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A collection of events, shows, and galleries featuring my work.
The festival appears on my home page but I thought it also deserved a place here too. September 2025 was my first year doing an in person art event of any kind. I had sold online, done commissions and other things previously but wasn't expecting much. It was a huge success! The East Washington Street Festival gave me the opportunity I needed to be seen by the community. I got two separate invites to The Artists Guild, by a different person each day. I attended the meetings and am grateful for the opportunities I have gained by becoming a member and to all my wonderful acquaintances there. But most of all I'm thankful to my lovely partner who stayed with me all day during my first big thing to make sure I had the support I needed to make it happen <3
My first meeting at the Artists Guild went well. I had to present my art and tell about myself. At many later meetings I also had the chance to present new pieces I had been working on and have people be inquisitive of my work. This first time a gentleman was selling his clay expressive mugs. I picked up the last one they had. I thought my partner would like it and I just thought it was cool lol.
The Horizon Center was the first major public building where I got to display my art. We were allowed three to five pieces so I chose to do the maximum of five. It took me a day to paint each one, over the course of five days all paintings had been completed. I took the week after to make the frames from scratch. They are all done in the same trim and color but I varied the saturation of each to match the vibes of each specific painting. As of May 27th, they will hang for six months then be replaced with five others that I am yet to paint. I chose to do Victorian motifs this time (see Gallery Work page for more details). I'm not sure what I will do next. Maybe more or a new theme, we'll see!
One of our spring meetings was a plein air session. We had a little under thirty minutes to complete a still life from something we saw in the gardens. Since faces and portraits are the easiest for me, I was drawn to the statue there. I sat to the right of it under a tree and sketched it out on some watercolor paper that I had on hand. There wasn't time for blending but I like to initially lay out all of my line work at least. Not many of us ended up with a finished subject due to the time restrictions but we all got to share our work at the end of the meeting none the less. And I was invited to paint al fresco in the gardens of the old west end in front of my favorite house there. Which I am yet to do but I'm sure it'll make it to this page in a few weeks.
This was my first time entering my art in a show, the 2026 Artists Guild Annual Show. I didn't win the prizes but got two ribbons, one on each of my pieces that I entered, which I think was pretty good for my first time! There were many who congratulated me and I made many new acquaintances. I enjoyed the feedback that they could give me on my work. I always appreciate outside perspectives and interpretations. I also enjoying learning of others' creative processes since we are so diverse. This was the first artists guild event that my partner got to attend with me since we did the festival solo last year and it was nice to have them along:)
My plein air session was 12 to 3 p.m. I had been in this area numerous times yet I was surprised by the gardens. They had the classic smaller yards, synonymous to Victorian planning. I always thought my yard was just small but after touring I realized this was extremely common to this era of houses. Every single one was unique. The style reflected the owner, which matched the original intent when these houses were uniquely created. The Shaw House had always been one of my favorites, if not my favorite, and is world renowned. It was my first time meeting the owner, he was a kind and interesting fellow. We shared some common interests and talked of pets. We spoke of maybe doing a pet portrait for him in the future, which I gladly look forward to if so. I'll admit I am unfamiliar with al fresco and it is not my forte. I did four pieces total which was a learning experience. I think next time I'll slow down and not be so time oriented as I always am. But it wasn't so much about the art as it was about community. The community I was a part of yet had not fully experienced before. The experience of meeting the people of my favorite historic district next to my own.
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