It’s that time of year for reflecting on the past twelve months.  2016 had it’s troubles for sure, but it was my most creatively productive year yet– a trend I plan to continue into the next! 

acrylic paintings completed 64

I began the year working furiously toward completing work for LATITUDE, my first solo show at Art & Light Gallery.  The show was a smashing success, which proved to be a huge blessing and a bit of a stumbling block– I had to get over a bit of the “sophomore slump” after LATITUDE.  I dove nearly straight away into a new series, VENTERS, a quiet, coastal inspired series.  Looking back over VENTERS, I can see myself searching for where I wanted to go with that group of work and the shift that took place over those months.  We spent the summer in Edmonds, WA, just a mile from Puget Sound, which took the initial inspiration of the Oregon & California coast and morphed it into the more quiet peace of the Salish Sea.

While working on VENTERS, I began a series of tiny, monochromatic paintings, SCINTILLA.  These baby paintings began as a creative exercise to fill the minutes while waiting for paint to dry.  But I’ve grown addicted to making them!  I was thrilled when they were accepted by Elliott Fouts Gallery for their Small Gems show, which is still up through January 5th!

We spent the Fall living on a small lake in Western Washington, which added fuel to my newest series, ECHOES.  Before we left Edmonds, I’d already had the idea of exploring water reflections in my next body of work and it seemed like fate that we ended up living on a lake!  We’ve since moved on to Tacoma, but I’m ending 2016 very focused on pouring out all the inspiration I found at the lake during those months.  

watercolor paintings completed 110+

A big surprise for me in 2016 was the result of a 100 day painting project.  I participated in the #the100dayproject on Instagram and it led to discovering a love for watercolor painting.  I began the project with a few small acrylic paintings, but as we were moving the next week, I decided to move to watercolors for their easy accessibility and clean up.  And a love affair was born!  A goal for 2017 will be to create larger watercolors on paper and experiment with different substrates.  I’m not sure I’ll ever give up acrylics but I do love the softness and gracefulness I’ve found with this new medium.

As an artist, I often find myself taking my work too seriously, so I made strides this year toward making time for creative play.  #the100dayproject kicked this off, but after I finished the 100 days, I found myself searching for other avenues, specifically ways to combine painting and natural elements, resulting in #foragescapes and #encirclings.

#foragescapes

#encirclings

I couldn’t write a review of my year as an artist without mentioning time spent in the wild.  Mr. F and I spent a lot of time hiking and camping the North Cascades  over the summer, as well as walking down to the Puget Sound countless times while we were in Edmonds.  We hiked in the Olympics, Mount Rainier, the Columbia River Gorge, and Goat Rocks Wilderness among so many others.  Each place we go enters my subconsciousness and I see them emerging from my brush, uncontrollably.

While 2016 ended with a feeling of uncertainty of the future for so many of us, we forge ahead.  I’m excited to be back in the studio post-Christmas holiday working on a commission for a Florida designer and finishing four ECHOES paintings on panel, planning for the next and ordering supplies.  

I have my goals for the next year and after seeing such growth last year, I’m beyond excited for what 2017 has in store.  I wish the same for you!  

One goal will be getting back to sharing in this space more often!  Hope to see you more frequently in the new year!