2020 has been hard. There may be nothing else we agree on, but on this point point, I think all humans are in agreement. In the United States, the election is just days away. Afterward, half the country will be happy, the other mad. COVID-19 continues to rage on essentially unchecked. No one knows, let alone agrees on, if staying…
It’s my story that the last two weeks of not posting or doing art have not been my fault. And I’m gonna stick to it. The last few posts at the end of August were about the finishing of two paintings for an upcoming show. I worked hard on them, and the remaining steps were to varnish the panels and…
When starting Ruth Armitage‘s Roaring 20’s mentorship program, I filled out a little questionnaire about my goals. One of the questions was about how much painting I did and if that was enough or if I wanted to do more. I answered that I painted from 1-4 hours a week, and that felt like enough. This weekend was a “1-hour”.…
To paraphrase Victor Hugo, some weeks’ function is to serve as a bad example. This was one of those weeks. By Friday, stick a fork in me because I was done. I sat down in my studio Friday evening and basically destroyed some paper. I would like to report, that got it out of my system. Maybe it did. Saturday…
The news from the world at large has been so horrific lately that I have been paralysed in front of my keyboard. I don’t know what to say. And frankly, I don’t know if I should say anything. Many of the guides right now make a good point that being an ally is about stop promoting yourself so other voices…
This weekend I spent my first few nights in my new, Keizer home. And so far, I love it. The backyard is lovely and quiet. The inside spaces are interesting and fun. I don’t have a refrigerator (it’s a couple weeks off still) or a washer and dryer (same excuse), but the heating/cooling system is swift and the dishwasher works…
Judging from my Facebook feed, I am not the only one having a hard time with the idea that in the current climate, resting is the thing to do. That doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying the opportunity, it just means that I find myself at odd times looking around and thinking, “Wait, wasn’t I supposed to be doing something?” Take…
I’ve been thinking a lot about chapters. According to the Mirriam Webster dictionary, chapter has at least three definitions, including this one: period of time that is very different from the period of time before it. The problem is that many times, chapters aren’t easy to define. 2019 was absolutely influenced (read dominated) by the death of my mom in…
Sometimes (most times) I feel like Facebook doesn’t give a very even picture of an actual event. For example, this weekend… Friday, Key and I loaded up in the car to head up to Camano Island, Washington (north of Seattle) to do a nosework (NW3) trial. This is our second trial in the last three weekends (in other words, of…
Every so often, I publish a “stealth post.” This post will be one of those. I tend to process things slowly, and writing about difficult topics can help me put things in perspective. I usually don’t go out of my way to publicize these posts because the topic is personal and not “on point” to the art blog I try…