recognize and that I desire. Thanks for looking and as always......Keep smilin'!

With only a slight bit of attention paid to the content of my web site it is easy to see that there hasn't been anything added or updated for almost a year. What a grand idea it was to have the web site designed so that I could make the necessary changes myself. Oh but there is the problem. I never feel like I have enough time to paint let alone enough time to upload information onto my web site. Well, I've decided to pull in the reigns for a while and do fewer shows and show in fewer galleries just so my painting and some of these other things aren't as likely to fall by the wayside. We will see....... Thanks for looking. I hope to be updated by the fall.

As the winner of the First Place Prize in the 2006 annual members show for Laguna Plein Air Painters Association Doug Martin has been invited to participate in the 8th Annual Laguna Plein Air Painting Invitational. The venue for the show is The Laguna Art Museum with the gala opening taking place on October 14, 2006. For more information go to lpapa.org.

I am proud and thrilled to have recieved the First Place Award in the 2006 Laguna Plein Air Painters Association Members Show that took place earlier this spring. To be recognized in a show of such strong painters is very gratifying. I am looking forward to painting in California again for part of September and most of October the coming fall.

Doug Martin is proud to be accepted as part of this annual show at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa Oklahoma. The show opens October 21, 2006 and will be viewable online at gilcrease.org.