There is painting, and there is not-painting. When painters aren't painting, what are they doing? For me, at least, I will say that I am thinking about painting, planning to paint, wondering why I'm not painting, reading about other painters, and assessing my own paintings. I also stretch and gesso canvases, frame paintings, clean my studio, plan future shows, make wish lists involving everything from luxurious art supplies to far-flung painting locations, and, you know, do everything else that needs to be done in daily life. And every winter I go through some fallow time, when it's too cold to work outside and I just can't seem to get anything going in my studio. For the past several years I've learned to not worry about these quiet weeks and, in fact, have put them to work for me in other ways. I apply for juried shows, to help me reach beyond Maine into the greater art world. I apply for a residency or a grant, again to reach outside my usual self-imposed boundaries. I am not usually awarded any of these things, but the application process itself is extremely valuable. Having to write an application essay and a work plan gets me focused on what I want to do, how I want to do it, and why I'm doing it. So even if I'm not accepted, I know where I'm headed next, in my work. The inevitable rejections are also useful. They strengthen my resolve.
But I'm not always rejected - I've been fortunate to attend a few residencies over the years, and I've just found out about another acceptance. In the late fall of 2015 I'll be an artist-in-residence at Acadia National Park. I'll be staying on the Schoodic Peninsula for a few weeks, painting my heart out. I cannot wait. Schoodic has been an amazing place to paint over the past year or two, and to be able to go there and stay on site and deepen my engagement with the landscape is a dream come true. My time there will also be a homecoming of sorts, since I was born on the edge of Acadia, in Bar Harbor, and grew up in nearby Addison. In fact this is one of the major reasons I want to paint there: it's my home landscape - bleak and beautiful - and I love it with all my heart.
In other news, I am preparing for a solo show in Rockland and a group show on Islesboro, but I don't have the details of time and place yet. I will share them when I do. Meanwhile, spring has finally arrived here in midcoast Maine and as soon as the rain stops I'll be setting out to revisit some of my favorite painting places - those few locations that always feel like pure gold when I get there and start looking, and keep looking, and try to describe what I'm feeling, with paint. Right now these are places with long views out to open ocean, wide horizons, and miles of space. After being housebound for much of the long snowy winter, this will be the proverbial breath of fresh air. Happy spring, friends.
But I'm not always rejected - I've been fortunate to attend a few residencies over the years, and I've just found out about another acceptance. In the late fall of 2015 I'll be an artist-in-residence at Acadia National Park. I'll be staying on the Schoodic Peninsula for a few weeks, painting my heart out. I cannot wait. Schoodic has been an amazing place to paint over the past year or two, and to be able to go there and stay on site and deepen my engagement with the landscape is a dream come true. My time there will also be a homecoming of sorts, since I was born on the edge of Acadia, in Bar Harbor, and grew up in nearby Addison. In fact this is one of the major reasons I want to paint there: it's my home landscape - bleak and beautiful - and I love it with all my heart.
In other news, I am preparing for a solo show in Rockland and a group show on Islesboro, but I don't have the details of time and place yet. I will share them when I do. Meanwhile, spring has finally arrived here in midcoast Maine and as soon as the rain stops I'll be setting out to revisit some of my favorite painting places - those few locations that always feel like pure gold when I get there and start looking, and keep looking, and try to describe what I'm feeling, with paint. Right now these are places with long views out to open ocean, wide horizons, and miles of space. After being housebound for much of the long snowy winter, this will be the proverbial breath of fresh air. Happy spring, friends.
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