Wrapping it up at Lacawac: A rewarding Leap of Faith

I'm writing this final post while in Concord, New Hampshire, visiting my brother before heading home. My second week of residency would have ended Friday, so I took the opportunity to leave a day early and have a good visit with him and his family.

My final days at Lacawac became a blur as I saw the end of my residency looming. I'd started a larger version of the small rhododendrons, but within a full morning's work on Wednesday it became overwrought and ultimately not what I intended at all. I am reminded - and it seems I needed the reminder - that my best work is more spontaneous. This one I'd started out sketched out in pencil to position the figures well on the canvas, with tension between them. Having started that way was the wrong turn. It's a weird piece that I'll either work more to try resurrecting it, or trash entirely. Not a waste of time, since as I already said, I needed the reminder.

On Wednesday I was visited by a collector (AA), who drove 4-1/2 hours to see my work in person. She was accompanied by my mother (they are long time friends, both sharing wanderlust tendencies) and both stayed the night. I served "high tea" in the Watres Lodge living room when they arrived that afternoon, then took them out to the studio. I'd brought a few paintings with me from home, which I'd hung on the studio wall. She noticed the Wickecheoke Creek piece right away, having recognized it as a favorite from my website, and said it was even better in person. She also really liked the water lily paintings that I'd done there at Lacawac.

We had a long conversation about how different everything looks when backlit by a monitor, and how color would be different from one device to another. (The same image file that I download to my website is seen completely different on my laptop than on my cell phone.) The paintings are more nuanced in person.

We all enjoyed a walk on a short trail, a canoe ride on the lake, then a hearty dinner. Heidi and Shannon joined us for the meal and we sat around the table talking for two hours about life and art, experiences, expectations, and yearnings. With Heidi and Shannon in the early 30's, and my guests nearly 80, I sat comfortably in the middle, providing a bridge. Exhausted by 10pm, we all headed to our rooms, knowing I'd be packing up early the next morning.

AA decided to take Wickecheoke Creek home with her since it was the one she liked best, and to see if it would fit in with her home and other art pieces; and if it didn't agreed to have me bring other pieces to her for more consideration. They headed out by 10am.

Craig and Heidi took possession of the 8x8" rhododendron painting in trade for part of my residency fees; we took a few photos for posterity, then I packed up  and was on the road by 11am.

I'd just arrived in Concord when I got a call from AA that Wickecheoke Creek was a perfect fit, and she'd written a check already.

Over the 6-1/2 hour drive to Concord I thought long and hard about my two week experience, and knew that my earliest predictions had come to pass. Ups and downs: good paintings and bad, loneliness and company, cold and warm, clear skies and rain. The best part is that I took a leap of faith to focus on making new work and that leap was rewarded. The unexpected bonus is that of the 8 paintings I made at Lacawac three have already been purchased.

I look forward to showing the Water Lilly paintings at upcoming venues this fall, the first being the Art All Day Studio Tour on November 4th - just one week away. Those three were my best work there, and I'm glad to be able to show them together.

Day 9: Change of Pace

Rain had been promised for the next two days, and yesterday morning started with light spitting among the falling leaves and acorns. Nonetheless, I headed down the trail with a small painting kit in my backpack, a chair slung to it and a water bucket in hand. Didn't get too far (1/2 mile maybe) before I found what I was hunting, a nice pair of leggy rhododendrons facing each other and entangled across opposite banks of a dry creek bed. These twisted characters are all over the Lacawac property, in large and small clusters, all sporting only the briefest greenery near their tops. I'm told that the deer graze the leaves, giving the uniform appearance. With a quick sketch in  paint done and the spitting heavier, I headed back to the studio. The 8x8" panel became a slower-paced piece than what I have been doing, with a finer, smaller brush and tighter lines. The greenery didn't interest me at all, just the twisting trunks and branches. Though the day was grey, and the woods generally grey-green, I rendered the two characters in a fairly monochrome but bright palette. I joked on social media that I thought of the exercise as cross training, which is actually quite true. Bringing it all in tighter just prior to opening back up into a large canvas has worked well for me in the past. In any case, I like the resulting study well enough, and as luck would have it I dreamt the larger piece last night which I'll start today.

Yesterday afternoon found me on the phone and computer for a few hours, attending to general bookkeeping issues back home and creating an invoice for the big painting sale. About 6 months ago I signed up for a Square account, so requesting and receiving payments has been very easy.

This morning found me up early, shopping for tomorrow's visitor's meals, starting a beef stew, doing laundry, and attending to this blog. Off now to the studio.

The sheathed knife was my nod to anything can happen on the trail,

but in the end I only used it to scrape dry paint off a tube, and to

cut rope for lashing the chair to the back. Useful enough for one day!

Day 8: Sunday Move

The past few days moved at a clip and grew together a bit as my earlier routine was upheaved. The family visit was wonderful though, and they all liked the place a lot. We shared a canoe ride on the lake in the late morning, Sunday, before they packed up and headed home. I worked in the studio for a while afterward, moved forward with the big water lily painting before I took it over the proverbial ledge and have been struggling with it since. I will leave it alone today, wanting more generous company, and head into the woods instead with some small wood panels for quick sketches of tree roots and boulders.

By 3pm yesterday I was worn out in the studio so turned my attention to vacating the Ice House and moving into the Watres Lodge, room 5. Clean up was quick and the move only 30 or so yards from door to door. I settled in quickly and had a chat with the other artist (Shannon Gilbert) who will also be here for the next week. I've also decided to leave on Thursday afternoon, a day early, so that I can drive to New Hampshire for the weekend. I haven't seen my brother's family for a year which for anyone you love is too long. His kids are young, and time is precious. My brother and sister-in-law have been very supportive of my work; they own pieces from over my entire 30+ year art-making trajectory so have a better collection of it than anyone other than me.

Shannon, Heidi, and I had a short chat before heading off for the evening, and reconvened for a shared meal at 7:30ish. Our after-meal conversation took us into and over personal, scholastic, artistic, and revelatory content. I'm 20 years older than they but that seemed less of a divide than an opportunity to share a wider perspective, and to bring some light and order to what one might see or experience as chaos. I'm practicing my inner/future crone.

A repeat client/friend texted me to say she wanted to purchase one of the water lily paintings. When I prompted her to choose soon so that she would have first pick of the four, she chose the 8x8" wood panel piece.  At $200 it was intended to be affordable, and to help me pay for the Ice House, which it will. I spoke with Shannon and Heidi quite a bit about how I manage the marketing and pricing of my work, and they spoke about what their experience and understandings have been, including the lack of or strange conversation in schools about what selling art could entail.

As a result of the dinner conversation, I made a connection (not for the first time) between my early sculpture and my current paintings, especially in regards to when one thinks the work over time lacks continuity.
At left - Untitled Landscape, 1986. Bronze approx. 42" high x 108" wide x 18" deep. Installed/Property of Walt Whitman High School, Bethesda, MD.
At bottom - "Forsythia on the Creek" 2016, 18x36" acrylic on canvas. Available.

Day 6 and 7: Studies and A Sale

Thursday and Friday proved very busy over a variety of activities including a lot of conversations with visitors, documenting and marketing my work here. Friday afternoon found me navigating correspondence with a client over a 4 hour time difference and two days before the sale was confirmed. I took video of the painting, showing details, so they would have a better idea of the work. Buying artwork should not come with any surprises; I  wanted them to know what they were getting.
"Ariel Creek" will be sent to Seattle within a few months time, to accommodate the client's payment plan and my framing it up which is additional time/materials/charge. It is nice that although they are still fairly new at collecting art, they are familiar with the time and effort it takes to make it all go right. A better process for everyone that way too.

I finished three 11x14" on linen of the water lilies; studies that are complete in their way. Started and finished an 8x8" on board as a study for a 20x20" on linen that I started yesterday. With the studies, I worked on two different grounds to get a sense of things, using a rich but translucent Indian Yellow on one, and a Cadmium Red with a bit of Pane's Grey in it for the other. For the bigger one I chose a translucent Pane's Grey and put down the composition and values in white and grey over it.  The first wash of color over it seemed bright, so I'll continue with it today (Sunday).

 

My husband and three children (23, twins 20) and a boyfriend (25) came to visit Saturday afternoon, spending the night here in the Ice House with me after a long day of canoeing while I was in the studio, and a hike before nightfall that I joined, then dinner. They brought and prepared everything, which was a different operation than I am used to. It also took a while for me to be used to having so many people around! They all loved this place as I thought they would, and are gung-ho for a future, bigger family event in the future.

A group of students and their professor and other staff from University of the Sciences in Philadelphia arrived late Friday night to stay in the Watres Lodge. I had a nice early morning conversation with them, and a studio visit later in the day.

I handed out a lot of postcards on Saturday, to about 10 visitors (couples/groups) and have a possible sale coming from one of the couples who recently built a house nearby. There was lot back and forth as to how/why I am here making paintings. Someone asked if I was famous. I told them that I hoped to be one day, but not necessarily in the Manhattan art scene way, just financially independent because of steady art sales. Another suggested I attend Rittenhouse Square's Art Festival next fall, which I said I am already considering; they said they are regulars and would look for me there. Also had several conversations about what my "work" really entails, besides and over and above the making of paintings. I have found that marketing and administration takes up 2/3 of my total time attending to this re-boot of my career.

Haven't slept well in three nights.

I'll be moved to the Watres Lodge sometime later today, for the duration of my stay, joined by Heidi and another artist. Am expecting a possible sale mid-week, as a collector is driving all the way from Delaware to see this new work in person. I will admit that the amount of interest is a little intimidating, but this is what I am asking for so will meet my own challenge. It also reminds me (which I don't really need reminding of) how valuable a gallery relationship would be.

Am considering driving up to New Hampshire for a two day visit before heading home on Sunday. It depends on what piece/pieces I'm working on by then and how that's going. My time here is invaluable, I know, and I'm balancing that with knowing I will not have time off again until next summer.

