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When  visiting the Navajo reservation near Winslow, Arizona I would usually take a large bag of oranges or grapefruit from Phoenix and give them to the indian children. On this day in February it was windy and cold and I felt sorry for the people that lived in this hard place, far removed from the comforts of the city. Still the Indians made the best of what they had with little complaint.... However, I can never quiet get over what we in the"white world" have done to these proud Native Americans. I guess it's just the way of the world. If a society does not bend to a majority culture then they are subject to destuction. When painting these people i tried to paint them as they lived in the 20th century.

on friday january 18th. i was asked to judge an exhibit at the FIRST PICTURE SHOW GALLERY in dixon, illinois.

i presented the awards around 8 pm. met a lot of fine artists and photographers. it was the first time i had to judge art and photography in the same categorie. this was very difficult. i understand a photographer has to consider composition and light the same as a painter but touching brush to canvas and mixing colors is, in my mind, much more demanding. so i presented an award to only one photographer even though there were many great photographs.

the gallery is quiet nice with lots of room and good lighting. the very savvy directer, bonnie kime, is a great host and is at the gallery six days a week keeping things humming in a professional manner. she can be reached at 815 962 1835.  i should also mention that the city of dixon is quiet charming and as most of you know, was the hometown of president ronald reagan.

No upcoming shows until next year. If you would like to visit my studio to view recent paintings, all it takes is a phone call a couple of days in advance.....815 962 1835 or email....tomheflin1@comcast.net 

I would like to thank all of you that attended my show on november 16th at the Rockford Bicycle Company. Was good to see old faithful friends that have not missed a show in 40 years plus some new collectors from nearby Belvidere and Chicago, Illinois.

last night, thursday october 25th i had the pleasure of meeting with THE ROCKFORD PHOTO CLUB to critique and judge a show based on old delapedated structures. quiet a challenge for me because i know nothing about the finer points of a camera. deciding which images should be awarded 1st 2nd and 3rd was very difficult due to the professional quality of all entries. most of all i was impressed by this group of warm, friendly "artists of the camera" who were kind enough to take my critique in good grace.  thank you to ron and kandie botts for your hospitality and to chuck who picked up the tab for pizza afterwards.......tom

our 40th exhibit has concluded. the weather was beautiful and we had over 500 visitors.  sales were about what one would expect under our present economic conditions. we sold 19 paintings in two days with some prospects pending. was great to see some collectors who were with me over 40 years ago. also saw quiet a few fellow artists. my invitation stated that this could possibly be my "last picture show" quiet understandably a lot of people assumed that i was retiring. this is far from the case. i will keep painting as long as i can hold a brush. what i am trying to do is spend more of my time painting instead of all the preperation it takes to open my home for a show. my studio and gallery will be open by appointment. all it requires is a phone call a day or two before visiting. i will also be open to an organization or chairity who might like to host an exhibit for me at their locale. i would like to send a big thank you to all of you that came to my show and wished me well.......tom

COMING......

                        If you would like an invitation for this special exhibit please send your address to.....

                        tomheflin1@comcast.net  I will have a variety of subjects and styles as usual.

                        my daughter, Sarah and son Mark will be here to help with the show. we are looking forward

                        to seeing all of you on this 40th anniversary......Tom

after my show in october i took a long road trip to see my daughters, rebecca and elizabeth in new york and delaware which brought me through ohio, west virginia, verginia, maryland and on up to delaware, pennsylvania and new york. after a few days in delaware i continued down the east coast to see another daughter, sarah, in charleston, s.c. from charleston. i drove up to atlanta to see my sons, mark and eron and then back home to illinois. i covered about 3000 miles in all and spent a little time getting reaquainted with six of my seven grandchildren.... evangeline, wyatt, brenna, zane, sinclair and grayson. didnt get to see ashley.

virgina and west virginia had some great potential landscapes as well as maryland. too bad it rained most of my trip in the mountains so wasnt able to sketch or paint on site but think i can still work from the photos i took. while in delaware i drove over to the bryn mawr rehab hospital in malvern, pennsylvania to take in their 15th annual international painting competition where i was the featured artist. i have never met such warm, enthusiastic members of a show commitee! they had a great attendance of around 600 people. some of the artists were wheelchair bound but still pursued their craft with admirable tenacity. a photographer won best of show.

i should explain my reason for being in this international exhibit. it is open to any artist dealing with disabilities including physical, cognitive, visual and hearing. when i was a child i suffered from bouts of unexplained vertigo that left me bedbound untill the dizziness subsided. over time it caused me to become deaf in my left ear. while recovering i would fill pages of blue lined notepaper with drawings. so in a way this contributed to me becoming an artist. this condition continued until i was around 15 years old. it wasn't until my thirties that the condition was diagnosed as menieres disease. their is no cure but fortunately i only experience a mild case if i get run down with too little sleep or too much stress. my disability is small potatoes compaired to some of the artists i met at the exhibit. they were working under much more difficulty than i.

at present i am working on a 48 x 60 commission that came during my october show. thanksgiving is right around the corner and it reminds me how much i am thankful for...including the seven children that bring me so much to live for. things are pretty dificult at present for a lot of us in the arts and society in general.... but in some way these times have the potential to make us stronger in our resolve and force us to understand how important it is to stay positive when things are not going our way. one of the things that i make a habit of doing is looking up at the night sky. noticing at what stage the moon is and the vastness of the universe. it becomes quiet clear how miniscule my problems are and how lucky i am to live on this part of the planet called america.

wishing all of you a most joyful time with family and friends this holiday season.....tom