Budget 2012

The biggest change I can find between 2011 and 2012 is that Health Insurance has gone up from $4,872 to $10,200.

But to accommodate this, salaries have gone down from $93,209 to $88,292.

other relevant information includes:

Cash in General Operating fund: $82,719.07
Cash in Building fund: $123,737.65
Number of full-dues paying members: 215
(not including student and out-of-state members)


--------------------------

Given the recession,
this is not bad news.

But our membership
has grown by 0%
over the past 20 years.

But since we haven't had any
major building improvements
over the past eight years,
we should have $30,000 added
to the building account
for each of those years,
for a total of at least $240,000.

The membership has not been
summoned to vote upon a single,
major building project (over $5,000)
over that period of time.

The difference has gone to
cover operational expenses.

And, of course,
no kind of endowment has
ever existed.

Gold Medal Show : 2012

It's that time of year again,

the annual Gold Medal Show

where members vote

for their favorite paintings.

Stuart Fullerton
(Honorable Mention)

Helen Oh

Ali Hasmut

Barton Faist

James Hajicek

Errol Jacobson
(Honorable Mention)

George Clark

Jack Bair

Marci Oleskiewicz
(Winner: Gold Medal Award)

James Kujaca

Kianoosh Jafari

Linda Vice

Linda White

Stephanie Weidner

Misha Livshultz

Renanne Milner

Robin Power

Michael Van Zeyl
(Second Prize)

Debra Balchen

Dan Kolleng

Donna Gerdy

Dominic Catena

Tim Rees
(People's Choice Award)

Clayton J. Beck III



*******************

This show also included
a wall dedicated to the memory
of three of our most active members
who left us last year:
Phil Renaud, Mike Wilkins, and Diane Rath

Phil Renaud

Diane Rath


And the wonderful thing about paintings is
that they can extend forever
the most intense, sensitive, and thoughtful moments
of the people who made them.

*********************


And here's a few photos
that Del Hall
took at the opening:

Del Hall shoots the New Year's Drawing Marathon

We had a big crowd again, and had to put a third model into the coach house for much of the afternoon.

I guess people just couldn't wait to get out of the house at the end of the holiday.

And this was the first time I received an ovation for my culinary efforts.

(the secret is to saute the garlic and onions at 9 am so the aroma can waft into the studios. By noon, people are desperate with hunger and will enjoy eating anything)

After seeing Lenin's portrait of me in the exhibit, people were constantly asking me to levitate silverware.

Thankfully, Del took a photo that shows me as a bit less demented.