Middle of October Check-in
Hello from New Jersey! I’m on a quick trip to the east coast for a baby shower and to see family and I had a little bit of free time in the morning for an update.
What I’ve been working on:
I’m still on the finishing touches of the commissioned painting. There’s one or two areas that still need touching up; it’s a balance of painting and waiting for the paint to dry to make sure I get the right effect and look. But we’re almost done!
I’ve mostly completed three paintings inspired by my trip to China. I say mostly because I always want to keep tweaking and changing small things. It’s always been hard for me to decide if I’m ever finished with a painting. I have two other paintings in progress and have a couple more ideas based on reference photos that I think will be added to the series.
I’m continuing to attend the weekly figure drawing sessions on Thursday afternoons, trying to improve my figure drawing skills. They’re three hour sessions and the time passes quickly. The same model holds a long pose across two weeks for a total of six hours (with breaks) for us to draw. It’s been nice to have a regularly scheduled session outside of my house or studio to work on a new skill.
While I’m traveling, I’ve been trying to plan what I’ll paint for the Arts Los Altos’s Live Painting Art Battle Fundraiser. I have a rough idea of the subject, but I need to make a few sketches of a full composition to make sure it looks good. I feel like time has been hurtling past me and that it’ll be November soon enough.
Outings
This past week held many art events for me. The organization I volunteer with held the opening reception for its annual exhibition last Friday, the new art collective at the Ocean Blue Vault in Half Moon Bay held an opening for its fall session on Saturday, and on Sunday I deinstalled my 50|50 paintings from the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica. I learned that a few more of my sunrise/sunset paintings solds throughout the duration of the show! I’m also glad to have the remaining paintings back in my studio; I feel like I didn’t have much time seeing the paintings together, so I’ll be putting them up in a new configuration in my studio.
That’s all for now. It’s been relatively quiet and I’m feeling quite productive in the studio. I did bring computer work with me on my trip home. I’m hoping to catch up on that work while away from the studio, so once I’m back home, I can focus on painting. Thanks for reading. I hope your fall is off to a great start!
Beginning of October Check-in
Fall is officially here and it feels like the rainy season has already begun in the Bay Area. I’m really appreciating the cooler weather and overcast days. My return from Bali has been a bit slow; the jet lag really got to me this time and it took about a week for me to adjust time zones. But I’m back in full force this week with painting and events.
What I’ve been working on:
Still working on the final touches of the commissioned painting. It always feels like the last 5% of the painting takes up majority of the painting time, but I think it’s important to make sure all the details are just right.
I’m continuing to work on a series of paintings based on my trip to China. They feel like vignettes, moments of people’s everyday lives that feel familiar yet distinct. Each painting is 8”x10”, which is still quite small. I’ve really enjoyed working on these paintings so far. I’ve also asked a fellow artist in my studio to critique the works, and it feels really helpful to receive concrete feedback on areas to improve on and change about the works. Since I’m going in a slightly different direction with this body of work and trying something new, it’s useful for me to have someone with more experience and expertise look over the paintings and give me a few pointers.
I’ve also been going to a weekly figure drawing session consistently the last few weeks (outside of my trip to Bali). My paintings of China have figures in them, which is a very new area for me, so I want to make sure to practice and work on that skill.
I installed a number of my paintings at the Ocean Blue Vault in Half Moon Bay yesterday. It was nice to meet a few of the other artists in the collective; everyone was very nice, helpful, and excited for me to join. There will be an opening reception this Saturday from 12-3pm where I will meet more of the artists. I’ll also be gallery sitting a few days in November, and I’m looking forward to spending more days in Half Moon Bay. Yesterday I was reminded of how much I missed spending time on the coast.
Coming up on the 1st of November, I will be participating in Arts Los Altos’s Live Painting Art Battle Fundraiser. It will be a love event where I, and a few other artists, will paint a 3’x5’ painting in just three hours. Jurors and the audience will vote on their favorites for prizes! The artists just received the theme, so I’ve started to think about what I’ll paint. I’m a bit nervous, since I’ve decided to paint in acrylics and it’s a really short amount of time to complete a large painting. But I’ll treat it like a mural, and I’ll probably practice a couple of sketches beforehand. It’ll be a fun experience.
That’s all for now. I’m really enjoying the transition to more studio time and dedicating more time to practicing and improving my skill sets. I feel like I’m putting less “finished works” out into the world with fewer shows and events, but I needed to slow down in my schedule to focus on creating work. The figure drawing sessions have been a good addition to my schedule; it's a good way for me to get out of the studio, and I’ve been able to meet a different group of artists. Overall, I’m feeling pretty content with my daily schedule and what I’m working on. Thank you for following along! I hope all is well.
Middle of September Check-in
The last two weeks have been quiet in comparison to my last few months, and it’s been a little bit of an adjustment getting used to a more open schedule with no pressing deadlines. I have enjoyed the slower days, but I do find that I struggle a bit more with staying focused when my schedule is more open.
I was able to celebrate the accomplishment of painting my 50 sunrise and sunset paintings for the Sanchez Art Center’s 50|50 show two weekends ago during their two day opening. I also was back at the New Museum Los Gatos the same weekend for the museum’s 60th Anniversary Community Day leading a paint by number exercise with visitors as part of my group exhibition’s programming. It was a busy weekend, full of fun and celebration.
What I’ve been working on:
I’m in the final stages of the commissioned painting. I need to make a few small adjustments and clean up some edges in the painting, but the painting is nearly done. I’m really excited for the finished product to go up in its forever home.
I’ve been working on a series of paintings inspired by photographs I took on my trip to China. So far, I’ve started four paintings and there’s no telling how many I’ll end up painting for this series. I decided to paint smaller canvases for these paintings because I wanted to capture little vignettes of moments during my time in China. It’s been fun to paint something different and a little outside my comfort zone.
This fall/winter season, I’ll be showing a number of my landscape paintings in an artist collective called the Ocean Blue Vault in Half Moon Bay. A number of artist friends show their artwork with various collectives in the Bay Area, so I thought it’d be a good idea to try something new and show my artwork in a new market. Half Moon Bay is right on the coast, so I’m hoping my artwork is a good fit for the area. I’ll be installing my paintings in early October and working a few gallery shifts. It’s a new experience, and I’m excited to be spending more time on the coast since I haven’t been making time to do that as much this year.
Those are all my updates for now. I leave for a wedding in Bali tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to traveling to a new place and experiencing new inspiration for my work. I hope you’re doing well; thank you for following along as always!
Beginning of September Check-in
I’ve fallen into the habit of writing only one check-in a month, and I’m hoping that I can get back onto my biweekly schedule since so much occurs in a month.
What I’ve been working on:
I installed my paintings for the 50|50 exhibition at the Sanchez Art Center two weekends ago, and I think they look great together. Due to my tight schedule, I wasn’t able to see all the paintings together on a wall, so seeing them come together in a cohesive way felt very rewarding. The show opens this Friday, with a two day fundraiser, and I’m excited to see how they are received. If you want to check them out for yourselves, the paintings are on my website: https://www.margaretluoart.com/50-50
I’ve also made significant progress on my commissioned painting. I’m waiting on some feedback, since I’m at the final stages of the painting, and I want to make sure the painting has aligned with the client’s vision.
For my group exhibition Ebb & Flow at New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU), I’ll be participating in the musuem’s 60th anniversary community celebration on September 7th by leading a paint by numbers painting for the community to contribute to and paint. Chieko and I have also been working with the museum staff to develop a workshop that we’ll host in early October.
