Violin and Cello, an oil painting by Vakhtang Kakulia

It seems like there has been a violent end to this event and there won't be any more music to be heard from this violin and cello. Perhaps there was some sort of a scene; a white high-heeled shoe sits at the front of the painting. The neck of both instruments have been broken. Closer inspection of this blowup of the painting reveals at its center the Ace of Spades, a known "death card". Perhaps there may have been a murder.

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Sunset, an oil painting by Vakhtang Kakulia

The sun hangs forelornly in the sky, shaped like a bean, looking almost like an amoeba. Two nudes stand in the foreground with the wind blowing strongly in their hair. The left thigh of one of them is covered with a patterned stocking.

Please feel free to post any comments about this painting below.

Sunflower in Front of a House, an oil painting by Vakhtang Kakulia

Expecting a bright sunny sunflower, were you? Welcome to Vakhtang Kakulia's art! Perhaps it is growing up in the Eastern Block, but his paintings always have a twist and often a touch of darkness. The sunflower in front of the house is blackened, and the sky is dark, filled perhaps with the smoke of industrial smokestacks. The brightest thing is the door to the house, perhaps indicating the appeal of taking refuge inside.

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Strange Girl, an oil painting by Vakhtang Kakulia

The strange girl in Vakhtang Kakulia's painting has a face that appears split down the center. Closer inspection reveals it is also covered with scars and metal plates. Her eye sockets are empty and her neck is long.

Sounds of the Saxophone - An Oil Painting by Vakhtang Kakulia

With hair blowing back, a young woman is vigorously playing the sax. The background composed of daubs of paint create a late "1950s modern" feel. A bandage-like stocking pulled tight with herringbone cord strikes the eye.

We would be happy to hear your comments about Sounds of the Saxophone. Please post your comments below.

Smoker, an oil painting by Vakhtang Kakulia

With this painting we continue with the theme of vice seen in this collection of oil paintings by Vakhtang Kakulia. Previously we saw the temptation of alcohol and then what can be the unfortunate outcome of drinking too much. Now we are introduced to the smoker, an apparently glamorous woman, composed of angular planes, somewhat reminiscent of the cubist art of Picasso. Wispy lines in the background additionally bring to mind the work of Joan Miro.

We invite you to comment below on this painting of a Woman Smoking by Vakhtang Kakulia.

She by the Angel Bottle of Bourbon

She by the Angel and a Bottle of Bourbon depicts the same woman that we saw earlier in Vahktang Kakulia's painting Drunk Girl on the Toilet. I presume this painting is a little earlier in the evening as the woman fights the temptation of alcohol with the aid of an angel. Her left hand, which would be the one closest to the bottle of bourbon, is stretched out across her body to the right where an angel dressed as a man stands. I surmise that the battle between the demon drink and the angel was won by the bottle of bourbon judging by the wreck the woman becomes in the Drunk Girl on the Toilet painting.

Post your comments and observations on this painting below.

Scream, an oil painting by Vakhtang Kakulia

A ghostly-white dominatrix is the subject of Vakhtang Kakulia's "Scream". Dressed in red high-heeled boots and frilled garter, Madam's hair appears like two antennae. Here mouth, framed with red lips, is wide open in a scream. It appears that perhaps two needles are stuck into her right shoulder, and a pad with two antennae is stuck on her left thigh just above her knee.

This painting challenges Edvard Munch's painting "The Scream" for as a representation of angst.

Please post your comments about Vakhtang Kakulia's painting "Scream".

Tax Help: Filing Deadline for 2006 Tax Returns is April 17, 2007

I hear we have a couple of extra days to procrastinate this year on getting our 2006 tax returns in which normally would be due on April 15, 2007. However, the IRS has announced that 2006 tax returns may be filed or paid by Tuesday, April 17, 2007 because Monday, April 16 is a legal holiday in the District of Columbia.

According to the IRS, filing and payment deadlines that fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holidays are on time if they are met by the next business day. This year, April 15 falls on a Sunday, making the extended due date Monday, April 16. However, the IRS recently became aware that under newly enacted local legislation, April 16 is Emancipation Day, a holiday in the District of Columbia. Although not a federal holiday, it is observed in the District of Columbia and therefore is a holiday under the timely filing/payment rule. This extends the nationwide deadline an additional day, to April 17.

The IRS said the April 17 deadline will apply to actions including:

• 2006 federal individual income tax returns, whether filed electronically or on paper
• Requests for an automatic six-month tax-filing extension 2006 balance due payments
• Tax-year 2006 contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA

Emancipation Day marks the April 16, 1862, signing by Abraham Lincoln of the Compensated Emancipation Act, which freed slaves in the District of Columbia. It is not a federal holiday, and IRS offices will be open.

Don't forget to take your deduction for charitable donations of art. If you don't qualify this year, this is something you might consider planning for so that you qualify for the deduction in future tax years. One of the key provisions is that you must have owned the artwork in question for a minimum of 12 months, so you need to plan ahead. We have a tax help article detailing all the provisions necessary to qualify for the deduction of charitable donations of art.

Here's to more holidays around April 15th!

Painting of an old Gregorian Church by Vakhtang Kakulia

Here's a radical change of subject matter for our artist from Tbilisi, here we see an oil painting of an old Gregorian church. Quite a change from fish, boats, frazzled muscicians and drunk women. The church is ramshakle, of course; Kakulia doesn't paint objects realistically, but rather as compositions of pieces of the whole taken apart and reassembled rather haphazardly.