I live in a tent & suck at blogging

Well, I suck at blogging. I'm not sure why because I ramble & write quite a bit. Anyhow, it's only taken me a year to update this. A lot happens in a year. In the personal realm- me and my partner (bf? Fiancee? I hate all these terms...person I plan to be with till we're dead...maybe I can just use that as an acronym). Me and my P.I.P.T.B.W.T.W.D bought a property. It hadn't been touched since the storm & had cats paw growing up through the walls. About 6 months ago we were still working on it and living in an apartment when we suddenly got evicted. The natural instinctive reaction to this was to buy a tent and move into the backyard of the property.

Where white trash meets Better Homes & Gardens

This arrangement has been working out surprisingly well. We hope to move into the actual house in the next month or so. And when it has plumbing & electric YOU are welcome to visit! Because it will eventually...one day...be a home too for life drawing groups and off the cuff art shows & hopefully, maybe, one day, some kind of atelier. A friend of mine  also appeared when we got evicted and hooked me up with what has come to be the best studio workspace I could hope for.

Cliché Artist Mess

Because artists are bad asses

And I've been getting a hell of a lot of painting done! In the past year I've gotten to go to PAFA in Philly & take a master class workshop with Alex Kanevsky, a painter who inspires me like crazy & who's work knocks my socks off. Locally, I've taken a workshop with Carol Peebles, whose drawings make me drool.
     I've been able to clarify some things for myself in regards to painting, make decisions that pull things into focus and will hopefully assist me in making the kind of work I wish to make. One of those things is finding that I'm probably more an 'alla prima' painter than an indirect one. ('alla prima' means 'all at once' painting in a session, wet into wet, rather than building a base and then layering over that.)
     Lately I've noticed that the painters I admire seem to really have their palette down. They are so comfortable with their choices, so familiar with all the nuances of the colors they use, they don't seem to be battling with it. While I know I have a preference for earth tones I don't really think I've found my general palette yet. So I've got some studying planned to try to help me figure that out.
        I'm still going back and forth a lot between painting from reference (photo or life) and working directly from mark-making & 'imagination'. I don't see any reason not just to do this for the rest of my life.

I'm still selling out on the street (though haven't been out as often this beautiful winter as I'd have liked to be.) I'm still thrilled by the randomness element in doing that.

Drawing of my P.I.P.T.B.W.T.W.D & dog sleeping.

Something I'm pretty excited about- I'm going to be showing 10 of my recent bigger paintings in a show this coming Friday: (If you're local come out and eat cookies with me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

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