The outside of the Torpedo Factory Art Center from the Potomac River pier

I can’t image anything more worthwhile
than doing what I most love.
And they pay me for it.
Edgar Winter

I do my work for the love of it. And when I am paid and someone takes it away it is always difficult, but gratifying.  It means someone loved it, and it supports the creation of more work.

Since I wrote my last post I have been traveling, traveling, traveling. Thirty four miles hiking in the Grand Canyon, among other adventures. More on that later. Now I’m in Old town Alexandria, Virginia. I’m a visiting artist for the month of July.

Looking in to the studio from the hallway- my workspace is in the back, gallery space in the front.

After all the mind expanding adventures, it’s particularly wonderful to settle down in the studio and get some work done. I’m ensconsed in my studio, creating a new reality within the confines of my canvas.

The space is long and narrow with a display space in front and work space in back. Both are quite adequate, airy, bright and cool despite the sweltering heat outside.

I feel very fortunate to have juried in by F. Lennox Campello:

This year’s artists were selected by juror F. Lennox Campello, international award-winning artist, curator, consultant, and widely published art critic and writer in Washington, DC and Philadelphia, PA. He is often heard on NPR and the Voice of America discussing visual art issues. Mr. Campello also authors one of the Internet’s seminal and leading arts blogs.

So make a beeline across the Potomac from Washington DC to Old Town Alexandria. The Torpedo Factory Art Center feature more than 100 artists at work. They are exploring every medium imaginable and some you might not have thought of!

I started this here last week. Georgia O'Keeffe and Carlos Castañeda are watching over my shoulder. It took me a long time to be able to paint Jimson weed because O'Keeffe had done it so marvelously. But I grow them in my garden, and find them in the desert. They're mine too.

I haven’t explored the Torpedo Factory completely yet because I’m WORKING. Reveling in time with paint and canvas.

It’s also wonderful to meet the many art enthusiasts who find their way here. So far I’ve had visitors from 10 states and 5 different countries. Very interesting!

Time to get back to work!

Tomorrow night there is an opening for the visiting artists. C’mon down!