Kelly's Blog

I had a big summer. First, Rob and I were lucky enough to take an amazing trip to Europe, just the two of us. We went all over the place. We visited amazing museums in cities like Munich and Zurich where I was inspired by the masters. We hiked up and down the Matterhorn where I saw animals I’ve never seen before. We ate and drank almost everything and took it all in; I savored every detail along the way.

Next, I made a long trek west, first with my oldest girl to Austin where I helped her set up her new life, part one, first job out of college. That was way more emotional than I expected! And then, still a little weepy, I went to Cokeville, Wyoming to a great workshop where I spent a week painting with peers, absorbing the cowboy culture and the open landscape of that beautiful place. Another week at Moosehead with my family and friends closed the summer, and I sprinted home to help get my younger two set for school.

It’s September, and I’ve just begun to reflect on my big summer. The other day, I read Beth’s blog about the community, and I started thinking about my art community. It is a community I didn’t know until I began painting, and now, it is a huge part of my life, made up of artists, enthusiasts, and collectors, some I’ve never met and others who are very close friends.

Kelly Sullivan and I met at my first, big workshop years ago. We connected quickly over common interests and struggles like motherhood and finding the balance between family and our work. Kelly is a hard worker, passionate about art. Watch her TED Talk and you will see what I mean. She inspires me, and I’m lucky to have her in my universe. 

This summer, Kelly and I spent a week painting with other artists in Cokeville, Wyoming. All of us were artists from all different places, backgrounds, and faiths, and our art was our common color. At night, after a full day painting, we sat around and talked about things that artists talk about--our favorite living and dead artists, details from a landscape most people might not even notice.

I am grateful for my art community. It is both large and small, and it spans time and space. Since I started working with Beth, I have an online community. I was never active on Instagram until Beth set me up. Now, I follow tons of artists all over the world. Some speak a different language, but their art speaks to me without words. Many mornings, I pour my coffee, and instead of reading the news, I go to Instagram and am instantly inspired.

The art community is like the communities Beth talks about in her blog. We are defined by the goals we share and the support we give and take.

Shared Goals: We all want to learn and be inspired. We look for continuous growth, and we strive to find our own voice.

Support: There are very few artists I’ve come across who aren’t completely giving of their time and energy. I think about Kentucky artist and good friend, Bill Fletcher. No one is more giving of knowledge, time, energy, and passion for art. And so many other incredible artists who are willing to help like Eric Johnson, Bob Sandford, and the amazing Kim and Nura English, to name a few. I miss my studio at Artists’ Attic because people would just pop in and give positive, helpful feedback. There is a selflessness in the art community that is unique and wonderful.

Every painting is a compilation of your influences, whether it is your teachers, artists or collectors you watch or learn from, paint next to, and/or talk to about art. A beautiful painting is made of unique and interesting shapes that come together to make a cohesive whole. A painting is a metaphor for the art community, individual brush strokes of all different shapes that come together to form who you are as an artist and how you express that voice.

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat