Hello Friends,
I am writing this end-of-year letter from Southern California, just as the clouds have parted following an unusual downpour. The ground is still slick, the earth emitting a fresh lush scent, unusual for this part of the world which usually just feels dry.
I had decided I wouldn’t get sentimental about the end-of-year. A part of me always feels January 1 is just another day and there is no real need to restart, but somehow I always end up embracing it (I love a good list). As someone who has always taken deep joy in a fresh sheet of paper, new diary, or blank sketchbook, I appreciate the hopeful blankness of January, fresh as newly fallen snow.
December has been a joyous and predictably busy time, a seasonal cocktail equal parts obligation and spontaneous fun. The month is usually spent running around wrapping up projects, seeing friends, and conjuring up activities to recreate the magic of the season for your child (scroll to the bottom for Christmas cuteness).
Hanging Temporal Arrangements for a happy client (big thanks to Jason for the expert hanging). It brought me so much joy that this piece, the first in a new body of work, has found a home with an old friend, in a room overlooking the Manhattan skyline
Newly Acquired Work
Hanging Temporal Arrangements for a happy client (big thanks to Jason for the expert hanging). It brought me so much joy that this piece, the first in a new body of work, has found a home with an old friend, in a room overlooking the Manhattan skyline
Getting Settled into the Studio
Two months in the new studio. It’s been deeply gratifying to have this separate space to make. I’ve started inviting people in for tea, cookies, and conversation. If you would like to stop by, please let me know. It would be a joy to have you. I am working on a new 16-piece painting. I take my time with these pieces. I love seeing them slowly materialize.
Snapshots of the new studio. My growing collection of paints, a study, and an old clipping of Merce Cunningham’s Summerscape with a backdrop by Robert Rauschenberg
I use a piece of watercolor paper to test paints. This gives you a sense of the palette for the next series I’m working on.
One finished panel. I’ve been experimenting with the watercolor, controlling how to let it cut and run. I’ve also let the pencil take on a bolder role, allowing the process linework to remain visible, mistakes to stay.
Art I saw this month
Diebenkorn at Gagosian. I loved this little preparatory sketch on crinkled, yellowing paper with a hand-drawn grid. It was a revelatory surprise.
Stanley Whitney at Craig Starr. I was curious to see his interpretation of grids in person. The whole thing seems to move and wobble, a bit like jello cubes stacked together, yet it all maintains balance. Fab colors.
Breuer’s temple to art transformed into a shopping mall aka Sotheby’s. The whole thing was so dispiriting, I could keep ranting about it but I won’t. (My only note: do not visit during “Luxury Week”).