Spring flowers 2008

Tulip

Barb’s really too busy with work to spend as much time with her yard as she’d like but she still manages to plant some flowers. This year she planted about 300 tulips but the deer got a bunch of them and the moles probably got their share. But the ones that survived were very fetching in the late afternoon sunlight.

I’m no kind of serious photographer (that’s my man, Henry). But I’m not bashful about taking photos and sharing them with the world. I know some very good amateur photographers that never put their work online because they don’t think it’s good enough. At least that’s the reason they give and I tend to believe them.

I snapped these photos with my little Casio and they came out "good enough." Think of all the beautiful flowers that were never shared because someone thought the photos were not "good enough."

Henry Domke hanging up his stethoscope

I have posted frequently about my friend (and personal physician) Henry Domke. I learned this morning (by email and blog post) that he has decided to leave medicine and do art full time.

He cut back his medical practice some years ago to devote more time to his art but this announcement will be a shocker (I suspect) to his patients and the local medical community.

Just as Dodge City wasn’t the same without Doc Adams, Jeff City will miss Old Doc Domke.

HealthCareFineArt.com

Henry says I first mentioned blogging to him in 2003. He let the idea percolate for a while and emailed me last weekend to say he was ready to start blogging (he’s a thoughtful guy). I stopped by his office a couple of days later for my Are You Ready to Blog lecture. By the time I left, Henry had lost his blog virginity and had a couple of posts up at HealthCareFineArt.com.

Along with his medical practice, Henry has built a very successful business creating digital images for the health care industry.

Where was I? I remember. While Henry has a beautiful website, he had concluded a blog would be a valuable addition. People he knows and trusts warned him “this blog thing” might be a distraction. And he came to Dr. Steve for a second opinion.

Aside: Have I mentioned smays’ theory that the first 48 hours are critical in the life of a new blog? At the end of two days you’ll wind up with one, sad little “toe in the water” post… or a dozen or so posts.

I’m proud to report Dr. D. comes down solidly in Column B. He is off…and..running. And, like all good blogs, he has focus. He’s writing for and about the health care fine art space (the oxygen is thin up there).

Like all natural bloggers, he didn’t need much help. He came armed with passion, creativity and something to say. And he hasn’t stopped saying it. He is… empowered!

(Throw up the Prediction graphic)

A year from now, a Google search for “health care fine art” will take you to Henry’s blog. Comments are open, so if I’m wrong… I want to hear about it.

If any smays.com readers with blog want to give Henry a little link love, he’ll appreciate it and so will I.

Local artists exhibit new works

Lichen

For some really amazing photographs, stop by the Rozier Gallery here in Jefferson City for a tandem show by Dr. Henry Domke and his good friend Vaughn Wascovich, a Professor of Photography at the University of Missouri. The opening is January 6 but their work will be exhibited through February 24. Henry has captured some beautiful images of lichen, while Wascovich “celebrates the power of photography and the land in our backyards.”

The Rozier Gallery (map) is located in the Union Hotel at 101 Jefferson Street. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.