Celebrating the Beauty in the Everyday

One of my core artistic beliefs is that there is beauty around us, each day, every day. During this difficult year, it's been a little harder to keep this principle in focus. And yet it is more important than ever before.

The Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show recently invited me to do a Facebook Live event for their "5 O'Clock Club." This social media venue helps keep artists in touch with interested patrons during a year when in-person events have not been possible. For my session, I shared a behind-the-scenes look into my Knoxville, Tennessee studio with insights into my materials and process. I hope you enjoy the tour!

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.

A Television Interview

Earlier this spring, the producers of "Tennessee Life" with East Tennessee PBS television reached out to me and inquired about interviewing me for a segment in an upcoming episode of their program.

It was a great experience to share what I do, as well as the "how" and the "why." Being an artist means that I spend a lot of days alone, working at my easel with just my dogs for feedback (they are wonderful art critics). So it's a privilege when someone takes an interest in what I do.

Following our move to Tennessee a year ago, I've begun work on a new series called "30 from Tennessee." This is my way of sharing my initial impressions of my new surroundings and of getting to know my new home. During the interview for "Tennessee Life," I spoke about this new series of paintings as well as my approach to my artwork. It's really important to me to share the beauty of everyday moments and to highlight the cool things that surround each of us. Under the right light, just about anything is a worthy painting subject!

I hope you enjoy the interview and the glimpse into my studio.

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.

From Sketch to Something Grander

Sapphire Night Sketch
Oil on paper, 10 x 12.5

 

Sapphire Night
Oil on panel, 20 x 30

Many years of formal training as a music performance major in college taught me the value of etudes, those brief, highly technical snippets of music that form the essential foundation of performing ensemble pieces. I carry this discipline with me today in my visual art career by creating practice runs of complex ideas via initial sketches and studies.

Sometimes it's hard for me to restrain myself because I'm so jazzed about an idea that I want to dive into a big, blank canvas and start slinging paint. But initial studies always pay dividends by allowing me to emphasize what I want to communicate and identify any potential pitfalls in my design.

Lately, I've been digging Arches oil paper for this purpose. I can focus on an idea and get the details ironed out before tackling a larger composition. Sketches, by virtue of their smaller size and confined time commitment, are less pressure packed, and often result in a fun personality that I really like.

Here are a couple of recent examples from my cityscapes featuring subjects in New York City and London. The smaller sketches are slightly different in ratio from the finished works because I originally created these as options for a client who commissioned me for a custom painting. Nonetheless, these initial studies helped me work out the ideas before scaling up to bigger versions of the motifs. I think you'll see the relationship here in the side-by-side comparisons. Enjoy!

London Twilight Sketch
Oil on paper, a10x 12.5

 

London Twilight
Oil on canvas, 32 x 48

Resettled in Tennessee

Uff dah!

Since leaving Pennsylvania for our new home in Tennessee in late May, life has been a blur. We landed at our new home just before Memorial Day. "New home" is a bit of a misnomer, because the house we bought is 91-years old. As with any old home, it has required a fair bit of our attention to resolve some maintenance issues. (We're now on a first name basis with our electrician, roofer, and plumber - egads).

But as we near the end of July, things are rounding into shape and I'm getting back to my easel on a more routine basis. And it's not a moment too soon because I'm looking forward to exhibiting at a couple of shows this fall and I want to share some new subjects inspired by Knoxville, Tennessee.

Click image to enlarge: My studio mascot, Maple, rests on a rug near my painting easel. Part of getting my new space set up involved installing additional track lighting. I also set up a reading nook, toward the right of this image.

 

On top of moving and settling into a new home that needed some attention, I'm saddened to write that we also lost my father-in-law. There's a generic old saying whenever someone passes away, "He was a good man." But Russell Pollock actually was a good man. On the heels of his loss, we worked hard to get my mother-in-law resettled, too, and it's been a summer of transitions on many levels.

Click image to enlarge: A second display easel, couch,
and work area round out the space.

