Welcome to my  blog: Introspection!

As much time in my studio is spent on thinking about and looking at art as there is on painting. Here I'll write about some of the things that pass my mind during those hours, or the inspiration that makes me grab the brush .

Be sure to visit my Studio Storage blog too, where I sell some of my earlier paintings at (very) low prices.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Travel news





It may look like summer is a slow time for me but actually aside from not blogging, it is not. My summer is filled with long and short trips and in between I try to keep up with studio work.
First, July brought a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico to see my work in gallery The Edge on Canyon Road - a fabulous gallery. Two of my paintings sold in the week I was there which made it even greater.
My friend Rebecca had her opening on July 11th so we could be there too and take part in the festivities. Other days were filled with visiting Santa Fe Art and checking out all the other art on Canyon Road as well as meeting fellow artist Diane McGregor who granted us a look at her (fabulous) new work.

Then it was time to leave for Colorado Springs to attend a conference related to my husband's business. We took a scenic route through the Rockies, where I had never been and enjoyed the amazing changing landscapes, from wide open planes in mostly pale yellows to the forest greens of steep mountains, deep red rock formations, lakes, waterfalls, quaint old mining towns etc. Part of the fun of travelling is also the people you meet on your trips. When we drove into Ouray and stopped there for a short walk through town and find a place to lunch, we ended up in a movielike Western Hotel. And; how things go, walking into the old fashioned saloon we noticed the guy behind the bar had something familiar, not as: I know this guy, more in looking like 'one of us' We ordered, he served and then asked: did I hear you speak Dutch? This we confirmed and then we found out that he was Dutch too, being on a 5 week working vacation (he's a law student in Leiden) at his aunt's hotel.
It was great meeting you Ijsbrand! I imagine you're back in Leiden again.

We enjoyed the rest of our trip and time in Colorado Springs, then went back home, left for a long weekend to the beautiful north-west part of Wisconsin where we met another enterprising Dutch couple who produces the best Gouda cheese outside of Holland, in Thorp, WI. You can find their cheese in the best specialty cheese stores and Whole Foods. We were immediately invited for coffee on the porch and had a lovely time.

Now it's almost time to leave for Spain, where I will do an artist residency for 3 weeks in September, together with my friend Rebecca. We're bot very much looking forward to this working time together, excited to see where it will lead us in our work. As taking large size canvases is out of the question I opted for small panels and acrylic paints for studio work, and water color for plein-air painting. Of course all of that is ready by now, the big question on what to pack for clothing in a fast changing mountain climate (we'll be in a tiny village nest to the miniature state Andorra high in the Pyrenees mountains) still has to be solved. At the end of our trip we have planned a short stay in Barcelona where it will most likely still be warm. There my husband will join us as well as our daughter and her boyfriend from Holland. But before all that I'll need to ship more paintings to Santa Fe - just hope my frames will arrive in time!

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