First, I have to say thank you.  Thank you to everyone who helped and supported me as I was working through this project and the lead up time before the installation - my wife and parents, especially.  Thank you to all of you who showed and kept up interest in this idea.  Thank you to Austins Coffee for the great venue and Scott Suldo for the great tunes.  Finally, thank you to all of you who not only came out to the opening night, but walked away with one, (or more!) of my paintings.  It is a sigh of relief; a feeling of validation; an inspiration for the ‘next’ idea.

This project is something I have been ruminating and periodically working on for about a decade.  I had an inspiration after delving a little deeper into the meanings and aesthetic of Eastern Orthodox iconography.  I felt that I could synthesize the designs and then distill them to, what was for me, the simplest form: a metallic leafed wooden square with and equal armed black cross on it.  From this discovery of a visual shorthand or memory of something more complex, I moved forward.  I then decided that I would add simple, archetypal images that seemed to me to be easy to relate to and that would evoke a personal memory in the viewer.  Simple ideas and memories of important things or experiences that the viewer could relate to through the little pictures just as the observant would relate to and ascribe higher meanings to traditional Christian icons.  It wasn’t about religion as much as it was and is about communication.  Straightforward engagement of the viewer.  100 of the 101 paintings in this show are single images.  However, the original and other later pieces in the series have included multiple images - each on a separate square tile. (see ‘Icons #1,’ 2000, on the Gallery page) I found, at the opening, that quite a few people, put together groupings of images to create their own narratives.  This makes the series highly interactive and personal and further blurs the line between my intent and the viewers’ interpretations.  In a sense this proves one of my theories that I am constantly mindful of when creating: Perception is Reality.

Of the 101 paintings that I installed, 40 sold on the opening night!  I couldn’t have been more thrilled with the outcome - and surprised!

The show continues to run at Austins Coffee in Winter Park, until November 11th.  Please try to make it there to see the pieces and have a cup of the finest coffee in the Winter Park /Orlando area.

Freshly installed, 'Icons.' A few hours before the show opening.

Another view before the opening.

Jason Cullison drinking it all in on opening night. Photo courtesy of Jason De la Cruz.

Jason Cullison (right) and brother-in-law, Charlie Bogatescu. Photo courtesy of Jason De la Cruz.

A few of the 'Icons' sold and reserved early in the night! Photo courtesy of Jason De la Cruz.

Music provided by Scott Suldo, of the Supervillains!

Avid art collectors and good friends, Steve and Rebecca Gongage.

Alex Nicolau, from New Jersey, commissioned some 'Icons' for his family.

Donna Sweetman and Stacy Stevens enjoyed some of the fine food that Austins Coffee has to offer.

Shannon Adams, Kristy Bolin, Jason Cullison and Janae Parker.

Charlie Bogatescu, Michelle Lynch, Alex Nicolau and Christina and Jason Cullison. What a night!