 

Nonetheless, I have a couple of pieces in progress now with ambitious goals of many small works in the coming weeks. Until those are ready for public viewing, I'll have to leave you with a couple of peeks into my studio. When we first moved in, my studio space was completely filled with cardboard moving boxes because the floor plan of this house is so different from our old house. With our new location in Tennessee, I've combined what was previously three separate areas (studio, office and picture framing workshop) all into one larger space. It took a while for me to get things sorted out (especially while juggling myriad home repair contractors), but I finally have things organized now. I'm very pleased with the space because I have plenty of room for my art books, a reading area, and lots of great light for my work.

As an added bonus, my studio mascot, Maple, gives the space two paws up.

Change is in the Air

The first blank canvas in my new studio space in Knoxville, Tennessee.
I am super excited to be able to paint in this gorgeous space.

 

As I write, the snow is flying sideways on a howling, cold wind outside my window. We're now past mid-April, but Mother Nature does not seem to have received the memo that winter should be finished and spring on its way. I know that central Pennsylvania is not the only place suffering under the burden of January the 131st. Nonetheless, even if spring is not yet in the air, then change is.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I purchased a new home in Knoxville, Tennessee. Or maybe it would be more accurate to call it a new old home. We found a beautiful place that was built in 1927 and whose history includes a change of ownership via auction following the stock market crash of 1929.

Its most recent former owners were also artists. They did a jaw-dropping renovation to the upstairs area, where I will soon set up my art studio. To say that I'm excited about this totally new and different space would be the understatement of the year. I've already started to move some of my materials to our new address. Within the next month, we anticipate moving to Knoxville permanently.

But for now, my studio and my creative mind straddle two very different places and it's been an extremely busy time for me. I never appreciated how difficult it is to "stage" and sell a house until this interstate move (HGTV, I'm looking askance at you!), and I hope not to have to do it again for many, many years. It was very challenging given that my husband and I both work from our home and we have two large dogs. But we're on our way now, and I'm excited.

Stay tuned for a series of new paintings inspired by my new home in Tennessee as we get into summer. Until then, I'm off to pack some more boxes. Uff dah.

Braving the Elements

After a busy summer and fall art show season, the closing months of this year mean that it's time for me to turn my focus to preparing for 2018. An important element of my preparation for the year ahead is to gather source material and inspiration during these quieter months when I'm not in the midst of a packed show schedule.

I just returned from a brief trip to Chicago, where I delivered a large cityscape painting to a collector, visited family, and then slipped into downtown for a day to browse the Art Institute of Chicago and snap some reference photos. These opportunities to prowl the city and look at beautiful artwork while also gathering ideas are absolutely essential to sustaining my creative energy during my busy exhibition season.

With apologies for my reflection in the photo, this is
Futago Islands, Matsushima by Kawase Hasui, 1933

The Art Institute had a fantastic exhibition of Japanese prints on display. It was right up my alley: "City and Country: Prints from Early 20th Century Japan." Thanks to my past visits to the Freer Museum of Art in Washington, DC, where they specialize in Asian artwork, I've gained a great admiration for Japanese woodblock prints.

A rain-soaked view below the elevated train
platform in downtown Chicago

After spending some time at the museum, I ventured out into the downtown area of Chicago. A cold rain descended not too long after I stepped outside. While it made things challenging (digital cameras are not built for wind-driven rainfall), I was able to find several interesting subjects that will become the basis for upcoming cityscape paintings in the coming months.

This change of scene from nearby East Coast cities, such as Philadelphia and New York, is so vital for me. I love the different energy and subjects in new venues, so it makes braving the elements worthwhile. Besides, Chicagoans are so polite that they won't even step in front of me when I line up to take a photo. Not only is the city full of interesting architecture and cool vistas, the people are nice, too! Stay tuned in the coming months for the fruits of this labor.

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!

Custom Artwork

It's been a topsy turvy fall here with bouts of very mild weather juxtaposed with some chilly days and a few snowflakes. When the weather cools down and the allure of working outdoors on my painting or in my garden lessens, I find it easier to focus on big projects in my studio. Right now, I'm working on custom commissioned pieces for several clients and I thought I'd share with you a peek at one of the projects.

I was asked by a Penn State College of Engineering alum to create a series of works highlighting the beautiful campus in State College, Pennsylvania during the fall. Since moving to this area back in 2004, I've been dazzled by the gorgeous autumn foliage of both the town and the surrounding state parks, so this idea appealed to me.

