April 2024

April is easily the busiest month of my life … a rollercoaster month filled with hard work, gratification, excitement, exhaustion and inspiration. 

The month began with a weeklong paint out at Piedmont Park for the Virginia Highland Plein Air Painters. Every artist has their ideal weather conditions for painting and the week was right up my alley. It was breezy, cool and not too humid. Azaleas were bloomin, spring greens were poppin. I sold almost all of my paintings, so that was the cherry on top.

Piedmont Park invited me to teach 18 artists how to paint flowers at the Piedmont Park Community Center. What a thrill! For some, it was the very first time painting anything! And they did it!! Everyone walked out of there with a painting and a boost of self confidence! So incredibly gratifying.

The following week Scott and I flew to New York. Scott had a work conference and I tagged along so that I could spend the week learning and studying in The Met, MoMA, Neue Galerie, Brooklyn Museum and the Morgan Library. My brain was so full it almost hurt. I saw incredible exhibitions of works by Kathe Kollwitz, the Harlem Renaissance artists, Gustav Klimt, the 100 Views of Edo and The Dean Collection. Phenomenal art. Nothing makes me happier than being in an art museum.

Back to The Bacarat … my favorite!!

I LOVE NYC!!!!

We got home Friday night, frantically straightened up and Michelle arrived on Saturday for the Olmsted Plein Air Invitational. Michelle is one of my all time favorite people. We get each other, trust each other and support each other 100%. She helps me with things she knows, and I help her with things I know. Collaboration, not competition, as she likes to say. 

 

Sunday morning we got up early and painted on the top of the parking deck at The Varsity. The air was crisp and cool and we had a perfect view all to ourselves. Unfortunately, that was the only day we got to paint together, but I’m grateful for that one morning.

Olmsted was a whirlwind week and there were some highs and lows. The plein air circuit may appear to be very glamorous to outsiders, but it’s actually incredibly difficult and can be very demoralizing. Imagine if you drove 500, 800 miles (or flew over 2,000 miles) to compete in a plein air event and you didn’t sell a single painting. You packed your car, left your family, stayed with someone you probably didn’t know, had to pay for your meals, gas, frames, paint, materials etc. And you didn’t sell a single painting or win a ribbon/cash. That’s tough. And you watched as your peers sold and won. And you graciously congratulated them. Believe me - it’s not easy. And I’ve experienced it myself, so I know. You see people looking at your paintings, passing them over OR see people discussing your work. If you’re not careful, if you’re not confident, it can break your spirit.]

Read Steven Walker’s Instagram post about the event. Or talk to Jill Carver about her experiences on the circuit. And they’re both REALLY really skilled painters.

Fortunately, Michelle had a fantastic week, but not everyone was so lucky. If you’re going to compete and put yourself out there, you better be resilient and develop a thick skin.

TEACHING

My drawing students continue to work so hard. I cannot describe the feeling I get when I see them get it, when the pieces fall into place, when they overcome their self-doubt, when the drawing works and they realize they can do it. And I’ve been very lucky to have received messages from people who let me know that my methods and techniques are making a significant impact. Here’s a message I got the other day: “One of my studio students takes your drawing class. You are an amazing teacher! She is learning so much about focus and proportion! I look forward to seeing what she’s worked on every week!” 

But the ultimate credit goes to the students who put in the work. I can only give suggestions and information. The artist has to do the work, and I know it’s not easy to psyche yourself up to do tedious drawings over and over again. But … if you DO THE WORK, the rewards are rich.

PAINTING

The Southeastern Pastel Society reception was held on Saturday, April 20 in Watkinsville, Georgia. Terry texted a photo of my painting to me and I realized there was a little red dot next to the tag! SOLD! Such a great feeling. I have no idea who bought a pastel painting of San Miguel de Allende in Watkinsville, GA, but I’m soooo grateful.

I also have a pastel painting going up at The Booth Western Art Museum in May! 

Here are a few more paintings from April

I’m still drawing every day. It’s now been 90 consecutive days. Hopefully I can keep it going. A lot of times I pull references from Pinterest or sometimes I sketch in the museum … or in the car … or in the kitchen … or whenever I can find 15 minutes.

Not quite ready for my big reveal that I mentioned last month, but so close. The paintings are UP and they look amazing. 

DOCENT LIFE

My docent buddy, Jane, and I gave a peer to peer presentation to our docents this month. I worked myself up into a lather over it - so did Jane. We are wired very similarly and the last thing we wanted was to look silly or unprepared. Of course, it all ran smoothly. Not sure how I let myself get so wound up :(. 

The new Dutch Masters exhibition is officially on view, on loan from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. It’s a killer collection. I love walking through the galleries and seeing artists get close up, examining brush strokes. Only artists look at paintings that way. If you know, you know. 

We will be showing The Dean Collection in the fall, and I can hardly wait. This will be a HUGE hit for our museum. And it’s great timing for the National Docent Symposium in November.

PERSONAL

We celebrated Scott’s birthday. He’s been taking piano lessons on the weekends, so I got him a keyboard so he can practice between lessons. This will always be my favorite picture of Scott - riding a camel in Petra on his birthday 9 years ago.

COMING IN MAY

A painting retreat at Little Ocmulgee State Park, PACE in Asheville, Midtown Garden Stroll, a new exhibit at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany and a few other fun things.

OTIS and JUJU

Didn’t have a whole lot of free time to get photos of my boys this month, but here are a few.