I’m preparing for my very first art show in the month of March. It will be held at The Pocket Theater in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. As I gathered all my mixed media paintings to sort and choose, I realized that I have created a body of work. It’s a small body of work, but it’s all mine and I’m proud of it. However, getting ready to show it in a public place is quite a stretch. I’m glad I’m doing it. I may never do it again, but I’m grateful for the opportunity.
Figure drawing influence
I've been attending a figure drawing group in downtown Issaquah for nearly two years now. There's no formal instruction, just a coordinator and a model and a bunch of artists shifting around to find their favorite drawing spot/materials/easel/stool. They are amazing artists and every time I show up, I'm grateful that they let me hang out with them. Since we meet on Monday mornings, most of us are retired, so there's a lot of aged wisdom in the room and oh-so-much talent. And, every now and then I look at my day's work and realize that my skills are improving. Other days I feel like I'm drawing with oven mitts on my hands.
Painting Calm
The Pacific Northwest is dry right now and fires are raging in central and eastern Washington and Oregon. Houston Texas and the surrounding areas are reeling from Hurricane Harvey as tropical storm Irma heads for Florida. It feels dystopia, like living in an Octavia Butler science fiction novel. I'm painting flowers as an anecdote. Lynn Whipple teaches and on line class that is fun and energetic. It also encourages me to fill my art studio with various arrangements of fresh flowers. I am grateful.
I'm starting a blog.
I've been wanting a place online to post my artwork. Now I've created one. It's a first step in putting myself out in the world as an artist. I'm still not comfortable with that title. Something to work on.