Back on Track

Real life has taken over. I've been working hard to get back on track with the usual things that fill my time. Planning for the classes I teach has taken priority, and I spend many hours almost every day trying to develop ideas that broaden skills and knowledge of the students, trying to keep the ideas suitable for entry level enrollees, and yet make them challenging enough for the advanced painters. This week it's difficult to stay focused because of my New Mexico trip just around the corner.

I'm hoping that being away and immersed in painting myself will help refresh me. I need to be able to establish some distance from my mother's passing away, and the funeral experience, its visuals , words, and sounds. Being amidst the beautiful sights and flavors that echo the earlier civilizations always makes my blood quicken. Because I gain more insight each time I visit the Southwest into how Indian life, Spanish and Mexican life, and the lives of early settlers was lived. It becomes strong inspiration for later paintings.

 I have followed the work of several favorite painters of mine who have migrated to the west, often starting out from homes in the Northeast. They experienced the magic of place that exists there, and have never looked back. So I've been checking on the internet where I can see their original paintings at galleries in Taos. I just want to drink in the beauty of their images. I want to learn from their work by osmosis.

I read that Sara Eyestone , who had been living and painting in Texas along the Riverwalk in San Antonio, has relocated to Santa Fe, now running a gallery in one of the hotels downtown. I first discovered her work on Caspari greeting cards years ago. Then I kept my eye on her progress in the artworld. She's making her way and gaining more recognition. I'm hoping to see her original paintings while in Santa Fe.

First I'll participate in our Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, Friday nite and Saturday. Then a day to resolve the packing based on weather forecasts. Then off and running!!!