I also found some time to finish the last five sunrise/sunset 6”x6” paintings that I started earlier this year and probably last touched in April/early May. This completes the 12 paintings I had intended for this series. The first seven served as examples for my application to the 50|50 show, and I’m glad that I had the opportunity to do a deep dive into creating so many sunrise/sunset paintings, but I think these last five paintings close the chapter on this kind of painting for now.
I had mentioned in my previous post that I had been hired to install two small murals in Oakland’s Chinatown, but due to a variety of issues with scheduling and coordination, these murals will no longer be installed. While I’m bummed about not being able to paint these murals, I am quite grateful to have some time back to work on all the paintings in my studio.
Finally, I’ve started on a new series of paintings inspired by the photos I took on my trip to China. It’s a bit of a turn in the subjects of my paintings: I’m painting cityscapes and figures. I think I’ve finished one painting and am working on a second one. I’m hoping to attend more figure drawing sessions to continue to improve my technical skills and practice drawing.
September is the beginning of a significantly less busy period for me. I’m really thankful and happy that I had a very busy and eventful summer, but I have been looking forward to these less filled months. I’ll be traveling in two weeks to Bali for a friend’s wedding, so I hope to maintain the momentum I have in painting until then. That’s all for now. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend!
Beginning of August Check-in
The end of July came and went and it feels like suddenly the reality that it’s already almost a week into August has hit. I think this is the first check-in I’ve truly missed since starting my updates, and I really didn’t mean to miss it. So much has happened since my last update, and I’ve been working on a lot of different projects, so I’m going to make up for missing the last check-in with a potentially very long and rambling update.
What I’ve been working on:
John and me at the Ebb & Flow opening reception
My group exhibition Ebb & Flow at New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU) has officially opened and will run until January 4, 2026. The opening reception was an amazing event. I was surprised by the number of people who came to celebrate the opening of the exhibition with me and my collaborator Chieko Shimizu Fujioka (unfortunately our third collaborator, Moeko Machida, moved to Switzerland before the opening and wasn’t able to make it). You can read more about the opening in the Los Gatos local newspaper. The museum did a wonderful job of preparing and installing the exhibition, and it was really cool to see the behind the scenes process of putting together an exhibition before it opens. And there’s a lot of programming planned with this exhibition: we already held a tour, we’re planned to be a part of NUMU’s 60th anniversary celebration in September, and we’re leading a workshop in the beginning of October. More work and planning needs to go the workshop, but we do have a bit of a break from working on the exhibition.
Over the past 2-3 weeks, I’ve been working long days assisting on a 70’ long, 10’ tall mural that I mentioned at the end of my last update. The mural is located at OB Whaley Elementary in San Jose, and it’s part of an effort to revitalize the school through more arts programming hosted at the school. I learned so much about scaling a design, painting large, and general mural project management while assisting on top of just putting in hours painting the wall. We were very fortunate that the mural site was in shade for 90% of the day, with only 2 hours at most in the sun. But I did manage to get sunburnt and a very serious sock tan line, so lesson learned about being diligent about the sun! I had such a great time working on this mural. I love being outdoors and it felt great to be working outside in such a temperate summer that we’ve been having in the Bay Area. I feel really grateful that my artist friend hired me for this opportunity. Yesterday we officially finished painting and there’s potential that there will be more mural work for this client in the near future!
Mural at OB Whaley
A subset of my 50 paintings
I finished painting all 50 paintings for the 50|50 juried show at the Sanchez Art Center yesterday! It’s been a bit stressful finding long stretches of time to focus on these paintings while juggling the Ebb & Flow exhibition and mural installation. For all my former coworkers, it definitely felt like having too much project work with competing deadlines, but all my training at Mathematica juggling multiple projects really shined through this past month. Painting these 50 paintings was interesting because I realized I had gotten used to painting large and spending a significant amount of time on a single painting. The process of painting 50 6”x6” pieces felt choppy because I would spend at most an hour on a single painting before I needed to move onto another one, either because I wanted to cover as many panels as possible in a short amount of time or that the painting was too wet to continue working on. It’s interesting to see how I’ve transitioned into enjoying painting larger, becaus the first paintings I ever did back in 2020 were 6”x6” paintings. So it was cool to see my development over the last almost 5 years in how I approach painting and I solidly know that I’d prefer to paint larger.
I have a couple of more things to do before I can call these paintings officially finished. I need to clean up the sides of the panels to give them a finished look and create labels for each painting because they are associated with a specific location and time as they are sunrises and sunsets. There are also a couple of administrative things I need to do for the show, including writing up a bio and statement, and then there’s exhibition installation since each artist is responsible for installing their own work. I haven’t even thought about the layout of all 50 paintings, but I’ll either figure it out beforehand or during install!
Me and my skull
I also finished working on my skull for Local Color’s 31 skulls fundraiser. I definitely struggled a bit with the polymer clay, but I’m glad I tried out something new for this project. I dropped it off last week, but I think I need to ask for the skull back to varnish it. I had forgotten about that last step until I dropped off the skull and saw other people’s pieces varnished, but I think that I can ask for it back since there’s time until the October fundraiser. Plus, another artist said that it’s easier to photograph the skull when it’s not varnished to avoid the light glare, so maybe it’ll work out that I didn’t varnish it before Local Color had them professionally photographed.
My booth at Filoli
Two weekends ago, I participated in the Filoli Historic Garden’s Art Walk. It was a long weekend and overall, I didn’t feel like the visitors were quite my audience. I did end up selling an original painting, and I have received some follow up inquiries about some pieces. I did feel overwhelmed with participating in a weekend long art festival in the middle of these projects and thought at some times that I could have been painting with the time. But it did all work out in the end, and if anything, I was able to rest a bit and not worry about painting while I was there. Plus Filoli is such a beautiful place to be, so all in all, I can’t complain.
Finally (I think), one of my paintings from my Ocean Arrangements collection was accepted into a juried show hosted by the Los Gatos Arts Association and displayed at NUMU. I went to the museum two times last week, once for the opening of the show and once for my tour. So if you’re in the Bay Area, NUMU has 2+ pieces of mine in their museum.
Remains at The Greater Bay Area Open in NUMU
What’s upcoming
I have two small (8’Hx8’W and 8’Hx3’W) murals that I’ll be painting in Oakland’s Chinatown. I’ve had to make some design changes to accommodate the sizes of the walls that my murals will be painted (we applied with general designs without a specified wall and have been assigned walls after we were awarded the projects). I’ve already had to switch locations once for each mural, which means I’ve made changes to my design two times already, so I’m hoping there are no more changes before I paint them. I’m scheduled to paint one during a weekend in late August and the other during Labor Day Weekend. I was able to take home a significant amount of leftover paint from the mural at OB Whaley, which is great because my designs use the same colors as the ones in the OB Whaley mural.
The commissioned painting that I started earlier in the year has taken the backburner while I’ve been working on all of these projects with pressing deadlines. The client has been super understanding and isn’t in a rush, which I’m really thankful for. I’m leaving for a family trip on Wednesday evening, but upon my return on Tuesday, I will be working on only this commission in the studio, so I can make sure it turns out exactly how me and the client envisioned.
