July 2024

Bon Jour, Montreal! I’d never been to Canada before and Scott had only been once, so we were very excited to spend time in Montreal over July 4th. I was expecting it to be chilly … wrong! It wasn’t quite as hot as Atlanta, but certainly much more hot and humid than we anticipated. 

The surprise of the trip was the incredible art collection at the Musee des Beaux Arts. There’s an underground tunnel that leads to another portion of the museum - it was jam packed with art. And they even had an art making station where we were encouraged to make collages. So fun. 

We also visited the Botanical Gardens, saw Pink Martini at Montreal Jazz Festival and enjoyed lots of great food and cocktails. 

We joked that the Detour sign should be Montreal’s new flag. I’ve never seen so much road construction in my life. The sounds of jackhammers and reverse beeps were NONSTOP. Even the people who live in Montreal couldn’t stop talking about it. There are a few theories about the reasons for this, but I don’t know what’s true, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Michelle rolled through on her way to the Cashiers Plein Air Festival and then again on her way home. We LOVE having her spend the night with us. She’s a breath of fresh air and I always feel better when I see her. 

My friend Daniel was in a big show downtown - the Marburger Farm show. One of my docent buddies went with me to look around and take notes. What a crazy, wild show! From what I understand a lot of the vendors used to go to Scott Antique Market, but that market has declined considerably (they say!) because now so much of the products are imports, poor quality and not antiques.

TEACHING

Classes are still going well at Acworth. Each week I create worksheets with reference images and while the subject matter varies from week to week, the basic premise is the same: shapes, lining things up and creating form with values. 

Small Group Saturdays at our house are also going very well. One student has zero experience, so we really are starting from scratch. It’s fun and rewarding to see them all make progress.

VHPAP

We are in a dormant state for the most part due to the heat and humidity. I think it’s driving plein air painters a bit bonkers to be inside for so long. We get bored and grumpy when we can’t go outside and play. I set up a drawing session at the High on one of the last days of the Dutch Masters exhibition, and that was fun.

It’s easy to see how someone could interpret this as a lonely looking scene. I don’t see it that way at all. This is meditation. It’s almost like slipping into a trance. There’s no sense of time, space or what’s happening around me. Honestly, I could sit in a museum and draw all day. 

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

About once a week I go to my studio space at the Fulton County Library downtown. It also feels like a meditative space. Most of my time is spent drawing or planning. The same cast of characters hang out here every day. They’re usually very respectful and quiet towards one another, but there are also times when security has to ask someone to leave for causing trouble.

PAINTING

I’m still pretty heavy into pastels right now and honestly, I’m kinda missing oils. Soooo, I think I may dip back into the oils for a bit to keep things fresh. Greg Barnes painted in both pastels and oils at Cashiers, so that tells me I don’t have to pick a lane. I knew that, but it helps to see someone else walking that path.

These are just a sample of some of the work from this month. My daily drawing streak continues on a separate Instagram channel. As of today (July 28) I’m up to 178 continuous days. Of course, some days are better than others, but even if I only draw for 10 minutes, it counts towards my 10,000 hours. Actually, I think I may already have 10,000 hours, but from what I hear from other artists, I’m gonna need another 10,000 to crush it like I wanna crush it.

AUGUST

The cruelest, longest, hottest, nastiest month of the year is just a few days away. And then we will fly right into fall. September and October are going to be WILD, so I’m using the next 31 days to prepare. I need to build my inventory of ideas, paintings, frames and materials because I won’t have time to do that in the midst of all the action. 

You know what comes next … so you can stop reading unless you really need to see more pictures of Chonky JuJu and O-doggie

Afternoon flirt fest with Otis is the highlight of my day

I love my boy’s little zipper that runs along his belly … 

and this is the GIMME MY BELLY RUBS pose

Chonky JuJu loves nestling in blankets while I get Michelle’s room ready

Whiskers for the win!

See you next month :)