My sister Bonnie has always been a provider. As her little brother with six years between us, she was big enough to protect me and beat the crap out of me at the same time when we were kids. Typical big sister stuff, I guess. But what really meant a lot to me was her ability to boost my confidence. She always told me how talented, smart and handsome I was (before marriage and beer gut). It embarrassed me at the time, but as the shy kid on the block, it meant a lot.

Of course, I'm suppressing a few moments, like the time she played dead with the kitchen knife in her armpit covered with ketchup. But again, typical big sister stuff, right? Bonnie has always led a fascinating life, and she has a knack for making kids feel like they can accomplish anything if they believe in themselves. She is a provider of self esteem.

I'm not sure Bonnie recognizes that gift, but fortunately she's using it in all kinds of ways. She's a mother of three, and she owns an art studio for both kids and adults near Tampa, FL. She makes kids light up — her own, others, random ones in grocery stores. For the past seven or so years, she and some close friends have been traveling to Vietnam to help an orphanage. Their mission has grown into a nonprofit called Big Big World Project. Bonnie and company are supplying these kids with everything from computers, bicycles and personalized photo albums to dental care, braces and college scholarships. What's really amazing about their trips is how involved they are with the kids. They know them by name and what they like to do. They're even friends on Facebook. They do all that they can to help them, not solely with monetary support, but by spending time with them. Barbecues, art classes, shopping trips... Bonnie isn't feeding masses for a day, she's giving dozens at a time opportunities and experiences which will affect them profoundly over a lifetime.

This year, they don't have a sponsor for their shopping trip to buy each of the 24 children in the orphanage an outfit, a pair of shoes and something a little extra.

To help them meet the monetary goals for this year's trip, I am auctioning off the two paintings to the right. I will donate 100% of the proceeds  to Big Big World Project (http://bigbigworldproject.wordpress.com/).

Please share this with anyone you know who may be interested in helping these kids and maybe like art hanging on their wall.

The paintings are below. You can post a bid, or if you'd like to do it discreetly, you can email me at steve@stevehedberg.com

BIDDING ENDS WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 8 P.M.

Or, if you'd just like to donate, here's the link:
http://bigbigworldproject.wordpress.com/
(specify Shopping Trip in the PayPal note field)

Thanks

"Harvest" from the Route 1 show
Acrylic on panel
12 x 16
Comes with wood shadow box style frame
Value: $600
Bidding starts at $250

Polis No. 4
Acrylic on panel
12 x 12
Value: $525
Bidding starts at $200

To embody your work, you must resemble it.

When I painted realism, rarely did I get a daub of paint on me. I'd wear work clothes into the studio, and on a rare occasion, ruin a good shirt.

Painting these city abstracts for my upcoming show, "Populace," requires a more expressive, free-style approach with the brush. I'm now standing rather than sitting, the music is even louder and the brushes are bigger with globs of paint. I ruined my way, one shirt, one pair of pants at a time, to two full outfits, each spotted with different colors of paint. I guess it's my spring collection. While my clothes get messy, the color and compositions of my paintings become more expressive and unpredictable. My work and my wardrobe seem to represent each other's evolution.

My recent work has led me to look at my creative process in a new light, and to become more expressive and trust my artistic judgment. I like to challenge myself when creating a new body of work, and for this show, I decided to take on a new medium. I created a series of works on paper using the screen-printing process.

I used silk-screens to print random shapes into color compositions, on which I added ink drawings. This isn't the traditional application of screen printing, but rather a painter's version of it. On some of the prints, such as "Polis No. 1," I screen-printed up to 24 individual colors and shapes over several sessions in the studio.

Studio Two Three, a community print shop for artists and students, became my home for a month. Ashley, the director, and a community of interns and artists showed me the ropes and made me feel welcome, not to mention old as hell. I've been painting alone in my studio (shed) for years, so this was an unforeseen highlight to be around creators in this great studio space.

A couple weeks ago, I stopped by Kroger on the way home from an evening at Studio Two Three, and the cashier thought I was a house painter — affirmation that I was doing something right.