And I think that’s it! It’s been a busy time, but it’s a good type of busy. I was definitely feeling quite stressed in the thick of it all, but I’m feeling much better about everything since finishing the mural and the 50 paintings. I’m really looking forward to my family trip; we’re travelilng to Florida, so it’ll be a lot of beach time and relaxing. I think that’s when I will be able to better celebrate the accomplishments I’ve made this summer. I will be bringing my computer to do work, since I am comically behind on computer work (this long update as evidence), but I don’t feel bad about it because computer work feels strangely relaxing now. But that’s all for now. I hope you enjoyed the excess of photos in this update! Thanks for following along, and have a safe rest of your summer!
Beginning of July Check-in
It’s been almost a month since my last check-in and a lot has happened, so this is going to be a long one. I spent the last two weeks of June traveling to China where I spent most of my trip in Beijing with a three day trip to Datong. It was great to be back in China after not being there in over seven years, so I spent a lot of time with family and eating great food. It was also a time where I was able to rest and recharge and come up with some new ideas for painting.
Upon returning from China, I spent a few days sorting out my jet lag and reorienting myself with the projects I have this summer. I’ve got quite a lot going on and much of it requires new paintings and artwork to be made.
What I’ve been working on:
I’ve dropped off my painting for my group show “Ebb & Flow” at the New Museum Los Gatos. The exhibition opens at the end of this week, and we’ll have an opening reception for it next Thursday. I do have to prepare a bit for a short artist talk about the artwork in the exhibition and the collaborative process it entailed to create a piece of artwork with two other artists. It feels a little surreal that the show is opening so soon because the entire project started in the fall/winter of 2024, and it kind of feels like it’s suddenly here. But I’m excited that this project has come to fruition!
I’m well into the 50|50 (50 in 50) project for the Sanchez Center. I picked up my panels from the gallery and prepped them with a couple of coats of gesso with the generous support of my friends the day before I left for my trip to China. It took the three of us a few hours to get it done, so I’m super grateful that I had help. My process for starting my 50 paintings involved collecting all the photos of coastal sunrises/sunsets in my phone into an album and then sorting and editing the 50 most interesting photos and compositions. I was able to do some of this on my flight to China, but I ended up doing the majority of the work during the days I was fighting my jet lag. I started painting on Tuesday of last week, and as of this afternoon, I’ve started my 25th painting. Since I’m working with oils, it takes some time for the paint to dry, so I’m focusing on painting a sketch of each painting by the beginning of next week. That way, each painting has time to dry so I can add additional layers that are more refined and detailed. So no painting is actually finished, but I’m working my way through the initial layer of each painting.
I spent some time before my trip to China working on my skull for Local Color’s 31 Skull annual fundraiser, putting down the initial paint coats and sketching out the design. Since my return from my trip, I’ve incorporated polymer clay as part of the skull, since it’s already a 3D sculpture. I’m new to working with polymer clay, but after spending some time working on it, I was able to accomplish what I had envisioned. Now I just need to put the finishing touches in paint and I’ll be finished the project well in advance of the July 31 due date!
For my commissioned painting, I’ve received feedback on some preferences, so I’m ready to make changes and add in more details. I’m still slowly readjusting myself to longer studio hours (I was only able to focus and sit in my studio for about 2 hours the first day back, and I most recently have been able to sit for 4), so I’m hoping to find time this week to reacquaint myself with the painting.
What’s upcoming:
The day before I left for my trip, I found out that I won two small mural projects in Oakland’s Chinatown. I’m still waiting on some details regarding the specific locations of the murals and scheduling, but those murals will be completed by the end of September. I’m excited to work on these since I’ve been trying to get more public artwork projects.
In line with getting more public artwork projects, I’ve been working with a fellow artist friend on some mural proposals that have all fallen through, but she was able to commission a mural at a local elementary school that she asked me to assist on the installation. The painting will occur during the second half of July, so I’ve scheduled out some full days dedicated to working on the mural.
Finally, I also will be participating in Filoli Historic Garden’s Art Walk this year as a vendor. Last year, I did a live painting demonstration during the garden’s Art Walk on Saturday. This year is a bit of an upgrade; I’ll be there both Saturday and Sunday with the opportunity to showcase and sell my artwork. The Art Walk is at the end of the month. Thankfully, I feel like I have enough artwork to showcase, so no additional painting has to be done before the show.
With so much happening this month, I applied to my last project that requires additional work this weekend. In order to balance all that I have going on right now, I’m limiting the opportunities that I apply to exhibitions for already existing work. I was accepted into a juried show that will be presented at the New Museum Los Gatos and will open later in the year, and I’m going to continue to submit my work into similar shows.
I do feel like I’m in a serious growth phase in terms of more recognition for my work and having more opportunities to share my art with new audiences. It’s been a little overwhelming and really exciting, but sometimes I wish I had more time to focus on just painting and other projects that don’t have looming deadlines. I hope to find some time to go through the photos I took during my trip to China; I already have two painting ideas inspired by some everyday scenes in Beijing, and I would like to create a couple of paintings from my time there. But I think it’s a classic case of wanting what you don’t have. Earlier this year, I do remember feeling like I was languishing a little bit with no deadlines and a lot of open-ended time to work on self-directed projects, which now I’m complaining about missing. I guess it’s what it means to be human. Overall, I’m truly happy and grateful for all of these opportunities and experiences. My art career has really grown quickly, and I’m glad that I get to do this everyday. And a big thank you to you all for your support as you’ve followed along the entire journey so far!
Beginning of June Check-in
Even though it hasn’t been a full two weeks since my last check-in, it’s been a whirlwind of activity in and out of the studio. Yesterday, I did a live painting at Local Color’s Roll Up Activity Hub during Viva Calle in San Jose. I had a lot of fun painting outdoors, and a lot of people seemed to really like the design I created. I managed to only sunburn the lower half of my right arm after painting under the sun for 5+ hours, so I’d call it an overall success!
What I’ve been working on:
I’ve come to a point where I feel comfortable about how my painting for my group exhibition at the New Museum Los Gatos looks. I have a title for the painting, which is usually one of the last steps of a painting, so I think I can call it finished. I’ve also started writing up some sort of narrative about the inspiration for and process of creating this piece; the museum wants me to write a blog post for them about the artwork, so that will probably be its final form.
I’m taking a scheduled pause in the commissioned painting as it’s out for its first review with the client. I like to schedule two review points in the commission process to make sure the client is aligned with the artistic vision, since it’s an investment on both of our parts and I want to make sure I’m creating something that fits them.
Since I’ve reached a stopping point or pause in the two main paintings that I’ve been focused on this past month, I’ve had some time to return to the Olympic painting I started a couple of months ago. I’ve made a decent amount of progress. I hope to get close to finishing this painting before I leave for my trip to China this weekend because I have a couple of upcoming projects that I’m excited about…
What’s upcoming:
I was accepted into a juried show at the Sanchez Art Center (the same gallery that my painting Nestle was accepted into for their Left Coast Annual Show). The show is called 50|50 where artists create 50 works of art in 50 days! It’s the 17th year the gallery is hosting this annual show where artists create 50 small works (6" x 6") over the course of 50 days. Each artist chooses a theme for all 50 pieces, and my theme was Transitional Horizons: Moments Between Day, Night, and Self. The concept is that I’ll paint 50 coastal sunrise/sunset paintings, much like the mini series of paintings that I started earlier this year. The first day of the 50 day period begins Monday, June 23 and ends Monday, Aug 11, 2025, so this is a major project that I’ll be starting upon my return from China for the next few months.
Additionally, I was asked by Local Color to participate in the 31 Skulls annual fundraiser. I am one of 31 local artists who were asked to design and paint a ceramic skull that the non-profit auctions in a fundraiser to support the organization. I picked up my skull the same day I picked up my 5’x5’ canvas that I prepped for their Roll Up event. I already have design ideas and hope to make significant progress before my trip. The auction is held in October around Halloween (hence skulls), but I need to finish the sculpture by August 1.
