Dear Friends & Fellow Bloggers:

Due to the publicity surrounding the painting "Blessed Art Thou", the nature of this blog has changed in the past three weeks. As a result of doing what I do naturally in my life and in my art (putting myself "out there" without much regard for the consequences), I have learned a great deal about being in the public eye, with all that it entails.

I appreciate the media coverage, which has brought me a wider audience for my work, and, (as one of my new friends pointed out), put a contemporary painted image in an unprecedented position with regard to exposure and debate. I appreciate the people who have written in support of the work, and those who have written to tell me why they were less than enamoured of it. Art is meant to promote discussion: if everyone loved the painting, there would be nothing to talk/think about, and that would make me a pretty boring artmaker indeed.

Due to some profound, unforeseen consequences of this publicity, I have decided to remove reader comments from my blogging process. I will continue to post, but my readers will have to email me directly to respond: their comments will not be made public on this blog. I have enjoyed the democratic debating process, and will miss it. Thanks again to all who made the past few weeks so lively.

Sincerely, Kate