Tuesday, Watoga

Greenbrier River
Trail, Lake Trail, Honeymoon Trail,
ascent, ridge, descent.

work in progress
tuesday, watoga

Monday, Watoga

Flames dance in fireplace,
owls toss hoots to each other,
paint graces cardstock.

work in progress
monday, watoga

Quick & Quixotic 5

Did I know I was anywhere near a shore?

Did I have any inkling I might be shoved out to sea?

Well, nothing for it but to float, to yield to the gift of buoyancy.

work in progress
12x16"; unstretched canvas
working title: Quick and Quixotic 5

---

Dave and I are off to Virginia and West Virginia for the coming week to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Quick & Quixotic will not be joining us on this holiday.

I will bring a tiny art kit, and I do plan to paint. Won't know about wifi and blogging till I'm in situ.

Stay Connected

Another way to thrive as an artist, in the words of Nicholas Wilton, is to

3 Stay Connected

Your success, energetically, financially and even spiritually, is directly connected to those that support and follow your artistic journey. Never lose connection with those that express interest and resonate with what you are doing. Cherish them.

Yes, yes, yes! I do stay connected, I don’t lose connection with those who express interest and resonate with what I’m doing, and I do ferociously cherish them.

To wit, I first bumped into Simone Nijboer and her art two years ago online, and connecting with her changed my unfolding experience as an artist dramatically. A new friend! Someone with whom to talk art! 

She is a key player in my art life. We’ve had an almost daily blog-to-blog conversation in progress for two years now along with periodic personal email communication. It was Simone's art that, for the first time and to my complete astonishment, drew me to abstract art. I was mesmerized by what I saw in her work, and I was compelled to explore abstract painting myself. Life changing. Literally.

Simone was the direct spark that lit my speed-painting yesterday and today. And what joyful painting it was—I flipped to the blank side of what started its life as a professionally printed marketing postcard. I received it in the mail and transformed it in just minutes, minutes inspired by Simone's enduring belief in painting even if she has only the smallest snippet of time and limits her materials and scope.

We drink / one from the other / still
2.5x3.5"; acrylic, ink, pencil, and pastels on postcard stock,
mounted on card stock
abstract
2017
[gift]

Show Yourself

One of the artists whose blogs I follow is Nicholas Wilton, who recently wrote a post entitled 5 Ways to Thrive as an Artist. The first way:

1 Show Yourself
Show yourself. Let people see what you have made. Show your enthusiasm generated by your art. In return you will receive additional energy and illuminating feedback that will help sustain your momentum from those around you.

One of the best things I've done since opening the door to painting three years ago is to let people see what I've made. I started my blog in 2015 and started posting to Instagram a few months ago. I made the decision to put the good, the bad, and the ugly out there where others can see it, and I've never regretted the decision.

Admittedly, some days I hesitate or grimace before pressing 'publish' but I always go ahead anyway and often get a surge of energy from the sheer recklessness of doing so!

A huge gift, as Wilton points out, is the additional energy and illuminating feedback I get as a result of sharing. I meet terrific people around the world, learn in ways that fit my self-directed learning style, see amazing and unamazing art, feel abundantly supported and encouraged, and am nourished beyond measure.

Today I "show myself" enthusiastically via a little piece painted in the spirit of my current don't-have-much-time have-to-work-fast modus operandi. Had so much fun! You might notice if you look closely that, small as it is, it has already been cut in two. I'll take a few additional minutes on subsequent days to complete each half.

tiny art
quick art
work in progress

Quick & Quixotic 4

Ground cover is holding steady, but I've traveled the byways away from town. Telephone poles become a fading mental image as I approach open skyscape.



The limitless great beyond lightens as day advances.

work in progress
12x16"; unstretched canvas
working title: Quick and Quixotic 4

Quick & Quixotic 3

Feeling yanked hither and yon by my recent blog posts?

Wondering if you've developed attention deficit disorder?

That's how I feel, and I'm the agent of the disorderly approach style, for Pete's sake!

I seem to be jumping from one task to another in both my personal and professional life, and from one painting project to another in my painting life, which—of course—is responding directly to the nonlinear nature of both my personal and professional life.

A bit of a wild jaunt, a scattershot bucking leapfrogging joyride, I tell ya.

Anyway, today I am back with Quick & Quixotic.

The blueberry fields have shifted color as the earth has continued to trace its path around the sun. A few neutrals have replaced color leached from the flora. Small patches of early morning ground fog make themselves known.

work in progress
12x16"; unstretched canvas
working title: Quick and Quixotic 3