So I have two big projects confirmed and a couple of potential projects in the works that aren’t confirmed that may be coming up this year. It really feels like things are picking up where I have consistent work outside of the paintings and collections I personally come up with. I’m really excited to see how I continue to progress with my art. I can feel my painting skills improving; it doesn’t take me as long to complete my paintings and each new painting looks better than the last one. I’ve also learned new skills in designing artwork digitally in Procreate for both commissions and bigger outdoor pieces. It’s also really interesting to see the new opportunities that come my way. I applied to the Sanchez Art Center’s 50|50 show in 2023 and the Left Coast Annual Show in 2024 and didn’t get into either, but I’ve gotten into both of them this year. Which may be a product of having different jurors for the shows each year, but I also think that my painting and sense of creative direction has improved.
I’m looking forward to my trip to China. I’ll be spending two weeks there. I hope to rest, spend time with family, eat a lot of food, and be a general tourist. I’m looking forward to feeling refreshed upon my return, so until then, I hope you have a great rest of your June. Thanks for reading!
End of May Check-in
We’re in the third check-in of the month, and it feels like a lot has happened yet again since my last update. Before the holiday weekend, I had my last weekend of Open Studios at my studio space in Alameda Artworks and it went very well. We had over 500 people visit the studios over the weekend. I had the chance to catch up with people who have visited the studio previously during Second Saturdays or who had seen my work in other places. I also met so many new art appreciators. It was a lively weekend and across the two weekends of Open Studios, 13 paintings found their forever homes. It felt very validating to hear and see how my artwork was resonating with other people. I also received a lot of inspiration for new paintings and projects that I want to work on, which I’ll hopefully be able to get to soon.
Now that Open Studios is over and my studio is back in its normal messy form, I’m working on a couple of projects that I need to wrap up by the middle of June. I’m traveling to Beijing, China during the last two weeks of June, so I need to put things in order before my trip.
What I’ve been working on:
Live painting design
I’ve been splitting my studio time between the painting for my group exhibition at the New Museum Los Gatos and the commissioned painting. I’m feeling quite good about the progress I’ve been making and I think that I’ll be able to get them where I need them to be by June 14th, before I leave for my trip. Part of me wishes that I didn’t procrastinate so much on my group exhibition piece, since I’ve been planning with the other artists in the group show and the museum for this exhibition since last year, but I came up with the inspiration for this painting only last month. I guess that’s how it works sometimes, and now we’re working up to the deadline.
I’m also preparing for a live painting event that I will be participating in on Sunday, June 8th. I’ll be working with a local arts non-profit, called Local Color, and will be live painting a 5’x5’ canvas during a monthly event called Viva Calle, where the roads are closed off for bikers and pedestrians with live music and activities. I have a design sketched out, and I plan on sketching and painting a portion of the painting before the event since I’ll have less than five hours to actually paint during the event.
I’m also currently taking a figure drawing class that meets once a week. We’ve covered human anatomy, muscle groups, and quick, expressive figure drawings so far. It’s been a good experience because it’s a different kind of instruction that I’ve received before and I’m feeling more confident with figure drawing.
Finally, I’ve been applying to a variety of public art and gallery opportunities for the summer and fall in the hopes that work keeps coming. It’s always a balance on working on projects for now and making sure I’ll be a part of opportunities in the future.
That’s all that I’ve been working on since my last updates. Preparing for Open Studios took a lot of energy, so I’m appreciating the quiet focus time I’ve had in the studio. Hopefully I’ll have one more update before I leave for my trip, and maybe I’ll finish painting the exhibition painting early. I’m also looking forward to not working towards a deadline for specific paintings and exploring some new painting ideas that I have. I seem to often find myself in a situation where I have new ideas for paintings and projects while I’m already busy with work that’s on a deadline, but I think it’s a good problem to have. There will never be an end to the things that I want to paint and create; I’ll never be bored! That’s all for now. I hope you all had a lovely Memorial Day weekend and I look forward to the next check-in.
Middle of May Check-in
Happy mid-May! It’s been a productive month so far with my first weekend of Open Studios in the books and another one coming up in a few days. I had a pretty successful Open Studios last weekend: I met a lot of new people interested in art and sold a few paintings. I’ve also done the setup process for my outdoor booth enough times now that it’s very quick and easy for me to get ready for outdoor events. I’m looking forward to this weekend’s Open Studios because it’s at my own studio and I’m hopeful it’ll go well.
What I’ve been working on:
I didn’t end up finishing the five sunset paintings that were in progress at the time of my last check-in. I realized that I didn’t have enough time to let them dry, let alone finish them, before open studios, so those paintings are on pause for now.
I’ve been spending most of my studio time focused on my painting for my group exhibition at the New Museum Los Gatos. I did decide to start on a brand new painting instead of fighting the one that wasn’t working for me. It’s been a little under two weeks since working on the painting, and although I spent the majority of the two weeks worried that the painting wasn’t going to work out, it’s finally at a spot where I feel quite confident in the direction it’s going.
I’ve also been working on the commissioned painting, and I have the foundation set. I’m just starting on the details of the painting and feel good about the overall process.
Overall, I’m a little tired but extremely motivated. I’ve been spending long days in the studio, especially this week while the weather has been cool. Summer can get a little tough in the studio because the space doesn’t have central air conditioning and the building can get quite warm by the afternoon in the summer months. The benefit is that my paintings do dry quicker in the warmer weather.
That’s my update for now. It’s short, but at least it means that I’m focused. I hope you all are doing well, and thank you for your support!
Beginning of May Check-in
I’m a little delinquent on my biweekly check-in schedule, partially due to lack of motivation and partially due to not making time for my computer work. May is Silicon Valley Open Studios month, and I am participating in two weekends (May 10&11 and May 17&18) again this year. I spent five days in the studio last week trying to wrap up paintings in time to show during open studios and will probably spend five days a week in the studio this week and the upcoming weeks to make sure I stay on top of everything.
What I’ve been working on:
Olympic National Park Painting
Oceanscape for Museum Group Exhibition
I’m in the break period of the small sunrise sunset paintings. I’m in the middle of working on five paintings (I’ve completed a total of seven paintings already), but they need time to dry before I continue working on them to work on the details. The overall composition is in place, but when I keep trying to adjust the painting while the entire thing is covered in wet paint, it tends to get muddy with the colors melding together in a way I don’t want. At this rate, I’m hoping to have a few more of the paintings finished in time for the last weekend of Open Studios (May 17 & 18).
I decided to start another large painting (4’x5’) based on a photo taken during one of the hikes I took in Olympic National Park last year. I feel like it has a really strong composition and foundation. I started the painting not realizing the number of deadlines I have coming up, so I have to put it on pause, but I’m really looking forward to getting back to it and putting in the details.
Regarding upcoming deadlines, my group exhibition at the New Museum Los Gatos is coming up with an opening on July 11th. I know that today is the first day of May and July is two months away, but I’m working on a new painting to show in the exhibit and I have to take into account the time it takes for paint to dry (at least 2 weeks), varnish, and delivering the artwork ahead of the opening. I started my first large painting (4’x5), I think late last year, of an oceanscape and decided I wanted this painting to be a part of the exhibition. I’ve been working on it exclusively this week, but I came to a point of complete frustration with this specific painting and have to rethink what I’m going to do. It may be easier to completely start the painting over from scratch rather than try to fix it. I’m taking a break from painting today, because I need to give myself some space to think about a different way to approach the problem.
