The first time I visited Somerville Open Studios, I was living just south of Boston, and some friends and I hopped on the train and rode in. As a latent artist myself (I hadn’t been painting for years), I was intrigued by this concept of visiting artists in their workspace; just roaming through and seeingContinue reading “Experience or Exhibit?”
Category Archives: musings
A Juxtaposing Weekend
I had the good fortune of attending a day of panel discussions and breakout sessions for artists at The Art of Protest: Public Art and Scholarship as Political Resistance at the Mayapple Center for Arts & Humanities at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY. The day included visual arts, poetry, filmmaking, writing, and music, from aContinue reading “A Juxtaposing Weekend”
The Subconscious Beginnings of a New Idea
I’ve been puttering around in the studio, working on this and that, enjoying a little time to work on my own ideas while the next couple of commissions make some decisions (which size? Is this picture the one?). Sure, it slows down the queue a little, but I am always happy to have time toContinue reading “The Subconscious Beginnings of a New Idea”
Intermittent Reinforcers
Like most of us, I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. While it has always been obvious that the user is the product on a free social media platform, Zuckerberg’s despicable brand of greedy exploitation of others to serve his own self-interest has its own strain of wanton deceit (obvious to anyone who listened toContinue reading “Intermittent Reinforcers”
Whys and Whatnots and Talking to Dogs
I was talking with another artist recently about artist statements; why we do the work we do, and how we articulate the reasons why we do the work we do. The artist statement is the bane of our existence. Never-ending, we are constantly re-examining and tweaking, editing it for every gallery we contact and each show we submit to, but never truly satisfiedContinue reading “Whys and Whatnots and Talking to Dogs”
He’s in a Good Place
After having my work hung at Christopher’s in Cambridge, I was contacted by a local veterinary clinic interested in exhibiting my dog paintings on a rotating basis. They were fairly new to their address and the walls were bare. I met with them and we hit it off; nice people with a vision compatible withContinue reading “He’s in a Good Place”
On Vulnerability
Last week, I attended a conversation between Krista Tippett (many know her from NPR’s On Being) and poet David Whyte which centered around the theme of vulnerability. With Tippett’s recent Civil Conversations project, vulnerability was approached more as an experience of engaging in political discussions with those whose choice we don’t understand, but the wordContinue reading “On Vulnerability”
Newman, done
One of the things I love most about painting time in the studio is the aural input. I’m a podcast person because it offers an endless supply of options for someone with many different — OK, scattered — interests, allowing my brain to receive all kinds of information while my eyes and hands are busy withContinue reading “Newman, done”
Falling Back into the Work
I don’t like that I basically shut down in the summer, but the upside of it is that come Sept 21st, some internal switch is turned on and I re-emerge, recharged. This Fall has brought an extra bonus – a studio! Many months ago, I wrote about how I longed for a bright studio andContinue reading “Falling Back into the Work”
Molly Undone
…or, unfinished. But undone sounds so much more interesting, like a 40-something woman sitting in the kitchen with disheveled hair, one leg up on the table, with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other. No, this Molly is just back behind the door, removed from the easel where she has satContinue reading “Molly Undone”
canvas major 