I love and read a lot of art blogs. And it isn't a matter of checking out the competition (well, not only that)... but I love seeing what other artists do, and I admire those that get so much work -- really good work -- done on a regular basis. There are a few blogs I read every day -- most of whom I found through the Daily Paintings group.

Now, you don't have to tell me -- I know perfectly well that almost every blogger has an off-line life. Family, friends, plants, jobs, beloved animals... vacations... that need attending to. For the most part, when bloggers who post regularly are going to be not posting for a while, they will put up a post saying something along the lines of "Sorry. Gonna be out of town attending some big, important, in-my-real-life career building event for a few days." Or, "Family troubles. I'll be back."

But then there are those who just disappear. One day they're blogging along merrily and the next day -- literally -- they're gone. Sometimes they sputter a bit before going dark -- an entry here, then another 2 weeks later, then... silence. Maybe they don't realize some of us are reading them daily and have some sort of personal connection to whatever their topic or passion may be. Maybe they're just busy, or tired of it all, or have run out of things to say, or, like one Artist, had some sort of health issues.

Whatever the reason for their absence, here are some art blogs I really miss:

Sasha Williams: found her through Daily Paintings and enjoyed her technique and subject matter. Last posting, December 18, 2006, although she and I emailed once or twice after that, discussing the upcoming holidays and the lack of time to clean or paint. Hope all is well, Sasha!

B.C. Grey . Another Daily Paintings artist, she stopped blogging and posting her lovely paintings very abruptly. Turns out she was very ill. She promised to start posting again around the first of May. So far, nothing. I'm hoping she's on the mend and will get back to work very soon.

Militant Art Bitch: The last entry was dated April 2nd. Has the art world suddenly become just and fair to women artists? If so, I wish someone would let me know. If not, get back to work Annoymous Female Artist!

Grainne O’Reilly. A very interesting Irish artist who, on March 7th, said she was "in great demand" and had gotten "very busy." Hmmph. "Tis fine for some, as we used to say in our theatre group. I'd love to see what she's working on.

Danny Gregory. I love Danny Gregory's ink drawings and his helpful words of advice for working artists, and his dedication to his site. He was gone on business for a few weeks, posted as soon as he got back -- and then nothing! I actually emailed him to be sure he was okay -- and it seems I wasn't the only one. He's fine -- so his post says -- just a very busy artist. He's working on "another book." (Hmmm, I'm beginning to see a pattern here. Popular website -- very busy artist. Perhaps I should be working on my site more and reading other people's less!)

Ria Hills. A terrific pastel artist, her last posting was April 11th, without explanation. Hope all is well, Ria.

Lost For Words: A fine Scottish artist -- his postings tend to be sporadic and his words sparse, but what's there is choice. It's not that he doesn't post. He just doesn't post enough. Last post was April 10th (was the month of April particularly hard on blogging artists?)

The Tooth Fairy Logbook. An animated movie project for a group of students at Sheridan College, this site hasn't been updated in a long, long time. Like, since February. It was an interesting project and watching it progress was great. So, what happened guys? The project not work out? School closed? Some party still ongoing? The animation artist whose site linked to this one, Allan Cook of Cooked Art, is still blogging regularly, thank goodness.

Hello to all of you out there, floating in the ether of the Intrawebs! Thinking of all of you. Haven't had the heart to take you off my "Favorites" list yet. Write if you get work.

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