Summer is always a time when I tend to paint more, but this summer is flying by and I’m having so much fun with friends and family that I haven’t been as dedicated in parceling off and protecting studio time. That said, I’ve been in two exhibits on Cape Cod and have produced new work as well. Here are some highlights from the summer months so far:

Gray’s Beach Marsh 30 x 36 in the Bay State Open Juried  Exhibit at the Cape Cod Art Center in June/July.

Two 8 x 8’s of some of my beach friends!

Recent work from trips to Provincetown, MA – always great light and wonderful sights.

Right now I’m preparing for a series of large pieces and hope to begin this weekend.   As I work on the first, I’ll post about process in working large.  I’m growing to love my large paintings – now I just need to approach some galleries!

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This month I have found myself interested in sketching.  I follow some sketch artists on Twitter and Facebook and have bought and loved every book that #DannyGregory has published.  I recommend The Creative License if you like to play with recording in this way.   Since my exhibit, I’ve found it a bit difficult to be productive in the studio.  I have finished two paintings in the past month, one very large and one small piece as well as a plein air 6 x 8 that I actually love.  The winter colors at the beaches on Cape Cod right now are marvelous – cool blues and Naples yellows and browns and muted grayed greens.  All to say, I am playing versus producing

I highly recommend playing vs. producing for several reasons:

•  Curiosity is the well for all of our creative work.  Reading new books and articles, trying new mediums, playing with different colors – sometimes we don’t take the time to experiment when we are working to complete a group of paintings.
• It is FUN!
• It justifies more trips to the art store.
• Colored pens become the norm.
• Sketching, in particular, captures my days in ways that photography and painting don’t.  Sketching is personal.
• Playing can lead you to new endeavors.
• Playing makes you joyful.

March can be a month of waiting – waiting for spring, waiting for the endless snow to end (we have had 3 Nor’easters this month ), waiting for sunshine, waiting for summer.  In the northern climates, it can be a long and teasing month.  Spring is a great time to spread out a bit.  Why not give yourself permission to play this week.  Take an ‘artist date’ ala Julie Cameron.  Buy some fabulous colored pens.  Play with color in your palette.  Maybe try collage.

If you do, I’d love to hear from you.  Let’s share ideas together.  Join my email list if you would like to continue this conversation!

As a follow up to yesterday’s post, I had a wonderful morning at Long Bach.  The weather was warm enough to shed my jacket.  The colors are different in winter without the greens of the beach grass.   I love the play of the muted brown/grays against the sparkling  blues.  Dogs and walkers were out in force, stopping to say hi and check on my progress.  I have some minor finishing touches and lots of photo references.   Total joy.

It is a sunny February morning and warm for this time of year.  The Cape is very quiet in the winter and beautiful in a way very different from the busy summer months.  We just went for a long walk in the back roads of our neighborhood at the lake – so few people now.

I came back to think about the day ahead and stumbled on this poem by Mary Oliver:

What a great reminder.  Well said.  I’m going to pack my backpack and head outside to the beach to paint!  “Joy is not made to be a crumb.”

There are very few opportunities as an artist to see a whole collection of your work displayed in a solo exhibit.  I can say it is a thrill.  My exhibit at Bentley University opened last Wednesday, January 24, with a nice reception.  I have 23 pieces in this exhibit, all completed during the past 18 months.  Many friends and family attended, but as pleasing were those on campus who came to see what I do when I am not working as a college administrator.  Their comments were so encouraging.

A year ago, this was not in my view as a possibility.   I have so many paintings, but hadn’t really focused on a cohesive collection.   I remember setting specific painting goals for myself in January 2017 which included attending two plein air paint-outs, joining some juried associations, revamping my website, trying to understand social media better and maybe —maybe —-investigating the possibility of a solo exhibit in the future.  Big goals – all accomplished.  There is true value to setting specific goals and then committing to time frames and taking action.  This will be a hard act to follow!   However,  this year I plan to continue participating in plein air events, painting several days each week and approaching some Cape Cod galleries.  I also hope to host my first two workshops – Art Escapes on the Cape – this summer.   Let’s see how I do!

I will be the featured artist for a solo exhibit at my University gallery beginning next week and as the days get closer, I thought I would think about the process and steps that brought me to this place.  It is quite a major thing to put your body of work up in one place for comment and critique by an audience.  It has been awhile, and I know that in the time between I have grown immensely as an artist.

I think the first step for any artist considering an exhibit is to set a goal with a time frame in which you would like to see this occur.  A little over a year ago, I established some very big goals for the year ahead, wrote them down, and then didn’t look at them again for months.  However, the simple act of writing specifics down on paper was an incentive for me to take action and complete the small and large steps toward those goals.  This exhibit is the result of that intention.

Next, I had to really look at my work with a critical eye.  A year ago, I had a lot of work but it wasn’t cohesive – didn’t have one voice.   I have watched enough ‘Project Runway’ to know that a collection has to be cohesive – has to be identifiable.   In the midst of this time, I was also considering and developing my personal voice and refining what I truly love to paint – what I want to spend my time seeing and reflecting back.  I don’t want to be a painter who can just knock out pretty little paintings.  I want to evoke something in the work – have people see what I see in a way that creates a memory or a feeling or a sense of place.

Another key was to work diligently at the craft.  I took a wonderful workshop last summer with Anne Blair Brown which stretched me a bit and confirmed some of what I already know to do.  The commitment to spend the time, step back, tweak my approach and paint, paint, paint has brought new confidence and a whole new collection to life.

I had made some inquiries at some galleries, the University being one.   When a call came last fall from the Curator, I was ready.  I had a few pieces to finish, but I had created a cohesive collection of work that I am proud to show.    The Exhibit title matches my blog – Color – Light – Passion – because that is the space I have been living in this year.  In the midst of moves and much change, there has been much joy and exploration and newness.

The work will be hung tomorrow and the reception will be hosted next week – January 24 – from 4-6 p.m.    Nerves and excitement.  Here goes!

24×24 Oil on Canvas

COLOR – LIGHT – PASSION Exhibit

Opening January 24, 2018 4-6 pm

Join me for the opening of a solo exhibit of recent paintings.  The exhibit runs from January 20-March 4 at Bentley University’s RSM Gallery in the library with an opening reception on January 24.  I Hope to see you there!