Moving!

Ok, ok...I'm getting ready to sign a lease on a studio/workshop space and open an atelier in Southeast Portland! Nervous and excited. I'm making mental lists and some written ones. Trying not to get too ahead of myself and not be overwhelmed by the tasks ahead. Moving a studio of 20 years is fairly involved and of course I'll be setting up the space for students as well as for myself, so there are numerous considerations.

Bottom line; tons of stuff!! This of course drives me nuts. I don't really care for "stuff". I'm that lady that has a small closet with three colors of cloths in it; black, white and grey. I like to keep it simple and when I envision moving an art studio, the word "simple" does not really come to mind! So, this morning, I went into my studio and looked around at the books, supplies and equipment and took a deep breath. Yes, all of it will eventually have to be moved, but I asked myself what is really essential to the move? Two things came to mind; a stool and a bucket. Without these two items, I could not have a studio or at least it would not be MY studio. My stool has been with me since I was five...a very long time! It is stawart, and sturdy. It gives me comfort and is molded to me. The bucket is the one I bought the first day of Art Center. It has the residue of 30 years of painting on it. Essential items. Just two, really. That makes me feel good!

Rule Breaker

I just returned home from my odyssey of three workshops in four weeks. I'm a bit tired but at the same time renewed and excited to get back in the studio for a bit.

I had so many memorable and even life altering experiences on my trip that I'll sure to be writing about them for quite some time! One of the things that stand out for me is my demo for the Pastel Painters of Maine. I decided to make it a fun two hours and do some variations from my 100 series. I made this decision last minute when sitting alone having breakfast at a little cafe called All Day Breakfast in Kennebunk. The demo was my last obligation before I headed home, so I wanted it to be good. As I sat and ate my eggs all alone and anxious to be back home, I took out my trusty ball point pen and sketched a variation on a napkin. Then I wrote next to it, "Finding a familiar place far from home". That sealed the deal. Variations for the demo, it would be! How could I do anything else?

The demo had an amazing turn out of guests. Folks from as far as New York drove into Kennebunk to attend. I was very honored! I did a little intro, telling the group a bit about my journey as an artist and then chatted a bit about my pastels and other materials I use.  Then, I dove into the pieces in my customary, "decide as I go" fashion. These pieces are so liberating for me and at the same time, a place of familiarity and solace.

As I was painting and explaining my thought process one of the attendees ask, "Do you consider yourself a rule breaker" Ha, ha ha!!! I turned around and smiled, "Yes, that's what artists do". I went on to say that I build myself playgrounds with good solid foundations, then play safely inside them. Well, sometimes not so safely, but you get the idea. All the stuff we can learn in art school, in books and from workshops is just the beginning. From there you put it all in the soup and stir well.

Thanks to PPOM for making my stay so special! It was fun being in the "other" Portland!

I also want to thank students from Pennsylvania, Raleigh and Traverse City, who wrote notes and emails. Thanks so, so much for all your feedback and kind words. It truly makes it all worthwhile!

Portland, Maine

My feet in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time! Thanks Ellen!

A couple more practical notes. I've been using "the square" for credit card purchases on the road, and it works like a charm. Such a handy little gadget.

I'll be headed to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Denver, Co, July 6,7 and 8. I'll be featuring my figurative interiors at the show. 

Be sure to check out the new book Sketchbook Confidential 2. I'm in it! Regardless of my own presence, the book is a really cool peak into the private sketchbooks of 38 professional artists.

And the very big news is that I will be opening up a studio/classroom space for workshops and ongoing classes. I will have a drawing night and a painting night and special intensives mixed in. I will be offering classes to high school and serious middle school students one afternoon a week. My usual workshop offerings will be sprinkled in throughout the year. I hope to have things up and running no later than September. More on this to come!

Reserving Judgement

As a painter, I've learned to be kind to myself. I've learned that I need to be patient as I move through the phases of a piece; the starting, the troublesome middle and the resolution. I've concluded that every single painting goes through a "yuck" stage and one must navigate this by giving oneself credit for what is working and build on that. If you just let yourself get stuck on what is not working, then stuck you will stay.  Usually this is where you begin to pick away aimlessly and then often lose focus altogether. You have to reserve your judgement.

Being a painting teacher has taught me so much about people too. Here are group pictures from my recent workshops!

  Raleigh North Carolina Studio Class

  Raleigh North Carolina Plein Air

Traverse City Studio Class

Traverse City Plein Air

North Carolina!

I've wrapped up my plein air workshop session this afternoon in North Carolina! Tomorrow starts the studio session. After meeting briefly in our classroom at NC State, we spent our first day at Yates Mill County Park which boasts a historic Mill, marshes and a diversity of flora and fauna. We were visited by a sweet sixteen entourage, many families taking in the site and a tour group. The mill was put into action for the tour group. The sound it makes is amazing. It sounds like jets going overhead. Funny, since the grinding is such and old thing and the jets new!

Day two, we met at our second location; the grounds of the Museum of Art. It offers a lovely marshy pond with wildlife. We were entertained by the hawks being chased by the smaller birds. I loved seeing the cardinals and bluebirds, which we don't really have in our area. The expansive grounds are home to a large collection of sculpture and a glass house perched on the top of a hill. Day three, we returned to Yates Mill to have a bit more time to paint the marsh views which are spectacular. We saw an abundance of wildlife including, turtles, blue heron, deer and a beaver dam. Fun! Weather cooperated all three days; not too hot and not a drop of rain. Yippee!!

My group,( all ladies - surprise, surprise!!), was terrific. Everyone had some experience painting plein air, so we didn't need to spend time on equipment concerns and got right into painting. The ladies have that lovely, NC accent too!

In addition to conducting their workshop, I was honored to be chosen as Juror of selection and juror of awards by the Pastel Society of North Carolina for their first statewide exhibit. The show was displayed at Bev's Fine Art in Raleigh, which is a wonderful venue. I was impressed by the entries when I first saw them digitally.They were diverse in subject matter and approach, ranging from landscape to abstract. But, when I finally saw the work hung in the gallery, I was even more impressed! There really is nothing like viewing an original pastel in person when you can see the marks making sitting up on that paper. The show looks fantastic! The board of the Pastel Society of North Carolina worked tirelessly to make the show a success and boy, did they!

The turn out for the awards reception was incredible! It is apparent that the interest and support of the medium of pastel is alive and well in North Carolina! It was a beautiful and elegant event. I said a few words about how I went about selecting the entries and the awards. Here's a bit of what I said:

When I approach my own work, I'm hoping for a little bit of magic; that special place where my ideas and my current skills meet and a piece simply flows through me and is effortless. The medium of pastel affords a particularly special opportunity for these chance moments as it's immediacy, it's glittering particles and its fragility make it fleeting and ethereal.

When I attempt to look at other artist's work...and I do so very humbly, I'm looking for that same place. A place where the science; (the chemistry, archival qualities etc.), the craft; (composition, color, value, perspective) and the poetry; (our expression of the human experience), all meet and dance together. This is also the place where the conflict of painting meet; the nuance and the bold authoritative marks work together.

Congratulations to those who caught a little magic and may it happen frequently for you!"