Gallery – Ebb & Flow

Like everything else at this particular (and strange!) moment in human history, my upcoming art show is in a holding pattern. The original plan went like this: I’d hang my artwork somewhere at the end of May/beginning of June, then take it down (making way for the next artist) around September 1.

But you know what they say about the best laid plans….

Sometimes a pandemic intervenes.

And so I’m currently playing a game of will-they-won’t-they with my art show venue. They might open up on May 29, allowing me to hang my artwork… or they might not. And I can’t blame them. In the surreality of this pandemic and all its spin-off effects, I can sympathize with anyone’s erring on the side of caution.

But in the meantime, I’m painting in good faith–and hope. Because whenever those venue doors do open, I want to be ready with all 25 paintings. It’s taken a lot of prayer, beaucoup paint and time, and a serious workout for my brushes, but the past five weeks have seen me knocking out paintings 19-24 (no minor miracle, given that it usually takes me 4-6 weeks to finished one piece):

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No doubt about it: I’ve been neglecting my blog. I’m a tad appalled that it’s been ~~one~~ ~~two~~ ~~three~~ four months since I posted anything new.

But life off-screen has been a bit busier. There was Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the associated weeks of travel. My wonderful brother’s graduation. A trip down to the family ranch in Texas to celebrate my other wonderful brother’s engagement to a wonderful girl. A move into a new apartment (complete with sunroom/painting studio for me–squeal!) A slew of freelance editing and writing projects.

But perhaps the busiest bee in my hive is this: come June, I will have a gallery show in Rockville, Maryland–my very first. And I’m in a race to the finish line as I try to whip up 12 paintings in the space between December and the end of May. No small feat, given the fact that it usually takes me 6 weeks or so to polish off just one.

No one is more surprised than I am, but despite the constant, quietly humming anxiety of oh-my-gosh-what-if-I-don’t-get-this-done at the back of my brain… I’ve actually been enjoying this intensely packed painting time. It’s meant halving my writing hours, which makes me a bit sad. But it’s also provided a much-needed palate cleanse for my writing mind, allowing me to come back to my keyboard more clear-minded and focused because I took time to step away.

And I’ve even managed to knock out a few paintings along the way, three of which make up a surf/space series for which I have to thank my brother Hunter for inspiration.