I've been renting dedicated studio space since summer 2006 in NYC. Over the years I've prioritized the consistent building of an art practice/career over all else... and there were always sacrifices and adjustments required. The neighborhoods have been iffy, the spaces funky. I've had a bathroom wall that filled with water every rain, and an insane landlord who visited me incessantly because I was painting in the studio he built and gave up on. There have been moves to distant places that offered space and time, but sacrificed a solid home base and community. Frugality has been important because income fluctuates as an artist and you want to be able to float yourself during the lean times. Always freedom to create over amenity and outward stability. Building inward safety and stability has been a skill I am always honing, one necessary for this path. Recently I've been curious about finding live/work space in the Bay Area.. as we don't love the East Bay and San Fransisco is out of our price range right now with rental prices skyrocketing. This weekend we drove up to Sonoma County to look at a very funky option. It was basically a chaotic container ship village of art studios "organized" by a nice, eccentric metal sculptor. Affordable, not small... but there would be a rodent problem, and probably roof leaks in the studio portion... and no closets or cabinets or appliances. I felt a yes at first for the country and a community of freedom loving creatives... but the more I mull it over it's feeling like a no. It will be a Herculean effort to move my established studio from the perfect space it is in now in SF to this ok space. And I will lose painting time. I would be willing to lose productivity in the short run for more in the long... but this doesn't feel like that. Each option I consider or choose teaches me about what is most important to me. This time I feel that the ability to continue to work in my current studio without interruption is more important than loving my apartment, or where it is. I'm surprised at this! I have loathed this place. I have been resentful about the circumstances of the last move and the seeming lack of choice. But, several times now I have searched for an exit only to choose to stay to keep stability and my studio. It's empowering to get the opportunity to choose the thing I dislike. To choose patience over reaction. To be able to trust that there will be a better option and it will feel right.

Years ago an artist friend and I gleefully declared ourselves “shapists” and I swear it’s a thing. I can feel my heart swell a bit when I consider shapes and how to explain their value to me. You can think of them simply as the silhouette or outline of something. I began to understand the power of accurately observing them in several layers over time. Perhaps the very first occasion was during a head drawing class. I was a beginner and very enthusiastic. Our supplies consisted of a large pad of smooth newsprint paper clipped to a drawing board, a charcoal pencil sharpened with a razor blade into a fine tapered point like a Chinese lettering brush, and a grey kneaded eraser. The class sat in a semicircle on wooden drawing horses around a raised model stage. Our model posed, lit with a single strong light source for three hours as we attempted to draw her likeness. During a break I walked around the room and observed what the other students had accomplished so far. One student had drawn the model's eyebrow as a shape constructed of many straight lines and not yet filled in with value, an outline. I on the other hand had used the side of my pencil to quickly swipe an arch above her eye. It was such an epiphany to see how much more accurate the likeness was with the their method than with my own. I realize now that I was doing what most beginners do, creating a symbol of what I understood an eyebrow to be, instead of observing what an eyebrow actually consisted of visually. This is when I began to appreciate the benefits of slowing down and observing objectively. It would take many more years of calibrating my observational skills and hand/eye dexterity to be able to get the degree of likeness I found satisfying. Years later while while out plein air painting I observed a tree. I realized that if I could slow down and hone in on each shape of sunlight peeking through the leaves and paint it faithfully.. without thinking “tree” or “light” or “leaves” that I would have a satisfyingly accurate and beautiful representation of what was in front of me. Prior to that I was estimating, abbreviating, rushing the shapes into sameness. The effect was cheap, plastic, and formulaic. That tree with many similar quick dabs of light wasn’t a tree… it was a clumsy cartoon of a tree… a symbol of a tree that was not purposefully designed. Now I will say that when knowledge is gained about the natural forms of the world through years of thoughtful observation and recording, one can create intentional symbols that are very beautiful. But you must learn the truth that is out there to be able to edit and craft your own visual language.

Rob (my partner) sent this to me to share with you(AWWW). It's a younger person's grant... It's merit based so easy to apply to. I tried several times over the years, and then aged out. It's worth a look if you are applying before your 42nd birthday. https://www.elizabethgreenshieldsfoundation.ca/en/apply

Welcome Kelley Luckett @kelley-luckett-9200 Gouache artist. Also interested in oils. Kelley, please use this community board to share what you are working on or anything that's coming up for you in the process. Mark your calendar for this month's workshop too.

I added the chat which seems to be timestamped! That was a GREAT meeting, thank you all for your thoughtfulness, vulnerability and wonderful insights.