I was naturally artistic as a child, but never seriously pursued a path to making art a vocation for myself until mid-way through life. In fact, I completely stopped creating art for over two decades.

After realizing I would not be able to have my own children, and the accompanying feelings of loss, a window of new possibility began to open up as the grief passed. On a whim, I decided to work through Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way,” simply for the purpose of introspection. I did not intend to reignite my inner artist's flame, but ignite it did. In the fall of 2022, after finishing this 12-week program on creativity, I felt brave and self-loving enough to push myself to begin drawing again.

It wasn’t easy, and for a while a lot of it didn’t look very good. But a central teaching of “The Artist’s Way” is that in order to make great art, one must first make terrible art. So I persevered, ignoring the critical voice which is the natural dark side of any foray into the unknown.

Drawing led to painting, which led to a lot of frustration. Painting is complicated, and it’s a bit like jumping into a car for the first time and heading straight for the freeway. My first step was to backtrack and try drawing in color. I splurged on a set of Prismacolor colored pencils and began to wrap my mind around approaching color, without the complications of managing wet paint, an infinite choice of brushes, and the million other things which can overwhelm and discourage a beginner.

I took my time, and I drew every day. For months.

But paint still beckoned… around that time I received a mailer from “The Great Courses” and so decided to take their class on introductory painting. The class was excellent (and cost only $25). I gained the basic tools and confidence to approach painting, which is really more like a puzzle requiring a great deal of patience and a good but flexible strategy, rather than a spontaneous burst of raw inspiration. That’s the way it’s been for me, at least.

I started painting in acrylics, working from my own photographs of the landscape around my home and am beginning forays into plein air work as well. I have always loved being outdoors, and relish having a new way to connect with the experience.

I now paint in oils and acrylics, depending on the particular qualities of each medium I think will best suit a subject or my work-flow at the time. I love them both.

This is an unfolding journey and I am excited to see where it leads me. Please come along.