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Snow everywhere across the state and more! My studio came to a standstill but my paint brush did not.  I was able to work in some plein air fun even with the freezing temperatures.

"Snow, Late Afternoon"

5x7

oil

$65

"January Gold"

5 x 7

oil

$65

Whenever I paint plein air, I'm always impressed with the infinite number of values that I see every hour--no, not hour, but changing every minute! Painting a plein air landscape is  like capturing a swift fleeing buck as he bounces across a field.   What a fun challenge!

If you're interested in purchasing a little plein air painting, let me know.  I would feel privileged to have it hang on your wall.

And although I'm hearing lots of complaints about the confinement of snow and ice, I'm really looking forward to another snow paint out.

Yesterday I read Shawn Sullivan’s blog. It resonated with me. I’ve been mulling it over, agreeing, but also thinking there is more to consider.

I’d like to spring board off of his thought, “It took me a while to realize that my ‘other’ job is as much a part of who I am as my painting is. That they have a symbiotic relationship that ultimately has shaped who I am as an artist.”

I’ve spent my life running on two tracks, language arts and visual arts, spending many hours teaching in both fields---okay, so that makes three tracks, literature, art, and teaching.   I make an income doing all three.  Would I do all three without an income from the labor? Yes.  So what does the income have to do with being “a painter” or “a writer” or “a teacher”?  The income may validate my accomplishment, proving that others feel my labors worth money.  The income also pays the bills and allows me that privilege of having work and pleasure as one, thus giving me more time for the three things I enjoy--- words, paint, teaching.

Now I find myself faced with a new challenge, a calling to serve in an area that may not allow me to make an income from my paintings.  Will I stop painting? Not likely! When the urge to sketch, doodle, draw, paint just naturally happens every time I pick up a pencil, brush, pen or pastel, I don’t think a change of circumstances will rid me of the artist within.  I may not be at the gallery reception as I would like, but I will be seeing the world from a painter’s eyes.  My new place of service will be an opportunity to grow my heart and therefore, I hope, to enrich my paintings.

Winston Churchill was an oil painter. He said , “. . .the art of the painter marches along the road which is traversed by all the greatest harmonies in thought.”   I don’t see a life calling in conflict with art. I see that the “greatest harmonies in thought” will rise as our lives are touched by more than just paint.True, being stretched for time to paint forces me to work harder to improve my skills, but artists are richer for having life experiences that sharpen their vision, not just their eyesight.