On top of all of this, I’ve also started a new commissioned painting (commissions are still open for a fall delivery BTW). I’m also excited to work on this painting once I overcome my exhibition painting, because it’s a really sentimental landscape. I’ve done a few sketches so I feel really ready to paint, and I’ll probably start putting down the base layers after Open Studios.
I know in my last post I shared that I’ve been feeling tired and overwhelmed and yet here I am with a bunch of competing deadlines and projects. Since my last post, I feel less tired, but probably the same amount of overwhelmed. However, I feel quite a bit more positive. I think I’ve done a better job of prioritizing what work I want to do, accepting that I can’t do everything at once. I’m also working on not feeling guilty about the work that I choose not to do or don’t make the time to do.
Over the last 2-3 weeks I have spent time practicing compositional studies via sketches in my studio and plein air painting of my friend’s lemon tree. I realize that the compositional sketches don’t take more than an hour, and they’re a great way for me to warm up. I also went to my friend’s house twice to practice plein air painting, putting into practice the skills I’m learning from the compositional sketches. Again, these don’t take that much time, and it’s a good way for me to get out of my studio into fresh air.
As I mentioned, things come in phases, and I’m trying to hold onto the positive feelings and motivation that I have right now. I definitely did have an exasperating and frustrating afternoon yesterday once I realized my ocean painting wasn’t working, but I have to move on and move forward. By my next update, I’ll have done at least one weekend of Open Studios, and hopefully I’ll have made progress on all of my projects. Thanks for all of your support and motivation!
Mid-April Check-in
The weather has finally dried and warmed up here in California. We’ve had quite a cool and rainy March, so I’m happy to have the warmer weather around. I’ve felt a bit scattered the last two weeks that I’m attributing to settling into my studio space and working to re-establish a routine in the studio after traveling. I’m working on building in more breaks in my week; I’m finding that going into the studio five days a week is untenable if I want to keep up with applications. Plus breaks are nice. So we’re figuring out how to manage that right now.
What I’ve been working on:
I’m continuously adjusting my Yosemite painting, working on the background and foreground to build a better sense of depth in the painting. I think we’re almost there, and I’ll eventually call it done.
I went back to a number of smaller paintings that I started as part of a series of sunrise and sunset paintings that I had started back in January. If I’m keeping track correctly, I had finished 3 earlier in the year, and I just finished 4 more paintings. I started 3 more. The goal is to have 12 paintings in this collection. I think I had gotten frustrated with the 4 paintings and needed some time for the paint to dry to put in the final details. I need to remember to give myself some space when working on the smaller pieces because they can quickly become overworked.
As part of a compositional exercise, I painted an oyster still life painting. I need to figure out what I’m doing with the background as well as tweak a few things about the darkest point and lightest points in the painting, but I’m happy with how the exercise went overall!
Outings
This past Friday, I attended the opening reception for the Left Coast Annual Juried Show at the Sanchez Art Center, where my piece Nestle was accepted. I had a nice time meeting the other artists whose work were accepted into the show and had a chance to speak with the juror. I feel like I always learn a lot from seeing the dfiferent types of artwork that gets selected in a show, realizing that the process is really subjective and highly depends on who is jurying. It’s not an easy job, and I’m always grateful when my pieces are selected!
Those are my updates for now. Being candid, I do feel a little tired and overwhelmed with all that I want to do. I’ve been trying to set realistic expectations for what I want to accomplish. All that I want to do with my art is set by myself. Right now, I’ve been torn between practicing and improving my skills through drawing and composition exercise (which entails reading through various art workbooks, studying famous painters in art history books, and attending figure drawing sessions); working on the various collections of paintings I’ve had the ideas for for a while; and applying to various opportunities to have my work seen. And painting these collections is also in a sense practice in improving my skills. I’ve constantly struggled with wanting to do too much at once, and I’m feeling the tiredness that comes from it right now. But I know that it all comes in phases, and I’d rather have too many ideas than none at all, so it’s a good problem to have in the end. If you have any recommendations on how to better prioritize all that you want to do and how to take breaks, let me know! Until next time, thanks for following along and reading.
End of March Check-in
Hello everyone, happy end of March! To me, the end of March signals the official end to winter. I’m looking forward to the warmer weather and flowers blooming, even though it’s been quite rainy and chilly here in the Bay Area. I’ve just returned from a week-long road trip to Sequoia and Death Valley National parks with a friend. It was an interesting trip as we went from snow covered mountains with giant sequoias to 90-100 degree weather in a desert in a matter of days. I really enjoyed my visit, and I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to turn some of my reference photos into new paintings.
What I’ve been working on:
I’ve officially fully moved into my new studio space. The move was just down the hall from my previous studio space, so I spent this past month slowly moving my things over. It’s still quite a bit messy. I haven’t fully figured out how I’m going to arrange and store my things, but it’ll get there. If anything, I’ll have to make sure the studio is presentable by April’s Second Saturday event at my studio.
Before my trip, I worked on my Yosemite painting. I made changes to the clouds and fog in the painting, which has helped add much more depth to it. I’m looking forward to wrapping this painting up and calling it done for good.
I plan on painting more paintings inspired by my trips to National Parks. I’m going to look through my new photos from Sequioa and Death Valley to create a few more sketches.
Before my trip, I had a studio visit from the NUMU curator who is working with us on our Ebb and Flow show. She was impressed with the collaborative sample artwork we created, and she’s looking forward to seeing the finished collaborative piece and the individual artworks we’re going to show to complement the collaborative piece. I took a break from the piece I was working on for this show, so I have to turn back to it after I finish the Yosemite painting.
Outings
This past Saturday, I went on a self-directed gallery tour in SF with an artist mentor and another artist friend. I’m part of a mentorship program hosted by the Northern California Women’s Caucus for Art where I was partnered with a fellow landscape oil painter. She took us around to galleries in the city, and it was a great way to get to know her better as well as find out where the galleries in SF are.
Yesterday, I dropped off one of my Ocean Arrangement paintings, Nestle, at the Sanchez Art Center for their Left Coast Annual Juried Show. I think I forgot to mention in my previous posts that the artwork was accepted to be a part of the show. I’m really excited about this opportunity, because it’s my first official gallery show! It was nice meeting the people who run the Art Center and associated studios, and I’m looking forward to the show’s opening reception on April 11th
And those are my updates. I feel a little behind and stressed since I’ve been away for a week, but I think I’ll figure out a rhythm with my new studio and painting this week. I have also fallen behind on my applications, so I’ll have to also find time to finish and submit those before the deadlines! I hope you all are doing well, thanks for reading.
Middle of March Check-in
It’s been a busy two weeks since my last check-in! I forgot to mention in my last update, but I’m in the process of moving studios! I’m moving down the hall into a larger space with more storage area that opened up, and it’s been a process of painting the new studios walls and moving all of my things. I’ll be fully moved in by the end of the month, and meanwhile I’ve still been painting.
What I’ve been working on:
I tried something new by working on these line drawings of coffee plants, which was partially inspired by my time listening to my friend Rayos talk about his mixed media art practice for his Guest Artist presentation with the Art Docents of Los Gatos. I initially wanted to collage a line drawing of coffee plants, using these colorfully printed coffee bags I’ve been collecting, but I got really invested in the line drawing. And when I tried collaging around the drawing, it felt too busy. Plus I really disliked the process of cutting and collaging, which was useful to learn. So I’m keeping the line drawings as they are for the finished product. It was nice to create something as an experiment and to make just for myself.
