Better blogging

My friend, Elizabeth, is a big blogger, who is always trying to nudge me to get at least one entry a week in my blog.

We had lunch together last week and while we were enjoying each other's company she pulled a thick folder out of her canvas bag and handed it to me.  As I opened it she explained that she was taking an online class (with about 400 other women) to better blogging and she challenged me to join her in this endeavor.  

Liz doesn't need to encourage me to find time to paint, but she likes to "push and nudge" me to be a better business person, and that I don't blog faithfully is one of her biggest beefs about me ! 

So..........after much deliberation, I decided to take the "31 days to a better blog Probloggers Challenge."

Task one is to write an "elevator pitch": a short description of the focus of our blogs.  When I started this blog two years ago, I wrote that I was "Talking to you about my life as a scuba diver and the art I have created because of it. "   The painting I put with this tag-line is called "Parrot Talk".  It shows 3 parrotfish in conversation.  I like my original tagline and think I will keep it as such.

Task one completed !  

Alaska and other Wanderings

My paintings, Alaska and other Wanderings are being exhibited  for the month of March in the White Room at the Antioch Fine Arts Foundation, Antioch, IL.

My 2 cruises to the Alaskan Inside Passage and my many scuba diving trips, have armed me with tons of photographs, both topside and underwater.  I then come back to the warmth of my studio and interpret these photos into oil and watercolor paintings. 

 I photographed the hammerheads near the Galapagos islands of Wolf/Darwin from underneath the school, thereby giving me a great silhouetted shot.  This is the painting I did from that photo.

Visit the Antioch Fine Arts Foundation at 938 Main St, Antioch, Il to see my exhibit OR visit my website at http://www.bonnielynnsart.com/ to see these paintings plus many many more.

Our World Underwater 2009

Our World Underwater 2009, was held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL , Friday, Feb 20 through Sunday, Feb. 22.

What a whirlwind of activity!

In depth seminars and workshops ranging from camera equipment to learning visual cylinder inspection, started on Friday at 8am and ran throughout the weekend. Presenters were some of the dive industries most noted figures: Stan Waterman, Richie Kohler, Annie Crawley, Bob Sheridan, and the list goes on and on. Friday evening, all day Saturday and Sunday, the exhibit hall opened its doors to about 20,000 visitors walking the aisles to see 200 + exhibitors. Booths consisted of dive travel destinations, camera equipment, SUDS, a kids painting fair with Rogest, dive shops, dive equipment, marine artwork (my booth included) , the Tim Early Foundation, PADI, DAN,DEMA, Diveheart and many more than can be listed here. Dive Buddy stickers were placed with several of the exhibitors and handed out to passing visitors, Divebuddy.com member, Robert Silva, talked with visitors at his booth about his upcoming world record attempt to do the longest freshwater dive.
Friday and Saturday evenings were the scene of exciting film festivals with emcees Michel Gilbert and Nancy McGee, and President of OWU, Pat Hammer, gave out the annual OWU Achievement award to artist and environmental educator, Ron Steven, aka Rogest.
OWU was the brainchild of president, Pat Hammer and started out 39 years ago in the gymnasium of a local high school. It has grown to be the Midwest’s largest consumer dive show. Since 2010 will be the 40th anniversary, plans for the “biggest party ever” are already in progress.
Keep the weekend of Feb. 19-21, 2010 open and join in a great weekend winter getaway and pick up on great travel and dive equipment specials and help Our World Underwater celebrate their 40th milestone.

The Oceans Cry

Since so much of what I write about is the oceans, I wrote a poem about them and the way I feel about what we are doing to them.
It is a little lengthy, but worth the read, I think. I hope you will enjoy it.

The Oceans Cry

Don’t you hear the oceans cry?
Can’t you see them weep?
Their creatures are being infringed upon
In shallows and in deep.

Garbage and fuels are dumped in them
They’re clogging up the reefs
Ocean liners spill their oils
Into the abyss it seeps.

Hurricanes and tropical storms
Of these we cannot help,
But long lining and trawling
Are stirring up the kelp.

They drag along; these miles of line
The dolphins and the whales
Are trapped in them, they can’t get out
They try but only fail.

The sponges and the coral
Are bleached and almost dead,
The food supply is dwindling down
What will they eat instead?

The parrotfish are talking
They have so much to say,
Can’t someone save our oceans?
Can’t someone find a way?

The sharks are getting angry,
Their numbers are starting to droop,
They’re being caught and cut upon
Their fins are used for soup.

The turtles they are eating on
The plastic bags we throw,
They think they are munching jellyfish
But its actually a foe.



The octopus gets a somber look
And bows his head in sorrow.
“Please clean it up and make it right,
Don’t take away tomorrow.”

Our children and their children
They have to see the oceans.
The chemicals are ruining them
These ugly deadly potions.

We must not stop, we must not waste
A minute of our time.
The oceans cannot mend themselves
We have to stop this crime.

Don’t you hear the oceans cry?
Can’t you see them weep?
Their creatures are being infringed upon
In shallows and in deep.


Bonnielynn Brankey ©2007