We began working together earlier this year to identify subjects and compositions that were meaningful to him. I like to give people some options when they approach me with an idea, so in this instance I created a series of black and white sketches first. From there, we identified the best compositions and I created initial color studies. Following some minor adjustments based on client feedback, these color studies will become the basis for the larger, final paintings that I'll complete in the coming winter months.

Shown here are the initial black and white sketches for a couple of the compositions we selected: the Nittany Lion Statue on the Penn State University campus and the Old Main administrative building on campus. If you'd like to commission a custom painting, you can contact me through my web site. Happy Holidays!

Initial black and white study featuring a composition of the Penn State Nittany Lion statue.

Second black and white study featuring a composition of the Penn State Nittany Lion statue.

Color Study 12 x 18 oil on canvas of the selected composition that will serve as the basis for the larger final painting.

Initial black and white study featuring a composition of Old Main on the Penn State University campus.

Second black and white study featuring a composition of Old Main on the Penn State University campus.

Color Study 12 x 16 oil on canvas of the selected composition that will serve as the basis for the larger final painting.

An Artist's New Year's Resolutions

It's a new year, and like many other people, I'm thinking about the resolutions that I want to realize during 2016. My brother-in-law, who runs a successful insurance business out on the West Coast, scoffs at the idea of resolutions, saying that if there's something he knows he should be doing, then he's probably already doing it. Why wait until January 1 to start?

But I like to take this time of year as an opportunity to plan for the year ahead. As I've written in the past, I regard winter as a quiet season of restoration and reflection. When I'm not so busy at this time of year, I like to pause and consider perhaps not resolutions so much as professional and personal goals. Believe it or not, many of my professional goals as an artist are closely linked to an important personal goal of good physical fitness. Because I travel throughout the eastern half of the United States each summer and fall to exhibit my artwork at outdoor art shows, I have to be in reasonably good shape to get through those events because they are very physically demanding, especially during the hot summer months.

Photo Credit: Nabil K. Mark, Centre Daily Times.

So far, I'm off to a good start. Earlier this week, our local newspaper caught me working with my trainer, Gbolohan, at my local gym, One on One Fitness, in State College. I'm convinced that I was born with hamstrings about a foot too short for my body, so you see me here doing a warm up stretch.

Photo: My "cross bike" with bright orange panniers for carrying my plein air kit during a summer evening painting session near Boalsburg, Pennsylvania.

Although this may seem unrelated to the artwork that I create, it's actually pretty integral. I discover many of my landscape subjects either during road bike rides through the rolling hills of Centre County, or by hiking through some of the rugged state parks of Pennsylvania. On many occasions, I carry my plein air painting kit on my bike panniers or in a backpack on the trail so that I can set up and work on location. If I don't work at my fitness, then I won't be able to enjoy the spoils of gorgeous scenery hidden off the beaten paths of civilization. And it's those hidden gems, those moments of fleeting light, that make my work as an artist most rewarding.

Photo: The Guardians, 10 x 14 original oil painting on paper. This piece will be available for purchase through the Clearwater Conservancy's "For the Love of Art and Chocolate" fundraising auction on January 29, 2016.

Beyond the basic foundation of physical fitness, I like to look at the year ahead and break it up into (hopefully) manageable exhibition opportunities. I know I'll be busiest in the summer as I travel to outdoor art shows, so during the winter months I focus on creating new artwork and on local exhibition opportunities. For example, later this month you can meet me at the Clearwater Conservancy's "For the Love of Art and Chocolate" annual fundraising event for local environmental conservation efforts. I'm donating an original oil painting called "The Guardians," a subject that I caught while riding my bike along Old Gatesburg Road during a summer evening last year. See? There's that whole physical fitness thing again...Anyways, I've ridden my bike along this route for many years, and there are these two old pine trees that keep watch over the farm fields. I love their windswept nature, and when I noticed them with this beautiful sky as a backdrop, I was smitten.

In February and March, you can see my newest landscapes and cityscapes at the Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, Pennsylvania. And later this spring, I'll exhibit my recent oil cityscapes at the Yellow Springs Art Show in southeastern Pennsylvania. Keep an eye on my web site schedule page for more information about my 2016 events throughout this year.