I think I’m deciding that Morning Swim is finished. It’s at a point where there are little details that I want to keep touching up, but I also just want to move on from the painting because I’m not sure how much each little adjustment is going to affect the overall painting. All I need to do now is photograph the painting so I can submit it and a few others to a juried show that has a deadline coming up next week.
I started reworking the painting of Tunnel View in Yosemite that I “finished” last January. It had been hanging on my walls in my old apartment before I moved, and I just moved it into my studio earlier this year. I always felt like it needed more work, but since it was always sitting at home, I never took the time to work on it. I’ve been more inspired to work on paintings of views from the National Parks that I’ve visited over the past few years, and I thought that reworking this one would be a good start. I started sketching out a few more compositions of other National Parks, so I have quite a few ideas. So this may be the next collection of big paintings. (And I know that I’m still in the middle of creating small works [6”x6”] of coastal sunrises and sunsets, but I’m learning to just go with what is inspiring me in the moment because I know I can always go back to previous concepts/ideas.)
I finally varnished most of the paintings in the Ocean Arrangements collection (I forgot to varnish the biggest one because I put it away). I’m really excited to show them in my new studio because I have the wall space for all of them to be displayed at once. I think they’re going to look really good together.
I’ve also been applying to a bunch of art calls and other art opportunities. It feels like all of the deadlines for art shows and residencies fall on the same few weeks in late March and early April, so I’ve been spending a decent amount of time working on my computer.
Outings
Last weekend, I visited my friend Christina Kent’s opening reception for her solo show in Studio Gallery SF. It was really inspiring to see all of the work she’s prepared over the last year for the solo show (20+ works!). She created a range of small and very large paintings that had me thinking about working in an even larger format. I think her largest painting was 48 x 72 inches! So I’ve been thinking about this more for a series of National Park paintings.
I also spent two more full days at elementary schools supporting the Guest Artist program of the Art Docents of Los Gatos. It’s always really great to see children be inspired to make artwork and I’m really glad that I was able to help support the program!
Those are my big updates for now. I’ll be traveling to Sequoia and Death Valley National Parks at the end of the week and into next week with a friend. I’m looking forward to visiting both parks; it’ll be my first time visiting Sequoia and my second time to Death Valley, but my friend hasn’t been to either. I always look forward to my nature/hiking trips, because they give me time and space to relax and come up with new painting ideas. So I will be working hard this week to wrap up a bunch of loose ends so I can fully enjoy my trip! I hope all is well with you. And as always, thanks for following along!
Beginning of March Check-in
I’m back from my trip home to Pennsylvania, and I feel refreshed. I think I hit a bit of a lull at the end of last month, recovering from a cold and feeling done with the dreary winter weather. Since my return to the Bay, the weather’s been warmer and the days are distinctly longer, so spring feels right around the corner and it’s reinvigorating. I also had the chance to meet with my former art professor when I visited Swarthmore; we had a really encouraging conversation, and he shared some artists, like Catherine Murphy and Winslow Homer, who I should look at to help me with my paintings. So I checked out a bunch of library books that will help me move forward with developing my painting technique and skills, and I feel re-inspired by my paintings.
What I’ve been working on:
I finished my part of the large collaborative piece for the summer group show just in time before my trip to Pennsylvania. I didn’t love pushing through my cold to get the work done, but sometimes things just need to get done. Moving forward, I hope to feel more positive about the work that I’m doing for this group show, because overall, I’m very excited that I was invited to be a part of a group show at a museum. I think sometimes, in the moment, the work can feel burdensome when I lose sight of enjoying the process and instead only focus on the outcomes.
I need to get back to painting Morning Swim. I want to submit this painting to a juried show that has an upcoming deadline. After spending almost two weeks of time away from the painting, I feel more confident about my ability to fix the value problem in the painting, and finishing it on time doesn’t seem as daunting as it did before my trip.
This past weekend, I installed a four piece commissioned work of orchids in their forever home. I started this commission back in 2023, and there was a lot of back and forth and waiting time as the client was undergoing home renovations at the same time. We finally were able to schedule a time we were both free for the install, and they absolutely love how the pieces came out. They had this specific corner for the pieces in mind when they initially commissioned the painting, and it was a great feeling to see their vision come to life! Seeing the look of joy on the client’s face reminded me why commissioned pieces are so rewarding.
I’m starting to practice still life and figure drawing. I feel like I need to go back to the basics and develop those skills a little more, because I think it’ll make me more confident in my compositions and painting. I’m going to dedicate more studio time to practicing and developing skills, so I’m limiting my painting focus to one or two paintings at a time.
Outings
Part of my visit to Pennslyvania including supporting my friend and fellow Swarthmore alum, Meredith Leich, on her show Arborlight at Swarthmore. I met Meredith during the Cuttyhunk Island residency, where she is co-director. I learned a lot about producing a show of a temporary art installation. Meredith works with light projections of line drawings she films in stop-motion, and Arborlight focuses on the lives of trees. We also talked shop about our arts practices and how we can continue to improve and grow as artists, which is part of the motivation behind me wanting to spend more time focusing and practicing drawing. I’ve shied away from figure and portrait drawing, mostly because it’s a skill I haven’t ever worked on or practiced, but I think it’s time for new thinking and growth for me. I didn’t like feeling so stuck at the end of last month, so trying out something new feels exciting.
Upon returning to the Bay Area, I spent two full days at elementary schools supporting the Art Docents of Los Gatos, a non-profit org I volunteer at, with their Guest Artist visits. A local mixed media artist, Rayos Magos, gave presentations at the schools, talking to elementary schools about what it means to be an artist and introducing them to a variety of different types of art. After hearing him repeat his presentation 15 times, it really stuck with me the importance of trying out different styles of art and mediums to help you grow as an artist. It falls in line with my takeaways from my visit back to Pennsylvania, so it feels really ingrained in my thinking right now.
Those are all my updates for this week. I feel like I made a couple of breakthroughs. I didn’t realize how demotivated I felt before my trip back home, so I’m glad that I was able to take a week to step away from my regular day to day to reflect. Plus it helps that it’s warmer, sunnier, and the days are longer, so I feel quite a bit more positive. I hope you are doing well and staying healthy. Thanks for following along!
Mid-February Check-in
Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I’m recovering from a cold I caught this week, so this weekend has been set aside for rest. I’ve had a busy few weeks and a lot coming up in the rest of the month, so I want to be well-rested and healthy. I’m flying to Pennsylvania next week to visit family and support a fellow Swarthmore alum in her installation art piece that she’s presenting on the 24th and 25th. I’m looking forward to the trip, but there are a few things that I need to wrap up before I leave.
What I’ve been working on
I started working on the large collaborative piece for my summer group show. Our timeline was shifted because one of the artists is moving to Switzerland in early spring, so she needs to finish her portion of her piece before she moves. Since I paint the first layer of the artwork, setting the color palette and movement of the piece, I need to finish my part before the end of the month. I’ve got a decent start, but I will be spending the next few days before I leave for Pennsylvania solely working on this painting.
I’ve continued to make progress on Morning Swim. The values of the painting aren’t quite right, so I plan on continuing to work on it when I return from my trip from Pennsylvania.
I also started a larger version of this study of a morning sunrise in Port Angeles that I saw during my trip to Olympic National Park last year. I’ve only worked on the first layer, blocking out the shapes and setting the dark tones. It’ll have to take a back seat for a while, but it’s another painting that I’m looking forward to working on.
