That feeling when paintings fly the nest
It’s always the paintings I want to keep for myself that fly the soonest
When Work Finds A New Home
I have pieces that I genuinely consider holding on to because I love them so much when they’re done. This one, Hold Fast To the Roots, is one of them.
Hold Fast to the Roots
Acrylic and pencil on 20” x 20” canvas
SOLD
I kept this piece really visible in my studio because of how happy I was with it. It ended up influencing pieces that came after it.
I thought about keeping it for myself, but ultimately decided to mark it for sale. I was thrilled this last week to send it off to its new home, to a friend who’s become a first-time collector of my work.
Even though I’ll definitely miss that piece, it’s an incredible feeling to package a piece, send it off, and get pictures of it in its new place where others can really appreciate it. It’s not the same, looking at photos of an older piece that you loved to pull inspiration from it, but the feeling of others enjoying your work every day in their living spaces is on a whole new level.
Another piece that recently flew the nest: Truth is the Silence and the Word.
Truth is the Silence and the Word
Acrylic and pencil on 36” x 24” gallery canvas
SOLD
This one went to someone who’d begun collecting my work last year and was adding to his collection. I packaged it off a couple of weeks ago and sent it off to its new home in New York City.
Ohhhh, this painting! I love it so much. This one has definitely been influencing the work that’s followed after it and it will be missed in my studio.
But…the one thing that comes from this? You know you have something good when you want to keep the piece for yourself but others want it, too. That’s a feeling I’ve learned to listen to. I can usually predict which pieces are going to speak to other people the most based on my own reaction to them.
Work in Progress
Last year I felt guilty about not spending as much time in my studio in December as I had through the year, but I’m beginning to learn to let go of that guilt and see December as a needed mental refresher. I have work in progress, work I’m excited about, but with a busy family and other obligations, and prepping for the string of holidays, I don’t get as much done in the studio.
Instead of feeling guilty about that, I learn to see it as banking excitement for the days after Christmas when that mental clutter of shopping and errands is cleared and I have space between that and a return to work to actually sit in the studio for extended bits of time.
So this month I’m showing you some work in progress from one of the paintings I have in flight (I usually have at least two in flight at the same time).
It’s all about exploring depth in grays right now. I’m planning to talk more about my limited palette in the next newsletter. I’m not yet sure if this exploration into the depths of grays is a series unto itself or not; it is certainly different from the pure-saturation of my work last year.
Favorite Things
I want to sometimes use this space to highlight the work of others that’s been making me stop my tracks, and lately the work that’s been doing that has been by artist Jim Musil.
The painting of the hay bales…I just can’t get over it. I wanted to snap it up myself but, obviously, it’s sold! I hope you’ll take a look at his work if you haven’t already.
Featured Piece
This work is one of my favorites to have come out of 2022; there are themes in it that I try to recapture in my work still. This is one of those that I keep visible in the studio, letting it influence me, and simultaneously hoping that someone else loves it as much as I do but also hoping it stays with me for a while.
Witness the Harmony of Our Collective Sorrows
Acrylic and pencil on 36” x 24” gallery canvas
$650 USD + shipping
I don’t know about you, but this is the busiest time of year for me. But I try my hardest not to wish I was already through it — it’s too easy to just keep wishing busy stuff would pass quickly only to realize that you weren’t really taking in the moment. So that’s what I’m doing this December, taking in the moment. I hope you are, too. See you next month when I hope to have some new about upcoming shows!
Be well, friends.
—Caryn
Issaquah, WA
December 2023