Leigh Weimer’s Award Winner:
I am a winner of the San Jose Rotary Club’s Leigh Weimer’s Emerging Artist Grant. Grant winners can use the grant money for any type of expense they would like. This award is so helpful, and will allow me to do more framing and pay for a couple more tools I’ve been itching to try.
As the only visual artist this year, I’m immensely gratified by the committee’s decision, as I know there were several applicants. This is my second time applying, and I feel so validated by all the years of work I’ve committed to painting.
Please check out the other artists who applied, they are all incredible, kind people.
About Painting Abandoned Houses (Video):
In which I talk about my inspirations and painting philosophy (5:32):
The 100 Day Project:
This year I decided to start a major project as soon as Santa Clara County began Shelter in Place. It’s one of those serendipitous occasions when my stockpiling tendency (which looks a little bit like a dragon’s hoard of blank canvases, sketchbooks, panels, and an overflowing junk drawer) comes in so handy that it looks like I planned to spend a month indoors without access to any other supplies or resources.
I began working on my art at the kitchen table while my son finished 4th grade via Zoom. This was good for both of us, In part because I had to make sure that he was staying on task, but also because it was a wonderful gift to be with him every week and hear him respond to his classmates. However, it’s not very tidy, and I more-or-less ended up painting our kitchen table.
The 100 Day Project felt like a wonderful way to stretch my creativity and adapt as rapidly as possible. The only restraint I’ve applied to the works has been the restriction of a 6” x 6” size. So far, I’m on number 74, as I’ve suffered somewhat from the doldrums of indoor life. But I have more than ten in progress and am confident that I’ll be finishing the project by the end of the year.
I’ll be expanding the 50/50 section of my website to include the Hundred Day project, so keep your eyes peeled. They’re also being posted as they’re completed, over on my Instagram.
Schedule:
In the coming weeks I’m hoping to stick to a strenuous schedule of artwork making, website posting, and social media outreach. Why do I say “strenuous?” Because I feel as though I need to have a bit of pressure in order to carve my way through the rest of this year, and making myself accountable seems like the way to do it. So I’m doing something with my artwork every day of the week.
My idols all eat, sleep, and breathe their art, and a lot of the artists I’m proud to call my friends do the same. So it’s time to acutely devote myself to creative work, and put it out there for people to see on the internet.
Because it’s still going to be a while before we’re safe enough to do anything in person. Now, off to the woods to breathe some fresh air.