According to Einstein

Albert Einstein once said “logic will get you from A to Z, imagination will get you everywhere.” This is a sentiment with which I wholeheartedly agree. Though he applied it to science, it applies equally well to art-making. (As it did to my consulting, for that matter, but that’s not today’s focus.) While mastering basic […]

Waiting is the Hardest

Tom Petty’s “the waiting is the hardest part” was the intriguing lead-in to a Wall Street Journal article shared by the wonderful investment advisors at Reservoir Financial. Alison Gopnikit’s article cited a classic social psych experiment that measured the ability of toddlers to resist temptation – in the form of marshmallows. Relating it to investing, […]

Truth Through Lies

You’ll be relieved to know this post isn’t about politics, current events, liars, or anything criminal. Instead, it was inspired by a quote from Albert Camus. He said “fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.” My immediate thought was that his statement applies to painting, too. Think about it. A painting is […]

Purpose, and Portugal

It’s been a challenging few weeks, both happy (an adorable and highly energetic seven year old’s visit) and sad. The latter included energy-draining, time-consuming rotator cuff muscle tendon tears, memorial events for a friend taken too young, scary health news about two other friends, and a funeral for a favorite aunt, who lived long and […]

Birth Announcement

The fraternal twins are finally ready to face the world! A few months back I began a series of two paintings (yes, with my boredom threshold, two constitutes a series) of sunsets, a favorite subject. A shoulder injury, a trip to Portugal and an art opening (you can see my travel paintings in the gallery […]

Inspired Again!

We finally took a vacation again, after nearly 2 1/2 years! As regular readers know, my painting inspiration usually comes from sunsets, water and travel. The latter has been in very short supply lately. As readers also know, we had bouts of COVID last month, fortunately mild since we are triple vaxxed. This means that, […]

Serendipity Strikes

Several weeks ago, I received an email from an acquaintance. We had worked together a few years back. I was a consultant for the CT State Office of the Arts when she headed a local arts agency and requested my help on a project. Turns out she now works for the University of Connecticut in […]

Artistic License

Since we pronounced ourselves semi-retired – the transition is taking a few years, LOL – we’ve had more time to cook. The pandemic amplified that, since we’re spending much more time at home and not going to restaurants. We’ve graduated from joking about recipes for our “snowflakes” – one of a kind experiments with whatever […]

Cue-Based Planning?

And what, you might ask, is cue-based planning? And why should I care? Well, it’s apparently a better way to make your dreams come true. Based on the Wall Street Journal’s summary of research by Wharton professor Katy Milkman, cue-based planning simply boils down to “if x, then y.” As an example, don’t just say […]

Without a Brain

A wise woman, pastel instructor and good friend insists, rather vehemently, “ignore the photo.” She doesn’t mean photographs aren’t good for reference material; I use them all the time, and that’s how my travel paintings happen. What she means is don’t let the photo dictate what’s in the painting. Many artists try to reproduce a […]