ROUND TWO OF PONDER ART’S  FIRST GREAT ART LOVE-AWAY CONTEST STARTS NOW.  

You can own the above work by artist Rhinold Lamar Ponder by submitting an entry to the “Great Art Love-Away” per the rules below.

CONTEST RULES:

1. Your entry must consist of a picture and a statement, 50 words or less, depicting and describing where and how you would show the prized work your affection.

2. You must submit your entry on Twitter or Facebook.  The Twitter submission must include the hashtag  #PonderArt or #Love-Away.  The Facebook submission can be made on the Ponder Art Facebook page or under our post of the Great Art Love-Away prize.  You can post it on the original post or one of the posts shared by a friend.

3. The post must be submitted within the time limit specified for each prize.  The deadline for “Fancy Dancer II” a original acrylic on canvas painting, is 5pm, Monday, September 9, 2013.

4. Only one entry per person, per painting/print.  You can submit one entry for each print or painting you are interested in.

Start your application by submitting your name and contact information in the form on this post.  Then submit your entry.  

Please be aware that the sign-up form submits the name to our mailing list which may be used to send out more information about new Ponder Art work and events.  If you do not want to be on the mailing list you can unsubscribe from the mailing list when you receive something from us.

It’s that simple.  If you want to know more about this event — the passion behind it,  why we are doing it and the work “Fancy Dancer II” — please read the “Infrequently Asked Questions” below.

Why Infrequently Asked Questions? These are “Infrequently Asked Questions” because this is the first art love-away and they have not  been asked and answered until now.   The answers will give you a deeper understanding of what PonderArt is all about, why we are having this event and the importance of the selected work(s) in this event.  Please feel free to comment.

What is the “PonderArt Great Art Love-Away”?

As part of my mission to beautify the world, one image, one space at a time my wife, Michele Tuck-Ponder, and I donate pieces of my art to our favorite non-profits for auction. Our goal is to raise $1 Million Dollars for our favorite charities by 2033.  We are on our way to that goal.

Fortunately, many people are touched by the art, but as it becomes more expensive, it can also become more inaccessible to folks who appreciate and enjoy the work.  So, we decided to extend our mission by giving away three pieces of art work to individuals who love and are excited about the work.  But we’re not really “giving” it away because we want something in return — we want to enjoy and bask in the inspiration and energy drawn from interacting with folks who appreciate what we do.   No we are not giving the work away; we are loving it away.  Hence, this is a Love-Away, not a give-away.

And because of the insistence of my wife, our feelings about this are so strong that we will pay for the postage and shipping to get the work to the winner anywhere in the U.S.  Please believe me when I tell you that my wife is responsible for that part of the our “love-in-return-for-love offering.”  She convinced me when she stridently said something about “making the love-away truly free and  being grateful just for the blessings that come from giving.  Okay, I can get with that.

How Will We Judge The Winner?

We have no idea how many entries we will receive, but whether it’s 1 or 25 (more?), we have already know the love we will receive will be tremendous.   I am always so energized and grateful when someone cares enough about a piece of my work or an image that they want to energize their own space with it.  No work touches everyone, but when someone is so excited  and pumped and loving that they will pay to place my work in their home or office, it fulfills my daily mission to improve somebody’s life in some way.

All that is to say that the process is a subjective one based on  how the entries energize the judges.  Since, I already know most of the people I expect to apply and I know how hard it will be for me to chose alone.  There will be a panel of four judges and if a tie breaker is needed, we will use social media as a fifth judge.

How Do I Enter The PonderArt Great Art Love-Away?

See the easy  to enter instructions above.

What Should My Entry Say?

You didn’t really ask that infrequent question did you?  Be creative.  Be honest.  Be energizing.  Be real.  Write a verse.  Write a sentence.  Communicate.  Show love.

Why Are You Doing This Great Art Love-Away and will you do it again? 

There are many little reasons that we are doing this event and all of them add up to the fact that the act of giving out of love and passion multiplies the blessings for everyone involved.

I absolutely love selling paintings and I am enjoying the steady increase in what people are willing to pay for my original work.  I remember the first time someone paid $3000 for a piece, I was actually not too pleased to see it go because I really liked the work a lot.  Fortunately, I had a common-sense wife who reminded me to be grateful for three things: 1) The joy on the person’s face when she bought the painting for someone she loved; 2) the financial reward for doing something I love while earning  more than I make serving some legal clients; and 3) the blessing that I can paint something else I like to replace the sold art.  So I do enjoy the selling part, but what is really core to our mission is to get the work to where it will touch someone positively.  I see both selling and giving fulfilling that mission.

The funny thing about sharing something with love and for love is that it increases the value of anything in multiples.  So as we bring smiles to faces and lift hearts, we have no doubt that giving away a few pieces of art from time to time will do nothing but create value, if for no reason but to create more space in my studio for the new paintings I do as a result of all the positive energy shared by the participants in this monumental event.

Our goal is to eventually give away $100,000 worth of art to individuals as we grow.  In order to make that happen, I must create a lot of enjoyable, provocative and moving works or the value of the pieces better keep going up.  Guess what I’m aiming for?

Why Are You Loving-Away A “Fancy Dancer II” Print?

“Fancy Dancer II” is one of my favorite paintings.  It is also one of the favorites of the staff at the law office as it has a prominent position on the main office wall.  In fact, unless they are familiar with this contest, my staff does not know we are loving this away. That should be an interesting conversation, but I will paint something else I like to replace it.

“Fancy Dancer II” reflects my love of the beauty of a dancer’s movements and my quest to draw out the energy from a static image.

I am constantly experimenting with juxtaposing or melding the human form in movement with abstract elements.  I find that the drip and splatter style, which I love alone, brings a vibrancy and energy to the form that gives it movement and attracts the eye again and again.  In this particular work my desire was to come closer to making the melding the elements where the abstraction and form are not separated as simply foreground and background.  I was looking for greater interaction between the diverse elements, which I think I achieved as the dancer appears to have reached a pinnacle of balance and power.

The work is valued at $1000, but is worth a lot more to me than that. It has brought positive energy into my life, but now with it leaving an empty wall in my office, I am forced to create something worthy to replace it.  I am happy to pass it on to energize some other spaces and places.