What Are You Working On?

Join me on Facebook Live on Thursday, August 6 at 1pm EST for a live studio event with the Rehoboth Art League 2020 Virtual Fine Art Show when I'll share with you what I'm working on now and answer your questions about my artwork.

Years ago, I traveled to visit a fellow artist and dear friend in Maryland. She's a friend with whom I have a strong connection. We can go for months without talking to each other, but as soon as we reconnect, it's like there's been no gap in our relationship and we can pick up with the same ease and joy as before.

When I arrived at her home, we immediately climbed the two flights of steps up to her top-floor studio and then spent the first couple of hours of our time together discussing her paintings, both completed and in process, plus recent art industry magazines as well as new favorite books. We've known each other for over 15 years, and it was early in our friendship when she told me how much she enjoys hanging out with other artists and diving into the question, "What are you working on?"

Her comment really stuck with me. Unlike many other professions, artists are sometimes perceived as not having a "real job" or a "real schedule." So the simple acknowledgment of, "What are you working on?" offers not only a bridge of interest, but an implicit nod to the very real work that goes into doing what we do.

This summer has been unlike any other that I've experienced in my time as a professional artist. As someone who usually travels up and down the East Coast to outdoor art shows, I've suddenly found myself in a whole different work routine because of the pandemic. The good news is that I finally have the time to dive into painting ideas that I've held onto for years but to which I could never give adequate time to explore in the midst of my art show schedule. I also have plenty of time to garden without having to rely upon our neighbors' children to keep things watered, a reliance that has sometimes produced uneven results.

In a couple of days, I'll give a live studio tour on Facebook Live with the Rehoboth Art League during their virtual 2020 Fine Art Show. I'll share what I'm working now on as well as answer any questions that you have about my artwork. The live video will be on Thursday, August 6 at 1pm EST and you can join me via my Facebook page or through the Rehoboth Art League Facebook page. See you then!

Home Studio Tour

This Friday, June 5 at noon EST I'll give a tour of my home art studio in Knoxville, Tennessee for the Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Virtual Show. With the pandemic and the civil unrest confronting our nation, the show has gone on, just online this year and I'm excited to share what I've been working on during recent months.

Shown here is a time lapse video of a landscape painting in progress from eastern Tennessee. One positive thing about staying closer to home this summer is that - after two years in Tennessee - my husband and I are finally getting a chance to venture out and explore the beautiful surrounding state parks.

During the home studio tour, I'll explain more about my process and share some of my latest paintings. I'll share a behind-the-scenes look at my painting process, from start to finish, and answer your questions. Sign up for free on the Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Virtual Show web site.

Downtime

Since 2005, each summer and fall has been a flurry of activity for me with my artwork as I travel throughout the eastern United States to exhibit my paintings at outdoor art shows and festivals. But with the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus in the United States, these events are now thrown into disarray as are so many other aspects of our everyday lives. The change has been swift and jarring, to say the least. As I write this, it's not clear to me whether there will be any outdoor art shows in 2020 given the severity of the threat facing us.

I am fortunate that my spouse has a stable income. So while this pandemic will definitely take a bite out of my livelihood, I am able to continue painting and working. Many of the artists with whom I've become friends over these past years while doing outdoor art shows are not so fortunate and my heart aches for them. This crisis is an existential threat to their livelihoods and work. Every artist who participates in these shows works extremely hard and routinely accepts a level of uncertainty concerning weather, national politics, consumer sentiment, and more. But this unforeseen circumstance is utterly devastating.

Without my usual schedule of shows to do, I'm treating this downtime as an opportunity to create some more ambitious works based on ideas that I've had in my mind for a while, sometimes years. When I get caught up in my show schedule, it's not always possible to tackle big ideas or to take the time to experiment, a true luxury. Perhaps one silver lining in all of this virus disruption is that I have the time now, and I intend to use it, much like a sabbatical semester for an academic. In addition, my hip surgery earlier this year kicked my ass with a longer-than-anticipated recovery, so the additional time to rehabilitate has come at a good time. It is hard to do art shows on a bum hip, that's for sure.

If you are reading this, then I hope that you and your loved ones are doing well and staying healthy throughout this challenging time. Let's all hope that we can get past this while keeping family and friends safe. After things return to normal, please remember to support your favorite small businesses, artists, and performers as best you can. This is an unprecedented time in the world, and your support will be needed.

An Action-Packed Year

My Art Show / Moving Van
Before our official move, I made a couple of trips up and down
I-81 to move much of my studio materials myself.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of our official arrival in Tennessee from Pennsylvania. One year ago today, my husband, Tim, and I landed at our house with just our suitcases, our two dogs, and a couple of air mattresses until our moving van and household contents arrived the following day.

And, yikes, what a year it has been. If you can picture some of the dime store comic books of yesteryear, 2018 smacked us across the faces with a larger-than-life "Ka-Pow" like a Batman and Robin adventure.

To be candid, it's been one of the most difficult years of my life and definitely one of the most challenging of our married life together. The day our moving van arrived to load up our belongings in Pennsylvania during a torrential downpour, my father-in-law was hospitalized in Illinois. He died within a month. Shortly after our arrival in Tennessee, our oldest dog and my field painting companion, Maple, was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia, severely limiting her mobility.

Even before we officially moved in, there was the menace of the old house we bought. Prior to our official arrival in May, the air handler unit over the kitchen leaked, and condensation poured into the kitchen ceiling over a period of weeks while we were blissfully unaware and wrapping up the sale of our home in Pennsylvania. We fixed that upon our arrival, but the year rolled on and we soon realized that we were painfully naive about old house ownership. For every one thing we knew would need repair, there were at least two additional issues, everything from an old, buried fuel oil tank to a full property length retaining wall that had to be replaced after record rainfall in February, right on down to a leaky shower that had rotted the joists of the first floor over a period of years. Truly, throughout this past year, there has not been one single week without a contractor to our house to repair or replace something. And late last year, my Dad was briefly hospitalized following a series of mild heart attacks. He has recovered, thankfully, but I think you get the general idea of why this transition has been a bumpy one.

I was of mixed mind about moving to Tennessee. I wanted a new adventure, I just wasn't sure that I could see myself in Tennessee (aka, the South). After a year here, I'm starting to "see" myself better in Tennessee. I've begun to discover some beautiful parks and scenery, plus I like the city of Knoxville because there's much more to do here than there was in central Pennsylvania. And, of course, 2018 was not all bad. We enjoyed some fantastic performances by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and attended some great shows at the gorgeous Tennessee Theater. In addition, the downtown farmer's market is a wonderful destination throughout the growing season.

Oh, and our old house? Welp, she's in much better shape than she was a year ago. Uff dah!

Nonetheless, I'm intent on making this second year in Tennessee calmer and better. I'm starting with a renewed focus on my artwork. Because my studio is in our home, the non-stop parade of repair people and contractors has been extremely disruptive to my work and creativity. I'm looking forward to exhibiting my artwork at a couple of upcoming outdoor art shows in the next few weeks, and then I'm taking most of this summer off just to hunker down in my studio and paint, in peace.

I'm very excited about this.

I'm looking forward to plowing more energy into my painting while exploring some changes in my painting style. Stay tuned.