When I decided to forgo our live workshops, Kelley said she was interested in the subject of plein air painting. As you may or may not know I was an avid plein air painter for many years. It was my most popular class. I got to the point where I was invited to present at a plein air convention... this is where I looked around and thought: "I am NOT a plein air painter, I'm over it!" It may have been the culture there, the cosplay of wearing outdoor gear in a convention center, the demos from photos which absolutely do not convey anything about painting outdoors. And the fact that Eric Rhoads, an organizer asked me to come up to his room and pose for him. My response was "I think YOU would probably be the one posing if ANYONE was, as I am a presenter here!" 🤢 After that it was so interesting - my plein air classes just stopped filling. I moved toward portraiture and those classes became popular. I learned SO MUCH from plein air painting. It is the gun slingingest type of painting. You have to make choices and stick with them - hemming and hawing will get you nowhere. While also adapting to the changes inherent in the 'least static subject you can choose to paint from life'. My creative problem solving skills were born with plein air painting. It was also very good for claiming my creativity out loud in the world. At first I was shy to be so seen, but soon I just WAS an artist out in the world. If anyone wants to engage in a conversation about this subject we can do it in the comments. Kelley asked: "I would love information about how you approach site selection, and any other tidbits or helpful hints." Answer: I would choose places I liked to be in. Views I'd seen and admired going about my life. Often times if I was teaching I chose spots that a group could easily disappear into without too much interruption from the public. A restroom is handy! Harder for female anatomy to pee in a bush in certain settings (urban). My mood and energy levels came into it. Sometimes it was nice to pick a place I could walk to. But I was happy to get up early and take a long drive if the location held big inspiration.

This painting was never working for me ..so I followed an insight to cut it apart and re-compose. Would love to know if you think the figures work at this level of detail when nothing else has as much detail

I Love this account, so romantic... but she's got me thinking this morning. She says she just follows something much greater than herself to create. Is this romance? What is the value of removing the power and responsibility from yourself? Does it feel powerful to see yourself as collaborating with a great force as a channel or tool? I see my creativity as coming from my own desire and through my own blood sweat and tears. I explore empowerment, responsibility, stewardship perhaps. I am part of the universe and connected to all, so there is nothing greater than loving and exploring my personal pinpoint of expression. And I'm very curious whenever I feel a rock (like her statement) in my shoe about how someone engages with creativity! I want to find every corner of my inner self and bring it to light. Wield it in my creativity. I think this pebble in my shoe tells me I want credit! I want to shine and be seen and respected. I want to use my skill and mind and heart to create the truest version of my art/self and show the world what I am. I find the way she described her creativity irksome... but I wonder if it would be relaxing to share credit? If it would feel supportive? I've often felt unseen in all of my efforts, in relationship and career. This is all connected. I'm going to use this opportunity to journal with my coffee so I can emotionally timestamp this understanding and keep exploring it.

This feature isn't working. I am ending it. As those of you who've been with me for ages know I have tried many things to build this membership. Always balancing what I care about participating in with what mentees/artists desire. Initially it was simply about Creativity Club, that is the part I love the most. Critique Club feels like a natural addition, love her too. I had thought that since I added technical lessons into the library - a live lesson would be aligned and attract more people. The few people who joined FOR the live workshops have cancelled their subscription since and to be honest I can't afford this much energy output on something that isn't giving energy back. This is so interesting because it shines a light on a problem. If these workshops were something I loved doing right now I wouldn't mind so much how long it took to get them going. How long did I show up for creativity club through sparse attendance (still happens!) to keep her alive because I love her?? Forever! I have thoroughly enjoyed writing lately, and sharing the gallery experience blow by blow. I need to think on what feels right to make for this membership beyond the clubs, let it evolve through inspiration and passion. - I WILL still be doing the artist statement workshop. But I think we should make them annual or biannual or even quarterly offerings, and add one for artist bios too!! (I feel excitement about this!) - If you were looking forward to any of the live monthly workshops on the calendar and feel disappointed let me know and describe what you were excited about.

This past Monday Rob fell at work and got injured. This has shifted my studio schedule and responsibilities. Prior to this I've been on quite a roll productivity wise. What's helping me now is to allow my energy to dictate my schedule. If I am tired from a change in circumstance I don't pressure myself to get work done. If I feel like I want to go in to the studio and I can, I do. If once I get there I'm tired.. I do something easy like squeeze the old paint tubes to get the last of the paint to the top. I like the beautiful simplicity of -asking my energy. I've held elaborate experiments in the past of never planning any part of my day and instead following only the present intuitive direction. I found I got quite a lot done that way. Since then I've had to combine that flow with self directed structure to engage meaningfully with the world and my work. But having closely observed both structure and flow it's handy to be able to oscillate between them as life requires. And this is key: to be kind to myself when a preferred season of energy shifts into another, to trust the bigger rhythms.