The past 3 1/2 months have been  incredibly intense and productive in the studio. Long 8 - 12 hour days  have been both exhilarating and draining. As a result I’ve really had no energy left over to attempt blogging.

I’ve been getting a lot of new paintings finished for my museum show this coming December, along with all the canvas stretching and preparing that goes with it. New updates to my website were just added with new paintings and events. I also revised my Artist Statement which tells a little more about where the ideas for my work come from.

And out of the blue, on January 4th, I was invited to have a solo show in Naples, Florida at Sweet Art Gallery. So I’ve been busy packing art and preparing to have it shipped.

This opportunity came about as if by magic really. New Years day, as always, I sat and thought about what I want to accomplish this year. In addition to creating a strong body of work for my museum show at Art Gallery of Windsor in December,  I decided I’d like to research and find a reputable gallery  in Florida to represent me so I could have a winter studio somewhere warm. I’ve always loved the Naples / Fort Meyers area so decided to focus on that.

On January 2nd, my husband was talking to his brother who lives in Orlando. My brother-in-law is in the roofing business and  has never really shown much interest in art. He  “accidentally” discovered on New Years day that his best customer’s wife owns a successful contemporary gallery in Naples. He showed her my website and  she was immediately interested.

Dede Sweet (don’t you just love her name) of the Sweet Art Gallery, phoned the following Monday and after a very comfortable chat she offered me a solo show for a month with the opening March 26th. If you’re anywhere near Naples on that day, be sure to come to the Opening Reception between 6 - 9 pm. More information can be found on my website under Upcoming Events.

How magical is that? My New Year goal - more than accomplished - the very next day !!! I still find it rather hard to believe.

It’s been a busy week.

To begin with, I photographed and cataloged a series of 12 small paintings. They’re part of a series of 8″ x 8″ studies in preparation for the massive paintings I need to create for my museum exhibition in 2010-2011. They’re all multiple layers of acrylic on paper mounted on 1/2″ thick wood. I plan to finish as many as I can over the next year using the entire range of hues. There’s a small chamber within the exhibition space which will feature a selection chosen by the curator.

Here are a few of them in the Green / Blue / Violet range.

It was also time to begin preparing for an Encaustic Solo show coming up in October. I stained 18 float frames which I had my carpenter build for me. Once that was done it was time to attach them to 18 encaustic works on wood, each measuring 12″ x 12″. Of course that meant adding hardware and wiring for hanging. Those are now finished, photographed, and ready to go.

I always prefer to get things done in batches and out of the way. The next step for this October show will be to prepare frames for a series of  30 miniature encaustics. These are between 5″ x 5″ and 8″ x 8″ each. I’m not quite sure the best way to present these yet and I’m still looking into different options.

This morning I was really pleased to have collectors from Dallas, visit my studio. I met them at my recent show at Alan Barnes Fine Art.  At the Opening they bought the 20″ x 20″ painting featured on the cover of my catalog. They’re visiting Detroit for a wedding this weekend and took the time to cross the border to come see me. I was thrilled to be able to show them around.

During these unsettling times, it’s challenging to make it through a day without being bombarded with negative, gloomy news. For artists it can be even more challenging.

In talking to other artists and reading Blogs online, I repeatedly hear the anguish and self-doubt. As most people focus on merely coping with their lives, art and culture becomes the first thing to be deemed unnecessary. Many professional artists are faced with few sales plus the added pressure of having the galleries which represent them closing altogether. As a result many artists are so disillusioned they  are giving up completely. Their tender, creative souls have been crushed.

It is very sad to see this happen. Yet at the same time there are also many artists who thankfully see these times as an opportunity for rebirth and renewal. - a time to go into the studio and get back in touch with their innermost creative selves. - to experiment - to question - to seek and to find themselves anew.

That’s how I’ve chosen to approach these times. Yes, I do have doubts at times. That little voice in my head that says “Why bother?”. But then the other voice booms even louder, “Because it’s who you are and it’s your destiny to create art.”

Usually at this point a third voice enters into my thoughts that says, “Show me a sign I’m on the right path.” Here is where it gets kind of weird and wonderful.

Over the 20 years since I made the decision to make art as my full-time career, I’ve had this little exchange with the “Universe” several times. Each time I do, something shifts and the phone rings, or an opportunity walks through my door. I instantly receive a batch of tangible signs in the form of sales or an invitation to show my work. I’m absolutely not making this up.

2 weeks ago, I was at a bit of a low ebb and that inner conversation came up in my head. Boom !!! Within days, I’d sold 2 paintings and been invited to have a 2-person show in late October.

Yesterday, a friend recommended someone to me and he ended up buying a small series of 8″ x 8″ works on paper mounted on wood. Someone else email this morning and they want a painting from my website. It may be coincidence, but to me it’s definitely a sign.