The reality is that I don't have a ton of control over my schedule because each year I apply to various shows and events, and then I wait to see where my artwork gets accepted. It's an arbitrary process. Really. And sometimes, this makes the notion of planning or goal setting difficult. But each year, the fundamentals remain the same for me: Spend as much time painting in my studio as possible, read broadly and visit art exhibitions to keep my creativity flowing, and exercise to keep Pennsylvania's delightful scenery within my reach.

Impressions of Centre County, Pennsylvania

It's (already) mid-July, and that means it's time for the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. This will be my eleventh year of participation, and sometimes I have to sit back and marvel a bit at how much I've learned between now and my first year as an exhibitor. At times, it was a steep learning curve, but with the help of my husband and my family, I persevered. I'm happy to report that I've progressed from renting a truck to purchasing a new van of my own for my art shows. With the best set up that I've had to date, I'm looking forward to this year's show with some new ideas and works.

Impression: The Guardians original oil on paper.
This captures a couple of my favorite trees along Old Gatesburg Road just outside of State College. I always admire these trees' silhouettes when I ride my bike in and out of town.

 

For this year's show, I'm pleased to introduce a new series of "Sketch Impressions" inspired by my beautiful surroundings here in the rolling mountains of Centre County, Pennsylvania. These small format works are original oil paintings on paper, and they're a looser, more gestural interpretation of ideas that I may expand upon in the future as larger format works. These pieces are great, liberating ways to explore ideas with a better energy than the more formal approach I sometimes take to my bigger pieces. In some cases, they may be more conceptual and experimental than what you would typically see in my artwork, and I'm excited about this new direction. I'm starting with landscapes, but you can expect to see this approach used in my cityscapes, too, as well as additional locations throughout Pennsylvania. All good things in good time.

During this year's show, you'll be able to find me in Booth O-49 along Fairmount Street in State College during the art show. Shown here are a few of the first pieces from this new "Impressions" series that I'll feature in my booth.

Impression: Bellefonte Sky original oil on paper.
I caught this view just south of Bellefonte while on my way home this past winter.

 

Impression: Summer Sweep original oil on paper.
Sweeping, dramatic summer clouds billow over the landscape just north of State College earlier this summer.

From Start to Finish

This past weekend, I met with a woman who's getting started on her art career and who wanted advice on how to take her artwork to a more professional level. She works full time in a computer career right now, and her time for working on her artwork is limited. One of the most valuable things that I tried to share with her is the importance of doing initial, preparatory studies before starting on an "actual" piece.

Before I had the luxury of devoting myself full time to my art career, I would often dive into an idea because I was just so excited and I wanted to get going right away. But then I got lost in the middle. And then the whole thing ended up in the proverbial vertical file. This was enormously frustrating, especially because my time was so limited and I wanted to maximize my results while holding down a different full time gig. Fortunately, over the past years of working full time on my art, I've become more disciplined about completing preparatory studies. In addition, I've done a lot of homework about the importance of starting things well.

To me, the characteristics of a good start to a new piece include strong shapes, bold color, and an unambiguous concept. As I work more with oil painting, the importance of a good start becomes even greater to me because I'm still relatively new to this medium. If I can get things off to a good, running start, then I find that all of the remaining details and flourished naturally fall into place.

Shown here is the progression, from start to finish, of a brand new cityscape, "Chicago Twilight." This is my first new cityscape in oil for 2015 and I'm pleased with the result. You can see the finished photograph of this piece on my web site under Golden Chicago. Enjoy!

The initial block-in This is the foundation for everything else that follows. While it can be loosely set in, the drawing and shapes need to be accurate.

Refinements: Here I built in darker colors and more details to set the composition in place.

Color Touches: After getting the initial details in place, I start to embellish the overall color in this piece. The whole motivation behind this subject was the juxtaposition of the warm light and cool blues and purples throughout the subject.

Almost Done: Here, the final details are pretty much in place, especially refinements to the street lights and the architectural details on the buildings.

Just for Fun: An action photo of my palette. I love playing around with these colors!