Emergence

 Emerging from a pandemic world

Clouds Move In 8x10

For two years I isolated myself in my house - creating and making art alone. I painted mostly landscapes (from photos in winter and en plein air in Summer). What do I have to say about my thoughts from these last two years? And how will artists emerge?

First, I am thankful that I was able to continue working as an artist these last 2 years. This time alone at home forced me to organize my studio and to finally take a class with a National Artist (online). For years I resisted taking online classes--the pandemic changed that! Online was a way to connect socially with other artists across the US. And honestly, classes went better than I would have expected, this was a fun, less costly way for me to meet with a National Artist (no hotel, no flight, only the upfront cost of class).

My first thoughts as the world shut down, early pandemic, were, "What can I do on my own?". The answer is that which I always do - PAINT!  Not having my weekly painting group and live models was a hard as my social life came to an abrupt halt. Initially motivation to get into the studio was a struggle. I very much missed my artist friends and our art conversations. Taking online classes helped as they forced me to paint. I was strongly encouraged to focus on painting and not on the "business aspects of art" --blogging, tracking art on spreadsheets, updating website, blog, FaceBook and Instagram.  Letting go of the business side ended up being easier than I could have imagined as I got tired of my computer and wanted to spend less time on it. 

Over these last two years my skills as an artist have grown, as have my art collection (available for purchase). I continue to focus on painting but I do believe that now is the time to get back to the business side of art to include tracking organizing and categorizing my paintings. While it’s still cold here, I soon will be ready to emerge from the snow into spring and plein air painting.