Sometimes you just have to pitch in!

Newmarket has been an exciting, invigorating, and challenging time. The exhibition was a success for our dealers, and I've sold a painting, which is good for me. But now the real work begins - the follow up so necessary in the art game that is so often ignored!

I found when I arrived here, that all artists and dealers present for the Resipole South exhibition had a wonderful camaraderie; a real willingness to pitch in, help set up the exhibition, help talk to clients, etc. I found that because of a volcano eruption last week, I couldn't go home, and decided the best use of my time (beyond a trip to Nice which I REALLY need to do - but that's another story entirely!) was to pitch in and help in any way I could. So, I'm still here in Newmarket, because of the volcano, and because sometimes the artist has to get down off the pedestal they'd like to sit on.

Updates!

I've been silent, but I've been painting.....that is always the way. When the creativity wells up inside me, the more worldly parts of my life tend to fall away and have to go on hold! I've finished my jaguar mask (photos to be uploaded soon), and have begun painting Scottish and Moroccan landscapes again. Always such a trip to find out I NEED to paint more to make up for the work taken out of my studio in March for exhibition! I'm working from my photos over the years, but am very much aware that it is time once again to 'hit the road' for new inspiration! The price of petrol this past year has kept me from going out and exploring new parts of Scotland, and I'm suddenly beginning to feel it! I'm also feeling the loss of my digital photos of the high country around Lochaber....means I'm going to have to just walk up to the tops again and reshoot it! Damn!!! But these are all easy problems if I'm creating. Creating also brings in new energy, and I find that people start to visit the studio again.

My next exhibition, with 5 other scottish artists @ Resipole South opens on Monday, 12th April @ The Palace House, Newmarket. I've 16 paintings in the show - a wide range of subjects - and I love the work of the other artists, so its well worth the visit if you happen to be in the south of England next week. The opening is April 13 from 6 - 9 pm, rsvp please. For more information: www.resipolesouth.com

Spring Enthusiasm!

Well, things are heating up nicely now. I've finished some hard graft to make some old expenses, still have more to cover, but its time to begin to think creatively again! I can feel the itch in my hands as I type this!

First of all, the exhibition at MacGregor Fine Art (www.macgregorfineart.co.uk) is going to be at the Glasgow Art Fair, opening the 25th March (Thursday). That means two stands will be showing my work! One Ceilidh!, one landscapes (Duncan Miller Fine Art).

And now, announcing a new exhibition I've been asked to participate in: April 12 - 17, Resipole South will host an exhibition of six artists from Scotland (myself included), at Palace House, Palace Street, Newmarket, CB8 8EP www.resipolesouth.com The opening reception is April 13 from 6 - 9 pm. For more information, please go to the website, and if you're interested in attending the reception, please RSVP!

I'm excited and energized by the forward thinking and enthusiasm of my friends at Resipole South. So much depends on this exhibition for us all, as it always does with artists! Wish us all luck!

I'm also designing a mask of a Mexican Jaguar to be worn in a production of Noah's Fludd (produced by Loch Shiel Festival in Glenfinnan) this May. Artists from all over the world were asked to create a mask to be worn by children of an endangered animal from their neck of the woods. Since I come from the Southwest US, I chose the Mexican Jaguar. This is so much fun!

New Possibilities!

After a tough beginning to 2010 - a crashed hard drive, frozen pipes, bad back, and of course the neverending financial challenges we're all faced with right now - I've got some real news and something to say!

First of all, I have 19 CEILIDH! paintings in an exhibit opening March 5 at MacGregor Fine Art, 34 West George St., Glasgow www.macgregorfineart.co.uk . there is an opening reception on March 5, from 4:30 - 8:30 pm. the exhibition will be up from March 5 through the 27th. Other artists in this exhibit are: Callum MacFarlane-Barrow, Victoria Maxwell MacDonald, and Jonathan Shearer. All welcome!

I've also made it back to the easel after discovering that the best of my Moroccan digital photos were saved for posterity in facebook (thank you!!!), and was able to finish a lovely little painting of a berber shepherd and his youngest son. Its always such a relief to again pick up the brush and find out that yes, I CAN still put paint to canvas and come out with a good painting! But you'll have to wait until I have my computer back to see the work! Challenges keep getting in the way of this creative life I've chosen, but I know from long experience that nothing else will serve me. And so I keep putting one foot in front of the other and hold high expectations for this little exhibition coming up. Wish me luck!

Soaking up the sun!

Sometimes, as artists, we have to take time - time off from the process of painting, of constantly seeing the world with the eyes of a possible painting, or meeting someone with the idea of "is this a possible client?" I don't do this easily. My creativity is hardwired into my very being, and I can't help but look at everything with an eye that says "is this a painting, or a client?" But I'm here in Dallas, Texas, trying to find the right mix of relax vs make the trip count! It helps that the sun is out and its warm and I have running water and am surrounded by people I love and who love me!

Next stop, Tucson, Arizona.

News

Heading to the US for some R& R, and to perhaps do a little marketing of paintings. Alas, thus is the life of an artist; every trip has to involve the potential of sales or paintings. Hopefully by the time I return, my computer problem will be sorted out, and I'll have water in my house so that I can finish the latest oil painting from Morocco, and start another!

Trouble in Computerland

Well friends, please bear with me for awhile. My trusty old laptop developed a fatal hardware error and my hard drive has crashed. While I scramble to find the means and/or funds to recover the data (most important!), and also to purchase a new laptop (I hope against hope that I by some miracle won't have to), it's going to be difficult to keep up with my blog and website. I have only one word of advise, no matter how many problems you may be having, DON'T FORGET TO BACK UP EVERYTHING! I did, but usually once every 6 months or year. This time it was a year.....I say no more!

I've a beautiful little Moroccan painting on the easel at the moment. A portrait of a Berber nomad and his youngest son (18 months). The challenge now is this: can I finish it without the photograph I took last winter? The photo is on my hard drive....