Red Vibe - series 8" x 8" each (16" x 16" overall) (c) 2007

My theory is that it all comes down to faith. We must all have faith in ourselves. And we must all have faith that when we are on the right path, doors will open. We will receive everything we need.

Keep the faith !!

Here are 2 new paintings on canvas I finished last week which I’ve been working on for about a month.

They’re both 24″ x 24″ and could probably hang together although they’re not specifically a diptych.  C-0907 is primarily an exploration of cool reds with blue undertones. In C-0908 I was exploring warm reds with orange undertones.

It’s always so interesting to me to see how the same color can convey such different emotional content simply through temperature and tone.

Red Horizon # C-0907

Red Horizon, # C-0908

Here’s my personal opinion on the current “Great Depression” and how I cope with it as an artist.

My observation is there’s just too much free-floating anxiety everywhere these days. That’s not to minimize the fact that some people are truly having serious problems. But the constant barrage of “the sky is falling” media coverage, and endless discussions everywhere about how bad things are, only makes things worse. People are paralyzed by fear.

We’re going through a worldwide attitude adjustment. For too long everyone, including me, has had the  unrealistic expectation of “bigger & better” every year. Perhaps we need to think in terms of a more peaceful acceptance of what is truly sustainable.

Here are my 7 ways to stay centered.

1. I turn down the volume. I limit my TV, newspaper and radio news to the bare minimum. I try and isolate the facts from the analysis which is mostly just exaggerated hype.
2. I stay away from online forums and discussions which focus on the negative. A “Woe is me” attitude is contagious. There’s a constructive approach to every problem and I always try to find people who think that way.
   
3. I look for something every day that makes me laugh, feel touched, or inspired. YouTube can always be counted on for something truly amazing. This example will have you smiling from ear to ear with their creative genius. Flash Mob in London
4. I keep reminding myself that as bad as things may seem, the simple fact that we’re sitting at a computer right now means we live better than 98% of the world’s population.
5. Opportunities are everywhere. My view is we all have to take responsibility for ourselves in finding them.
6. I meditate every day and focus on gratitude and peace.
7. I let nothing come between me and my studio time. It’s my refuge.

Speaking of my studio being my refuge, here’s a painting I’ve been working on for the past month and just finished. It’s acrylic on canvas and measures 48″ x 48″.

Green & Orange Horizon

Where on earth does time fly to. It’s already been 2 weeks since getting back from Dallas. I’ve been immersed in studio work and fighting a cold, barely taking time to turn on my computer.

Several people mentioned they were curious to see the paintings which sold the night of my Opening Reception on February 12th at Alan Barnes Fine Art. Here are a few of them.

It seemed the most desirable pieces were the ones used for the front, back and inside covers of my  Exhibition Catalog

Yellow Green Colorscape, 20" x 20" USD $2,250.

Orange / Green Colorscape, 8" x 8" USD $800.

Blue / Green Colorscape, 12" x 12" USD $950.

Blue / Violet Colorscape, 20" x 16" USD $1,950

Blue / Green Colorscape, 9" x 7" USD $790.

For the past several weeks in the studio, I’ve been concentrating on finishing a series of 12″ x 12″ encaustic wax pieces. I finished 6 in total and here are a few of them.

Mostly this time I experimented with carving through several layers of various pigments to see what would be uncovered. Instead of adding color as I do with painting, with encaustic, I remove it. This process of thinking in reverse makes for interesting brain gymnastics.

Blue Colorscape Encaustic

Green-Blue-Red Encaustic Colorscape

August has been a non-stop month of exciting events. But it’s great to be back in the studio painting.

Alan Barnes Fine Art in Dallas has just confirmed my Solo Exhibition starting March 12, 2009 for a month. For this particular show, they’d like to focus on my smaller, more intimate canvases. These are always in great demand and I don’t have very many available. So I need to paint the whole show from scratch.

They’d like at least 30 small canvases ready by the end of December. This means the 2 large canvases I recently started (see Aug 7th) have been put away for the time being.

Over the past 3 days, I’ve textured a series of 8 tiny canvases measuring 8″ x 8″. This size is smaller than I normally work with, but they’re wonderful as a warm up for my usual 12″ x 12″ size.

Here are 2 that I’ve been working on for awhile and actually finished this week. They each measure 8″ x 8″ and are acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.

Just before I left for my vacation, I finished this painting on canvas. It measures 48″  x  72″.

I like to let a new painting sit outside of my visual field for a few weeks before I varnish it. After working intensely on a canvas for a month, it’s really hard to look at it objectively anymore.

While away, it was left hanging so I could get the full impact when I walked in. Sometimes a painting needs more work. But this one actually looked better than I’d remembered.

So today, it got varnished, documented and photographed.