End of April, at VSC by the River; typical NE weather

It’s Friday morning and  a good night’s sleep and a great breakfast is behind me.   The people here are great.  They were open to begin with, but as the week has passed, I’m really feeling like a part of the Vermont Studio Center.  We talk a lot about the sense of calm and enablement that this place brings and the changes this is bringing to their work.

There is a certain freedom that comes from escaping from one’s daily duties and routine and just focusing entirely on the artwork.  Although I must admit, listening to some of the stories that my fellow artists tell, I’m so grateful about the supportive atmosphere I have back home.  In some cases, the difference is so great that I don’t want to compare my situation with theirs.

In any case, I do feel freer.  I finished my painting of the river in the snow.  I used a splatter technique at the end to bring out the snow, and I’m very happy with the way it came out.

Then I started with one of the larger pieces of paper – the 22 x 30.  To first put paint on a sheet of that size is always a bit intimidating.  The image is a profile of a woman with her hair flowing back and her hair becomes a rainbow.  It came together well, but yesterday, just seemed to be a bit of a low-energy day, so I broke up the periods of painting with casual walks.  Then, in the evening, I stayed in the studio, the first time that I’ve done that during this week, and continued to work on my dream-reality.

As I added touches, I was really happy with the way it was making me feel; I was engaging with it, and it was so exciting, I almost didn’t want to leave it as the evening progressed.  Now, I have that to look forward to today as well as some other stuff.

This is such an enabling experience.  I’m so happy I had the chance to come up here and work.  With good fortune, I’ll have other opportunities to come up here.  This is a unique and wonderful idea.  I love it.