Outings
Last week, I attended the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation’s fundraising gala, which was a nice celebration for all the work the public hospital does for the community and to showcase the Hearts in San Francisco artworks. I was able to meet the other artists who painted a heart for the fundraiser as well as the hospital doctors and staff and the various supporters of the hospital. It was a fun event and made my artwork feel very meaningful because I was able to see the ways the fundraiser supported the patients of the hospital. It’s one of the wonderful ways to see the positive impact art can have.
I helped organize another professional development event with genARTS this past week. We held an artist statement and resume writing workshop to support emerging artists working towards a career in the arts. We are holding two more workshops before the summer, so I’ve dedicated a lot of my time volunteering with this organization doing administration work to ensure all the events run as smoothly as possible. Volunteering with this organization has made me feel more connected to my local arts community, but I am thinking more about re-prioritizing creating art since I feel like I haven’t been able to spend as much time in the studio as I want to.
Those are the major updates from the last two weeks. I continue to learn about myself and the kind of work I enjoy. During this recovery time, I’ve been reflecting on what I enjoy most about working for myself and being an artist. I really value quiet time working alone and setting my own timelines, while also meeting people to talk about art. This has helped me better refine the opportunities I pursue and what type of work I focus on, with the goal that I enjoy how I spend most of my days. I’m going to try to keep this in mind as I continue to move throughout the year and as my workload fluctuates.
Thanks for following along my updates; your support is meaningful and really helps motivate me!
End of January Check-in
Hello! Happy last day of January! The better part of the last week and a half has been consumed by moving, which I forgot to mention in my last update. I just moved down the road, but I had forgotten how much work and time moving takes. We’re on the tail end of it and finally settling into our new place, and I’ve been able to get back to the studio to work on my paintings. I’m a little behind on administrative and computer work, but I’m hoping to get back on track in the next few days.
What I’ve been working on:
I’ve made significant progress on the painting from my time at the Cuttyhunk Artist Residency, which I’ve decided to title Morning Swim. Painting water is always challenging, but I feel like taking a break to move helped me see the painting with different eyes when I came back to it.
For my upcoming group show in the summer, the two other artists and I met to see how our test collaborative piece came out. We shared feedback with each other on what was working and what wasn’t, so now we’re ready to work on the actual collaborative piece that will be featured in the show. We cut out a unique shape for the artwork, and I’m responsible for the first layer of the artwork, so I’ll be starting that next week.
One of my goals this year is to have my own solo show. It’s a really big stretch goal because there are a lot of factors outside of my control for this to be able to happen. I have found a community art space in San Jose that seems like they’d be able to provide the space for a solo show, and I’m working on a proposal to send them. Since it’s a community space vs. a gallery or museum, I’d be responsible for putting together the entire show, planning programming, and getting the word out. It feels daunting, but the first step is sending out a proposal to see what they say!
Outings
genARTS, the volunteer organization that I’m a co-chair of, had its Creative Career Panel at Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA) this past Wednesday. I’ve been working hard with the rest of the organization to plan this Career Panel over the last few months, and it was great to see so many people come out to learn more about how to make a career in the arts. This Career Panel is the first event of a four event programming series that I helped win grant funding from the City of San Jose’s Office of Cultural Affairs. The next event will be a workshop for artist statement and artist resume/CV writing held on February 12th. It’s been a lot of work, but I’ve been learning a lot about event planning and working with various arts organizations in San Jose through this process.
So there are a lot of activities on my end, and I’m reminding myself that it’s okay to be busy but not overwhelmed. The beginning of the year has a lot of planning and future thinking involved, but I’m starting to transition into being more present in what is happening right now. I’ll be sending out my public facing newsletter soon (which you can sign up for here) with updates on new available paintings as well as commission sign ups. Thanks for following along in the behind the scenes of my artist life; I appreciate all of you!
Mid-January Check-in
The beginning of the year has already been quite busy and eventful. I did get to spend a restful holiday taking a break from work and spent a lot of time with friends and family, and now things are in full swing. I’ve just come back from a family long weekend vacation in Las Vegas, and am preparing to move apartments. Art wise, I’ve applied to a few opportunities to show my work and some residencies. Additionally, I’ve been spending quality time in the studio painting working on a couple of different projects, so it feels like a time of expansion.
What I’ve been working on:
I am ~done~ painting the six paintings in the Ocean Arrangement series I started in December 2023. They’re all signed, and I’ve painted all of the edges, which I think adds to a finished look. Once all the paintings are dry, I’ll varnish them, wire hang them, and then the series will be officially complete!
I started a new series of sunrise and sunset paintings on smaller canvases. I’m hoping to paint around 12 paintings in this collection; I just varnished two paintings and five others are in various states of progress.
I started a new painting from my time at the Cuttyhunk Artist Residency. The reference photo was taken by one of my fellow residents during one of their morning swims at sunrise. It’s a lovely wave painting with sailboats and Martha’s vineyard in the background. It’s been a pretty challenging painting for me, so I’ve been taking breaks from it to paint my smaller sunrise/sunset paintings.
Now that it’s 2025, I have to really focus on finishing the large 3’x4’ wave painting that I started last year. I’ve taken a bit of a break from the painting because it’s been a bit challenging to get the motion and light of the waves right. The group show that I hope to have this painting in will open in June/July, so I have some time!
Outings
I had a chance to see my SF General Hospital Foundation Heart artwork in person at the Ferry Building in SF for its official unveiling with all 22 hearts. It was really nice to hear how the fundraising from the Hearts in SF project helps the SF General Hospital and the communities and people the hospital serves. I also learned that my heart has been already auctioned off, so it’s already been making a difference!
And that’s my update for this week. I’m working on quite a number of different paintings, but it hasn’t been too overwhelming because there aren’t any pressing deadlines. I feel like I’m in a moment where I have a lot of different ideas and paintings I want to start, so I’m just taking advantage of that energy. I think soon, once I have more time not interrupted with travel and moving, I’ll start to focus on one or two paintings at a time to make more significant progress on one project instead of bouncing around different ideas. And I’ll know that I can always come back to projects that I’ve already started. I hope you all have had a great start to the year! As always, thank you for following along!
2025 Art Career Goal Setting
Happy New Year everyone! I’m starting 2025 refreshed and excited to share what I want to accomplish in 2025. I spent time reflecting on what I wanted my days and months to look like while continuing to grow my art business. I’ve settled on these four goals:
Paint 60 paintings
Paint outdoors more often
Apply to 30 art calls
Participate in 3-5 in person events
Last year, I finished 47 paintings, so I think 60 paintings is a good number to strive for. I also started to paint outdoors more often last year, and I want to continue that practice by setting intentions to bring my paints outdoors. I have a personal resolution to travel more and take more weekend trips to places in California. I’ve now lived in this state for over four years but I feel like there’s so much more to see and explore. Weekend trips will give me the chance to travel to places that are still within driving distance from home that are further away. And the best way to record the memories will be painting those places!
I found that applying to art calls were really beneficial in getting my artwork in new places and opened up a lot of new opportunities. I’ve increased my goal from 10 art calls to 30 art calls in 2025. Even though I applied to 44 art calls last year, I wasn’t highly selective of the opportunities that I applied to. I think quantity over quality worked for me last year because it gave me the chance to explore what kinds of opportunities are out there while also getting used to the sting of rejection and learning what I was a better fit for (I was accepted into 10 of the art calls I applied to!). This year, I’m going to be a bit more discerning in determining which art calls are a better fit for me and my artwork, which is why my goal is a little lower than the number of art calls I applied to last year.
