Balancing Teaching with Creating

I have begun a new semester as a teacher at GSU.  I have 22 people in painting classes and 5 of them hope to graduate this semester.  All of them  are 2nd level or above in their plan of study.  I am busy doing demos of techniques that might be included in their paintings to help them reach beyond their comfort zones while at the same time developing more refined technical skill.  Seniors are busy completing the work for their senior exhibition and learning about how to pull together an exhibition and present their work in a gallery setting.  Teaching is exhausting physically and creatively, but still energy must be found to be productive as an artist.

Sometimes, working with others actually enhances my creative energy and sometimes it drains me.  I am currently continuing work on my Vision Manifested series.  In this work, I am continuing to search for the imagery by working freely with the medium until an inspiration comes for how to "finish" the work.  I think of these as mindscapes because they usually reference the natural world.  I really enjoy the textures.

Plein Air Summer 2011

In addition to more experimental painting I enjoy plein air painting.  It allows me a direct connection with the landscape, the climate, the light.  Some of my earliest memories are of taking walks in the Fall of the year when seasons were changing.  I have always lived in the southeasten U. S.  Summers are hot and humid so traveling to the western mountains for a week or two of hiking and art allow a welcome change of temperature and climate.  In 2011, I spent a week painting the landscape along Williams Creek in the San Juan National Forest.  Early morning on a clear day the water is golden, the shadows are cool and the sky seems to go on forever.  The painting above is an early morning view of Williams Creek. 

New Work in Mixed Media

Edge of Darkness, Acrylic Mixed Media

In 2011, I continued to explore earth, air and water by manipulating the fluid properties of acrylics and combining collaged images painted on rice paper. These paintings were featured in a show at Ouachita River Art Gallery in June of 2011.  One painting, Wind of Change, was accepted in the Art League of Hilton Head Biennale Juried Show.