On rare occasions, I have created commissioned paintings – meaning somebody specifically asked me to paint a certain subject. It’s not something I do often, or seek out, as it’s far more stressful than simply painting what I feel like creating. When people request a specific painting, I feel a tremendous obligation to get it […]
Being a great believer in challenging myself to get out of my comfort zone and stretch my brain, I took a class in palette knife painting last month. It was apparently part of a self-improvement kick, as I also took a refresher class on perspective drawing. I figured it would be useful both for the […]
Turns out travel doesn’t have to be international to inspire me to paint. This lesson apparently had to be relearned from the last time we spent a month in New York City, pre-pandemic. That resulted in a series of cityscapes, from Radio City to the Village. This time, we rented an apartment for January and […]
A recent article in Psychology Today addressed so-called weak social ties and their surprising importance to our emotional and physical health. Turns out that chatting with the mailman, being recognized in a favorite store, or even laughing with a stranger in line can improve your well-being. And, of course, you can be the one who […]
Dorothy Parker and her sharp wit are well known, but here’s a quote I hadn’t heard before. “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” This explains one of the main reasons for my travels. I have an unquenchable urge to see and experience new things, whether tapas and flamenco in […]
Travel always inspires me to paint, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity. The combination of new experiences and unusual sights (and, ultimately, the urge to be home) usually sends me into my studio. I get all pumped up, with hundreds of reference photos for inspiration. We just returned from a trip to Belgium and […]
Not long ago, I saw an interview with Range author David Epstein. He researched successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors and scientists. He discovered that in complex and unpredictable arenas, generalists, not specialists, tend to excel. Generalists usually juggle multiple interests, rather than focusing, and often find their paths later in life. They are also likely […]
A very amusing column about jargon appeared in the Economist recently and introduced me to the concept of a “nub.” This acronym for non-useful body is apparently employed by submariners to describe a ride-along person who takes up space, air and food while performing no useful function. In other words, not a member of the […]
It’s been a challenging year and my energy for painting was in short supply, so I was thrilled when the urge hit me, strongly, this month. Here’s how it goes. First I sort through my photos thinking about what to paint. Next I have a phase where I try a few thumbnail sketches to test […]
A recent article in the New York Times explained how parts of Andalusia, in southern Spain, are using techniques from the Middle Ages to combat climate change. Known as acequias, the clever systems were designed by the Moors, who ruled southern Spain during a golden age of knowledge, culture, science and architecture. Their acequia irrigation […]
