So go the lyrics to the Patty Page song, "Old Cape Cod". As the years go by I grow to love this place more and more. On July 12th my solo show "Outside the Lines" opened at Gallery Antonia in the heart of historic Chatham village. About two months before the show, I was driving back from painting in CT and I got a call from the owner, Domonic Boreffi. Apparently my work was going to be featured in the July issue of American Art Collector magazine (that was the good news) and I had about 3 weeks to get images to the publisher (that was the bad). So my emotions went something like this... excitement, apprehension, fear, dread, and sheer panic.
I thought, "I can handle this". So I hit the studio bright and early and made a bold start with some new work only to find that painting on demand is a sure path to failure. I wasted yards of canvas and piles of paint. After a few days of feeling like a complete failure I began to revisit paintings that I had allowed to languish thinking I'd had all the time in the world to finish. In the end I managed to meet my deadline. Maybe not in the way I'd intended but more importantly I had a revelation about ambition, failure and the meaning of success. "In creating, the only hard thing is to begin; a grass-blade's no easier to make than an oak." - James Russel Lowell
I'm a little behind in writing about what's been happening but the month of June was insanely busy. I was painting for my July solo show on Cape Cod when I got the news that I'd been selected for a residency on Nantucket, the first week of June. What a way to start the season!
So I'm sitting in the living room of my guest house on Nantucket, surrounded by art, listening to soothing, classical music and thinking to myself... "is this real?" Each day my artist friend Laureen and I were treated to a beautiful breakfast before heading out to paint. We weren't able to reserve a spot on the ferry for the car and walking is not a great way to get around with all your gear so by the third day we rented a car. The weather the entire week was perfect - which is unusual in New England. We even managed to save enough energy to do a nocturne one night in the town. I"ll be sure to post some of the paintings from my studies very soon. If you have an interest in seeing the paintings which were created from this magical week contact the studio at: artfulhand@comcast.net
