January 2023

Around this time last year I read the book, “One Word,” and chose the word experiment as my word for 2022. I’ve been kicking around ideas for my word/phrase for 2023 and I think I’ve settled on instinct. I’ve learned a lot about art and painting over the last 7-8 years, and I can spot a great painting from a mile away. But I don’t always trust my instincts when it comes to my own work. It’s time to change that and build confidence in the work I’m producing. As Bill Davidson said many years ago, “We all pump out duds,” so I’m not seeking perfection. I’ll continue to make mistakes, but when it’s right, I’m going to jump all over it and enjoy that feeling of accomplishment. It’s going to take a while to get there, and I’ll be patient with myself, but that’s the goal for 2023. 

And that actually pairs very well with the painting I’ve chosen to highlight this month. The painting above developed slowly, initially from a drawing I did a while back. As we were drawing that day I instantly thought of Wayne Thiebaud’s cityscapes, so I decided to try my version of that. I went with acrylic because it’s so easy and fast to layer, then mixed in some graphite and pushed it a little towards abstraction. I played with color, punched up the saturation. I took the literal scene before me and exaggerated it, spun it, improvised. What started as a representational drawing ended up in more of a playful, imaginary world. And I love it. This is the intersection of 15th and Peachtree, a place where I spend A LOT of time giving tours of the High Museum, which is why I included the school buses (which were there that day). It was so much fun to paint. And it has been accepted into the Spring Fling exhibition at Colony Square, beginning February 25.

Also accepted into that show … “Surf’s Up,” which is my second painting from a scene I saw last February in San Diego/Coronado.

The third painting I submitted, “Happy Hour,” did not make the juror’s cut. And this is where the word instinct comes into play again because you know what? I believe in this painting. I think it’s fun and interesting and playful. It’s based in reality but spun up a notch or two. 

Here’s the deal … if all artists painted the same traditional way, we would be bored out of our gourds. If you want a faithful reproduction of a scene, get a camera. I want to see what the artist sees, and I don’t care if the drawing is off, or if that lemon didn’t really have any purple in it, or if the cup was more yellow than blue. Let’s play! Let’s have fun. That’s what art is for me. Which happy hour would you rather go to? 

 

Here are a few other paintings I’ve been working on or just recently completed:

Our plein air group continues to meet indoors due to the weather. I think we’re all suffering from cabin fever, but there’s not much we can do when it’s cold, gray and damp. I’ve gone out a couple of times and it takes forever to warm back up. I also don’t really love the paintings that come from these sessions. 

 

The only thing I know to do is to work on master copies, old paintings, drawing, value studies and experiment with abstracts while waiting as patiently as possible for spring.

 

 

DOWNTOWN GALLERY 

 

My painting, “Duck Pond,” is currently on view at the Booth Museum’s Downtown Gallery in Cartersville. We attended the opening reception and ran into one of my favorite artists, Nikki Davidson. Nikki taught me all about painting water a few months ago, and she’s teaching a cloudscape workshop in September. I’m registered for that. Can’t wait to magic brush some clouds with Nikki!

I gave my 100th docent tour last week! Every tour teaches me something. These bright, enthusiastic 3rd graders are always curious and observant. They ask the best questions, and it’s very rewarding to see one or two in each group who really get it. Of course, there are also always one or two kids who feel like they’re in a torture chamber. Shouldn’t take you too long to spot that in the photo above. Maybe he’d rather be in math class :)

PERSONAL

Scott and I ran the MLK 5K Drum Run, and Scott won his age group! I mix in a lot of walking but it’s nice to have these races on the calendar periodically because it gives me something to work towards. It’ll be tough to get another one in for a while because of our weekend commitments (art and French class).

OTIS AND JULIUS

 

It was a stressful month for my boys. We went for our annual check up on December 30th and realized that Otis had some inflammation around his tooth, so he went in for a dental procedure. Poor little Otis got his paw shaved for his IV. It’s slowly growing back. When Otis came home from the vet he smelled like the vet and that sent JuJu into orbit.  

Fortunately O-doggie did not have to have a big tooth pulled just a baby tooth, and now he and JuJu are back to their happy go lucky little personalities. We’ve also been singing, “Boots with the Furrrrr” in honor of Otis’s shaved paw.

 

JuJu loves sitting on Scott’s dry cleaning

FEBRUARY

The pace will begin picking up in February with a painting retreat on Jekyll Island, should be a nice way to warm up for spring! Might also have a fun little announcement or two if my meetings go well this week and next. Fingers crossed!