Day 5: Visitors

More people here at the complex on Thursday than all those that I'd seen since Sunday put together. Several families with young children stepped into the studio to say hello; Craig L (VP of the Sanctuary) was in the big lodge getting it ready for this weekend's group and we had a nice chat; my sister and mother arrived around noon having driven 3-1/2 hours for the visit; and the day was rounded out sharing a glass of wine under the dark sky with a couple of women who'd come here to attend a nearby meeting and would spend the night in the big lodge. I was glad for company!

My sister Tina is a soulfully creative person, more so than I, truly. We spoke about spending a few days here together next year, which I'd really like. Her quirky photography, found and natural objects weaving, and intimate site installations should come together in an exhibit one day: A dual residency, and an exhibit for the results.

All the welcome interruptions kept me mostly out of the studio but I did complete the big canvas "Ariel Creek, October" the scene from below St. Mary's Church Road bridge looking out toward Lake Wallenpaupack. The painting came close to overwrought in places, and I'm keen on other parts, so all in all it seemed time to walk away, consider it done. In the late afternoon after my family visit was over, I did a 10 minute study on an 11x16 of the water lilies in Lake Lacawac. Today I'll do more of them, painting from the hip, then a 30x40 which I hope to create as a looser piece, more in kind with "Forsythia on the Creek". Big goal for tomorrow morning is to hike down to the Ledges with a couple of small boards before my husband and our kids arrive for the weekend.

Completed "Ariel Creek, October" 20x60" acrylic on linen:

Day 4: An Angled Companion

Late to bed and late to rise, it seems 8:30 is my internal waking time. I've elected for no alarms, and so without noise outside either, I've been opening my eyes completely rested and ready for the day. Yesterday's morning coffee, and several other times as I stretched my legs from the easel, I was met with the eyes of a young buck not more than 30 feet away. It seems this acre is his too. I'd seen him each other day once or twice, but yesterday he was closer and maybe less hidden as he strolled through the trees or lay in a patch of sun throughout the day. He's sporting a one-horn rack, one side cantilevered over his right eye like a jaunty hat line, pointing the way for him to make a constant circle so maybe he's trapped on this acre.
I spent the whole day in the studio, pushing the 20x30" piece that I started yesterday, and my comfort levels, then pushing more. It went to the ledge then over it, and I've hauled most of it back up with good result. I'm hoping to have it mostly finished today.

Had a good long chat with Roy, the Lacawac man responsible for the renovation in the Ice House last year. He gave me some history of the place from a personal perspective as he'd known Arthur Watres well. He's been the only visitor on a consistent basis as he comes and goes for work in this immediate complex. A couple of young girls (college?) were here for a few hours for a research project, and several cars went by during the day on the way to the pond dock for sample readings. The boats at the dock invite a ride on the water but I am reluctant to do so alone; looking forward to doing so this Saturday when the family comes visiting for an overnight.

Am expecting my sister and Mother to visit today for a few hours. A big investment (7 hours round trip) for the opportunity to egg me on, to see this location, and to consider it for a future family event.
The sun is out again today, no clouds at all. Planning to explore Heron Lake and the Ledges tonight.

Day 3: Dreamt Brushstrokes

Got a lot done yesterday, engaging some discipline to keep going when the day seemed done. Because the trees hold back so much light here, by 3pm it seemed dark in my studio where I'd been working on a 30x30 that I'll call "Lawrence Oak" based on a tree I pass every work-day; it may well be a maple, so I'll have to check that out.
Having taken some photos yesterday morning at the bridge over Ariel Creek, near where it engages Lake Wallenpaupak, I returned to the site at 5pm with a 20x60" canvas, primed and sketched out. I hauled a small kit down the steep grassy slope to the wet field below, and set up my easel within an array of deep animal tracks and scat. My companions were a couple of jays that make a constant ruckus in the opposite river bank. The painting went well and as I worked the sun hit the shore on the opposite side of the lake which I could see through the trees on either side of the mouth of the creek. I'll head out there this morning to keep going. My intent is to push some detail into this piece while keeping sweeping brushstroke, which I think I an do at this scale.
As I fell asleep last night, I dreamt brushstrokes, which I found annoying as I was tired and ready for sleep. My evening prior had me reading and studying my Group of Seven book, mining it for a lesson or two on restraint.
Near sunset I had returned and packed up the studio for the night, and was enjoying a hot cup of tea on the porch when a perky hiker about my age came by. She seemed happy enough to be snagged as a walking companion and we strode the rocky paths at a nice clip for about an hour, chatting about like-aged kids, real estate, art, and being middle aged. Her path continued as the sun was going down so I headed back before my return would become darkened. Feeling as I'd earned it well, my steak and mushrooms dinner with a glass of wine was welcome, with a laptop-sized movie, and then more reading.
Seems I'm getting the hang of the social media thing, having put some relevant hashtags on my Instagram. All evening and this morning I had unfamiliar Instagrammers looking at my feed, most from this region. It did give me the creeps a bit as a paranoid thought about having broadcast my general location making me vulnerable. My camp/hunting knife was by my bed all night.

Ariel Creek site:

"Lawrence Oak"