January was a busy month getting ready for my show at the Flying C Cafe. (From the website, if you click on The Flying C, there is currently an article about my show.) I ended up with 14 new paintings for the show, 10 encaustic and 4 acrylic. The new Studio Space has been absolutely great and is making it so much easier to flip to the creative side of my mind and get going once I am there.
I found out what a wonderful group of friends I have made here in Bozeman. Moving and resettling in is quite difficult, leaving behind all that is familiar and easy. But when I think about all the people who have been forced to leave a country and possibly family behind due to political reasons and either can never go back or their previous lifestyle does not exist anymore, I feel blessed to be in our country. I can go back and revisit favorite places and see friends that have become our family, and I get to do so this month! A little mini vacation to Alaska in February is coming my way.
Now for some pictures of my Opening Reception last Friday and a few other things I've been up to.
I helped my new friend Claudia at the Winter Farmers Market last weekend. I had a lot of fun with her, representing her business, Claudia's Mesa and interacting with shoppers at the Market. My latest painting inspiration is derived from the market and her "studio" where she holds cooking classes and pop up dinners.
Above are some pictures of the flowers I received and the table set ups.
As it is almost time for Valentines Day, so I have been experimenting with some embellished encaustic monoprints.
Here is my Show Statement for Forest and Field-
I continue to be inspired to paint forests and fields. They have become a part of my inner landscape. I had not realized how true this was until moving here and realizing my paintings were “Alaskan” and that I had been overtaken with the landscape. I find many of my painting subjects during my daily dog walks. This inspiration can be literal from scenes I photograph for later, or the thoughts that come during the meditative act of walking in a field or a forest.
Living the past 9 years in Anchorage, AK, I observed natures growth at a rate often only seen in time lapse photography. Each day the change in foliage during the spring and summer is astounding. Before every green leaf has completely unfurled, hints of the yellows and browns of autumn appear. Last winter, knowing I was moving to Montana made my visits to “our” park
(Kincaid Park) bittersweet. While I was so excited to come south, I knew I would miss the trees and foliage of this park I had made my own. Each day while at the Park, I would spend a bit of the time grieving it’s upcoming loss. These scenes inhabit me, as do many other pieces of Alaska.
This fall, being my first in Montana I sought out the changing colors. They were subdued and slightly scarce due to our dry, fire filled summer. I did manage to find some great trees and colors near sunset along Sourdough Road....Montana is starting to seep in.
I do not strive for realistic paintings, instead portraying wonder and a bit of whimsy with embellished colors and edited shapes. I wish to share part of my inner world with you, the viewer, but leave enough unsaid that you can also take an inner walk to places so familiar yet newly magical.
