Tricky
“Art is very tricky because it’s what you do for yourself.”
Atomic Loop | 30 × 30 in. | Oil on Oil Paper
The Tricks of Summer - Summer is a season of sleight-of-hand. Just when I think I’ve dropped one ball—two young boys out of school and bouncing off the walls—I find I’ve caught another: a spontaneous road trip that fills their cups and mine. Meanwhile, deadlines for freelance design projects and art submissions hum quietly (and persistently) in the background.
In the margins of this seasonal juggle, I carve time to paint, to draw, to keep the embers of my own practice alive. I draft outlines for fall workshops with one hand while wiping popsicle drips with the other. Somehow, in this tangled rhythm, there’s still magic: the long, golden evenings, cicadas pulsing in the trees, the wild percussion of a public pool, and the hush before a monsoon rolls in.
The trick of summer is never balance—it’s motion. And somehow, even in the motion, I find moments of stillness that remind me why I love this season most of all.
Double Bacon | 20 × 20 in. | Oil on Linen
New Work - There are several new paintings and drawings up on the site, including Atomic Loop and Double Bacon to name a few.
Portrait Drawing in Charcoal - I’ll be teaching an 8-week Portrait Drawing in Charcoal workshop this fall in partnership with the Corrales Society of Artists.
The course is designed to support artists of all levels in strengthening their portrait drawing skills, with an emphasis on classical technique, live model work, and individual feedback. It will take place at my Corrales studio, which is equipped to host a small group in a focused and welcoming environment. Plus I’ll have really good coffee.
Portrait Drawing in Charcoal runs Sundays, October 5 - November 23, 1 - 4pm. Registration opens soon and space is limited. For details, please visit Workshops on my website.
2025 North Valley Studio Tour - The North Valley Studio Tour is just over a month away - September 20 - 21, 10am - 5pm. Make the rounds and visit local artists in their studios. I’ll have a selection of paintings, drawings, and prints at location #9. Come say “hi” if you can.
On the Studio Floor
Among the art books stacked next to my easel is The Art of Richard Diebenkorn by Jane Livingston.