My last goal is to participate in 3-5 in person events this year. Sharing my artwork with people is my favorite thing about being an artist, and I felt like the number of events I participated in last year was a good amount for me. So I’m keeping this goal the same as last year and look forward to being able to share my artwork at my studio and other events!
One last intention I had while setting my goals for this year is that I want to leave some space for unexpected opportunities and experiences that come my way. Last year showed me that there are plenty of things that come my way that I didn’t plan for in my goal setting. It turns out, when you apply to so many opportunities, you do get accepted into some of them, so I should leave some space open for me to actually be able to enjoy the experiences. Last year I was able to spend a week at my first artist residency that has continued to provide me with inspiration months later. But I also remember feeling quite stressed about the timing because I had planned a couple of long trips with friends and family during the same time period along with a couple of studio visits for an upcoming exhibition. So I want to remind myself that it’s good to have empty days on the calendar to leave room for the unexpected.
So I hope you have had some time to reflect on your past year and have made your own resolutions and goals with me. Here’s to a new year and I’m looking forward to sharing with you all that comes! Thanks for supporting me on my journey!
2024 End of Year Review
I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday season with friends, family, and loved ones. Since the end of the year is in a few days, I wanted to share a review of my year and follow up with how I did with the goals I had set in January. I think that it’s important to reflect back on how the year went because it provides a greater time scale that allows me to fully realize what I’ve been able to accomplish. Even the (mostly) biweekly schedule of checking in helps reveal what I’m putting my time towards, but the shorter time scales make it hard to see progress. I often find myself feeling that I’m accomplishing very little day by day, but once I change my perspective, it’s easier to see how the work accumulates. So to start out, I’ll take a look at my 2024 goals.
Goals
Paint 60 paintings. I ended up completing 47 paintings this year (not including the 100 daily watercolor paintings I made as part of the #100daychallenge). I’m quite proud of myself for being able to complete so many paintings in the year, and I think 60 paintings a year is a good number to strive for each year.
Release 3 collections. I only officially released one collection this year, during the first half of the year. I’ve moved away from releasing a number of thematically similar paintings at a time because I’ve learned that I like to bounce around from different concepts for my paintings. When I move around from different types of paintings, it ends up taking a while to build a cohesive collection. The “Ocean Arrangements” series is a perfect example of this because it’s taken me a whole year to finish the six paintings that make up the series. By letting go of releasing collections, I’ve alleviated the stress I was putting on myself to work in a way that wasn’t natural for me. But it was initially a good way of thinking for me to be inspired and work on my painting skills.
Apply to 10 art calls/opportunities. I overachieved on this goal and applied to 44 art calls this year, varying from museum and gallery group shows, grants, residencies, fellowships, public art projects, commissions, and other art related opportunities. I was accepted by 9 of them, and I’m so grateful for the opportunities applying to these art calls has opened up.
Participate in 3-5 in person events. I ended up showing my artwork in person over five distinct type of events across multiple weekends:
* Two weekends of Silicon Valley Open Studios
* Live painting demonstration at Filoli Historic Gardens
* Live mural painting demonstration
* San Francisco Open Studios
* I opened up my studio at Alameda Artworks for four “Second Saturdays” events.
I’ve really enjoyed participating in various events because it’s the best way for me to meet other artists and art enthusiasts to talk about what inspires them. It’s been a great way to build community and it helps motivate me to keep creating in times where I feel stuck or directionless. Creating artwork is a solitary endeavor, and I think that being able to work in solitude is a key factor in being an artist, but it’s always helpful to have a creative community around you to introduce you to new ideas that continue to fuel the creativity.Post 2 YouTube videos a month. I was very consistent with creating YouTube videos for the first half of the year and then I completely fell off the wagon. I ended up with 13 videos, exactly one more than half of my goal, but stopped creating videos starting the second half of July. Part of my failure stemmed from missing the second video in July, and once July passed, my summer became busy with commissions and travel that I let go of the goal. I think I’m going to take a pause on YouTube for now because I want to focus on other things, but it doesn’t mean that I won’t go back to it in the future!
When setting my goals at the beginning of the year, I clearly had intention for where I wanted my art career to go, but I think I did a decent job of giving myself space for other things to happen naturally because I couldn’t predict all of the things that would happen this year. So here are some specific, non-goal related accomplishments that I wanted to share and celebrate:
I found a studio space outside of my home at Alameda Artworks. This really enabled me to create a dedicated space for my work and has given me a really supportive creative network.
I painted my first public artwork of a utility box mural as a commission for the City of San Jose.
I co-curated my first museum show.
I painted a commission for my alma mater, Swarthmore College, for their 2025 Calendar.
I attended my first artist residency at the Cuttyhunk Island Residency
I painted another piece of public art on a heart sculpture for the annual San Francisco General Hospital Foundation Heart in San Francisco fundraiser.
I’m having some beginning thoughts on goals for next year. One of them includes doing less things for the first time. This year has been a year of many firsts: first mural, first time showing my artwork in Silicon Valley Open Studios, first live painting demonstrations, and more. It’s been a great way to learn, but I’ve felt exhausted figuring out how to do things for the first time. By definition, I probably won’t be doing many things for the first time next year, since I’ll be trying to do a lot of the things I did this year again next year, but I’ll also probably try fewer new things. I have a better sense of what I enjoy doing, so I think I can be better focused. I also will hold onto the value of leaving space for serendipitous opportunities.
So I think it’s a wrap on 2024! I look forward to continuing to share my goals and updates in the new year. Thanks for being with me on my journey!
Beginning of December Check-in
Hi everyone! I’m coming back from a restful weekend along the coast of Point Reyes and have been reflecting on what I’ve worked on and accomplished this year. So I think my next check-in will be some sort of year end review on the artwork I’ve created, the projects I worked on, how I did in terms of the goals I set at the beginning of the year, and how I felt the year went overall. But for today, I’m going to share my normal update of what I’ve been working on.
What I’m working on:
I think I’m finished with my last close-up seashell painting. I haven’t titled half of the paintings in this series, so that’s probably something I should think about as I wrap up the series.
I started working on an ocean wave painting that I started much earlier in the year. I think I may have started it in the summer. It’s the largest painting I’ve worked to date, 3’x4’, with a new subject, so it’s been a bit challenging. I think that this painting is going to be part of the group exhibit that I’ve been invited to do with two other artist friends at The New Museum Los Gatos that will be showing starting next June. The three of us decided to create a collaborative piece for the exhibit, and we’re currently working on a test piece to try out some ideas. It’s been a really interesting process so far, and I’m learning a lot about their creative processes from this project.
My current work set up is that I work really large in the studio and then work small at home. My Cuttyhunk Island oyster pond painting has inspired me to work on some smaller pieces that focus on the interesting things that clouds do during sunrises and sunsets. They’re like little studies that have been a lot of fun to work on.
I’m doing a pretty good job of working on a smaller number of things at the same time. I feel like I’m painting more than I have been able to in November because I feel less overwhelmed and focused. I do have a number of various art calls and applications to work on before the end of the year for opportunities in 2025, so I’ll have to set aside more computer work time this week. I also have my final event of the year this weekend as my studio is hosting a holiday fair on Saturday. I’ve been glad to have an event once a month at my studio because it forces me to keep my studio space clean and tidy, and I like being able to share my artwork with the people who come by.
That’s all for now for my update. I hope you and your families are doing well and keeping warm this winter!