the Painting Activist

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7″ x 9″ watercolor, $70 ($10 donated to Witness for Peace)

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The best possible approach I’ve come up with thus far for reporting on what I was exposed to in Venezuela is to simply play storyteller. I’m absolutely overwhelmed. I left for Caracas concerned that I was stretching the truth with my coverall statement, “It’s perfectly safe. I’ve done my homework.” Friends leaning left were eager for a report back, and some friends leaning right seemed insulted that I was even going.  Much of what was addressed in my exhaustive itinerary of various meetings touch on very polarized topics that tend to ignite intense debate like gasoline to a flame.  I’ve come back to Kentucky in a dumb-founded state of culture shock, and possibly more unsure on where I stand on political theory.  The experience has been akin to a college freshmen, lost for direction, going to a career fair in hopes of discovering, in one day, what career path defines them best.  I was happy to return to the comforts afforded me by a capitalist system that embraces proportionately rewarding the amount of effort, talent, and resources possessed by an individual.  On the flip side, I was painfully aware of the feathers in my comforter, the clean drinking water from my sink, the fact that my walls are brick and drywall, not corrugated sheet metal.  These are all luxuries that the majority of Venezuelans I met and stayed with did not have access to, and never would, regardless of their potential, if it were not for Hugo Chavez’s government.

So, in maintaining a neutral status by simple virtue of my own uncertainty, I want to share with you, over a series of paintings, what I witnessed.  I strongly encourage your thoughts and open these topics up for debate.  Hopefully, my personal records will stir questions in some of you.  If there is one thing I am certain of as a result of my visit, it’s to scrupulously question what you read in privately-owned, mainstream media.  Everyone has their version of the story, including our best known American news media.  For this reason, I will be making all of my usual donations to Witness For Peace, which is the organization I traveled with to see with my own eyes the “socialist democracy” of the Bolivarian Revolution.  Without Witness For Peace, I never would have had access to the organizations and individuals who eagerly spoke about their own personal and professional opinions of the Chavez government.  I heard from citizens on both sides of the fence and will be sharing all of it with you as I post new artwork of Venezuela in between my usual, American-focused pieces.

And thank you to all of my supporters who financially made this trip a reality.  I truly appreciate your support and look forward to sending my work to those of you who pre-purchased paintings.