20 First Dates

My husband, Tim, and I goofing around at an outdoor art show. 2020 has seen the cancellation of all our art shows and we really miss doing them. Fingers crossed that we get things turned around for 2021.
 

Well, there's no getting around it. 2020 has been an unusually challenging year. I won't rehash all that's gone wrong. There's not enough room for that here (!), and I know many of you are facing issues that you probably never foresaw a year ago at this time and hope you won't still have at this time next year.

As September begins, I want to reorient myself and share a new body of artwork with you. There's still a lot of beauty in our world. Sometimes the unrelenting news cycle and the problems in our nation may lead us to forget what's positive. 

The start of September also marks the 20th anniversary of my first date with my husband, Tim. Meeting him helped me to become the artist that I am today. When we met back in Madison, Wisconsin, I was working as a web developer and computer programmer. Without his help, I would not have realized my dream of being a painter. Tim has been my best friend and most enthusiastic supporter of my artwork since our first meeting. His kindness, compassion, and wit have helped me weather the ups and downs of life as an artist.

Although 2020 has been "meh" for many of us so far, I want to celebrate this occasion with you. I'm kicking off a new series of paintings, 20 First Dates. Now through November 7, I’ll share a new painting fresh from my easel each Tuesday and Saturday. Anything from cityscapes to landscapes to plein air works – it will always be something new! 

You can follow along with each new "painting date" here on my blog or on my Instagram. To receive a sneak preview of each new painting one day early, please join my mailing list. And if you have any questions about a painting, feel free to contact me. I look forward to sharing these new dates, er, paintings, with you in the coming weeks.

Staycation 2020

Above, Work-in-progress: Plein air painting in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along the Middle Prong River.

With my outdoor art shows cancelled for the foreseeable future, I'm turning my artistic focus to inspiration close to home for this summer.

It's Staycation 2020, and I'm pretty good with it because ever since moving to Knoxville, Tennessee two years ago, I've had very little time to explore our area due to major life events and myriad tasks associated with resettling after a cross-country move. The pandemic has put a pause on my usual work and life routines, and that may be an OK thing.

This upheaval has pushed me to develop new ways of doing things. Just last week, I wrapped up my first online tour of my painting studio in Knoxville, Tennessee as part of the Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show Virtual Edition. My next virtual art show will be a live studio show with my new paintings on Thursday, July 9 at 8pm EST. Then I'll partner with the Rehoboth Art League in August, later this summer.

Throughout this summer, although I won't be traveling to my usual outdoor art exhibitions, I'm looking forward to delving into east Tennessee's state parks, history and culture through my artwork. I hope to have my outdoor art shows back in 2021, but until then I'll share my artwork with you "virtually" each week, beginning with this new addition to my Great Smoky Mountains plein air series, shown below.

Great Smoky Mountains No. 6 - Balance

The finishing touches on Finding Centre

Uff dah! I'm almost across the finish line for a local exhibition of brand new paintings featuring my home, Centre County, Pennsylvania. I'm really excited about this show because not only did I get to work with my friend and fellow artist, Alice Kelsey, we also partnered with a local land preservation organization, Clearwater Conservancy. Thanks to their generous support of this endeavor, Alice and I were able to visit beautiful locations that they've preserved within our community in recent years.

Painting en plein air at the Meyer Dairy Farm in State College, Pennsylvania.

Despite being laid low by a nasty respiratory flu for the past few days, I've been busy with the finishing touches on many new paintings, taking care of details that range from varnishing to framing. Shown here are a couple of "behind the scenes" moments from the work behind this new exhibition. I hope to see you at the opening reception at the State College Framing Company and Gallery this Saturday, November 4 from 4:30pm to 7:30pm.

Framing Frenzy! Putting the final touches on framing a small original, Winter Study, Upper Brush Valley Road.