life of the artist

Twenty Twenty Three

in

On this twenty-first day of December, the true turning of the year, at the equinox where we all walk out of the darkness and face back towards the light, it seems fitting to gaze behind us before looking ahead. The year started at the shoreline and will most likely end at the shoreline. The ocean is such a wonderful place to feel the vastness of what is possible.

Twenty twenty-three was replete with gallery exhibits, three different cabin adventures, two extraordinary weddings, a new floor in my studio and resonating from all these experiences is the profound warmth and kindnesses of dear friends. The years of Covid isolation make the communing with friends and family more meaningful, more heartfelt, more cherished.

Though winter has arrived, we are heading back into the light as the days start growing longer. Happy Solstice and a health-filled New Year!

Remind me when we met?

in , , ,

A week has passed since the opening of SURFACING at Sullivan Goss in Santa Barbara. With the show successfully launched, life now turns toward other, more mundane, pursuits; the long forgotten and neglected chores, the unglamorous tasks, that accumulate during the swirling excitement of completing a body of work and the subsequent installation at the gallery.

One luxury, post-reception, is time.

First to fill my calendar: take a long walk with a friend, followed by a plunge in the Pacific.

As we meandered the cliff and shoreline at Campus Point and while scurrying around the craggy rocks during the advancing tide, I was reminded of an image I painted from two decades ago. Still, this view surprises, inspires and holds my attention.

Every. Single. Time.

How does it do that?

Campus Point, Santa Barbara, CA, 2023

I created several versions of this view, small studies and a larger format oil painting, which caught the eye of my then “soon-to-be” husband. I created one last rendition in a size that would fill a wall in our dining room where it has lived for two decades, still bright, still shiny, still inspiring.

And, this morning, standing in front of the muse as it, once again, sparkled and posed, I caught my breath as the vision spilled its fairy dust reminding me that amidst the ebb and flow of life, some things always remain the same.

Point Break, 30x72”, oil on panel 2003

The year in review.... really?

in

Do I have to? It was another doozy full of highs, lows sprinkled with chaotic activity. By the time I make it to the winter holidays I’m usually ready for hibernation and a long winter nap. It sounds so good, right? Friends in snowy places, like Canada and New Hampshire (you know who you are) have the perfect excuse to pull in the welcome mat, settle down by the fire with a stack of books and wait for the spring. Okay, maybe some winter activities are included but those are always optional.

Looking at my photo collection from 2022 the year both started and ended at the beach with plenty of visits to the seashore in between. My solace, my comfort has been found at the edge of the pacific. Joy and laughter with my husband and dog are created and felt there as well. It’s a meeting place with friends and where I run for time alone. It is a steady, unwavering presence that impacts who I get to be while traveling in this skin. I have the great pleasure of sharing these experiences from the inside out through my chosen work. In that knowledge I feel blessed every day. Considering the past few years of uncertainty and quarantine, without close connection to routines and the familiar patterns of day to day existence, my relationship to the sea and sky never wavers. My love for the pacific stays true.

Looking back or looking forward there will always be the sea, the sky, color, light, friends and fur balls. With love, I wish you all a wonder-full start to the new year.