Yesterday a friend gave me one of the most unusual books I’ve ever read. It’s called “Inside the Painter’s Studio” by Joe Fig. I can’t put it down !

Joe Fig is a Brooklyn based artist who creates miniature dioramas based on the day-to-day lives of professional painters. Ten years ago he began interviewing and photographing top New York painters in their studios. This book collects 24 amazing artist interviews and intimate photos of their work spaces.

Some of the artists are practically household names such as Ross Bleckner, Chuck Close, Eric Fischl, April Gornick, and Philip Pearlstein. Many others are highly successful, but new to me. It’s been a wonderful revelation with every interview to go online and research each artist’s work.

In every interview he asked the same series of 18 questions. These questions cover fascinating territory such as how do they organize their studios? Do they live where they work? What’s their daily routine? What music do they listen to? What paints and tools do they use? Do they use assistants? How do they come up with titles?

These interviews make you feel like you’ve sat down for a very personal chat right in the artist’s studio. What a rare glimpse into their daily working lives.

What is most apparent is they all work every day, in a highly focused way. You might think the higher profile artists would be out doing more glamorous things all the time. But art doesn’t get made by itself. Many mention they tend to work long days and must force themselves to go out into the world.

Most of them spend the first few hours of the day dealing with the business issues, email and phone calls. Then they get to work painting. This is the same routine I’ve always maintained as well. Once the business stuff is taken care of, I can shift focus and go into the painting mode without any nagging “to do’s”.

The most surprising thing to me was the fact that most do not have assistant around them all the time. They simply have someone come in occasionally to clean up, stretch canvas and pack shipments.

Being an artist, no matter how successful or famous, is ultimately about being alone in honest conversation with your canvas.

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.