Pivot

 Shown: Summer Oak (left) and Solstice Sky (right)

It's been a busy summer and not quite as I would have planned it. To start the season, I got some good news in late May when I learned that my fractured feet are finally beginning to heal. Huzzah! 

Getting to this point has required a lot of my time and attention. Unfortunately, my feet still aren't quite where I want them to be as I begin a late summer / autumn schedule of outdoor art shows. I had planned to exhibit my oil paintings during back-to-back weekends of the Rehoboth Art League Outdoor Art Show in Delaware next month. But I won't have the help of my underpaid artist's assistant and husband, Tim, for the first weekend and I'm not quite physically ready to tackle the rigors of set up and weekend hours alone. 

As a result, I will be at just the second weekend, August 13-14. It's one of my favorite shows to do and I hate missing one of the weekends, but I'm trying to keep longer-range goals and my well-being in mind. I regard this as a short-term "pivot" for long-term gain.

Recent months have been instructive to me on how to move to a back up plan. As I continue to get my feet into art show shape, I've been focusing on a series of skyscapes / cloud paintings. This is my "head in the clouds" antidote to my feet. 

Shown above are two new landscapes, Summer Oak and Solstice Sky. I caught both of these subjects at a favorite municipal park here in Knoxville, Tennessee where I've been walking each evening with my husband as I strengthen my feet and get back to fighting trim for my outdoor art shows! 

I'm having a lot of fun with these landscapes and I'll probably sprinkle in some more ideas under this theme as we ease out of summer and into fall. Enjoy!

 

It Just Got Real

 My Dad, Mom, and husband, Tim, at an art show a few years ago.

I saw an old friend yesterday and he asked how things are going. I answered by paraphrasing Charles Dickens, "It's the best of times, and the worst of times."

After over a year of sitting on the sidelines and doing virtual events, I'm ecstatic to have my in-person outdoor art shows make a return later this summer. I can't wait to see all of you again! In addition, I've been commissioned to paint some large pieces by several clients, and I'm busy in my studio working on ideas to come up with just the right mix of subjects and colors. It's always an honor to help people realize their artistic vision for their homes.

But.... You knew there was a "but" coming, right? In addition to dealing with an ongoing health issue from a surgery that I had back in February, a few weeks ago my Dad tripped and fell in his backyard garden in Georgia. 

He broke his neck.  

When my Mom called and told me that he was being med-flighted to a trauma center in Georgia, I immediately went to help them. In fact, my whole family pitched in because it was definitely an "all hands on deck" situation. Following spinal fusion surgery to repair the C2 vertebra, my Dad is back home and recovering now. It will be a long road ahead and I remain concerned. 

Nonetheless, I'm trying to focus on my artwork and prepare for hitting the road again later this summer. A year ago at this time, I really wasn't sure when this opportunity would return, and I'm very grateful to see things re-open and get back on track. During these "best of times, worst of times," a sense of gratitude helps to sustain me and I look forward to seeing you again at a future event. 

Until then, please be well and be sure to tell your loved ones that you love them.

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.

It's a Wrap!

Uff dah!

My 2017 outdoor art show season is finally in the books. This year featured travels from Illinois (twice) to New York and down to Virginia (twice), in addition to my home state of Pennsylvania. Needless to say, it's been a busy show season since April.

Tools of the Trade A peak into my cargo van with my trusty art show chair and carrier rack for large paintings. I don't know what I'd do without ratchet straps.

I've made some new artist friends this year and I continue to learn about the wild and woolly world of exhibiting my artwork and relating to the public about what I create. I was fortunate to be able to structure my schedule this year to avoid the hottest months of July and August. With any luck, I'll try to do that again in 2018 because if the science is to be believed, we're getting hotter and the environment for these art shows is changing.

Landscapes on Display A grouping of Pennsylvania landscapes, and one Wisconsin piece, on display in Illinois during a show earlier this year.

Per usual, I'm looking forward to trying some new ideas with my artwork during the quieter winter season. In the meantime, stay tuned for my local exhibition right here at home, "Finding Centre," beginning in November. I'll be busy finishing up new paintings for that show and it won't require any long distance travel - hooray!