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Friendship Apart from Nature, much of my inspiration comes from a group of artist women that I’m lucky to know personally. Spending time with them (and their supportive partners) albeit infrequently helps replenish and nourish the creative spirit. Here’s a glimpse into their creative worlds: Marion Evamy - https://www.marionevamy.com Eleanor Lowden - https://eleanorlowden.com/about Toby Jaxon - https://www.instagram.com/toby.jaxon Susan Remnant - https://www.susanremnant.ca Breaking rules One of the highlights of last year was being accepted into the juried San Diego Watercolour Society’s annual International Exhibition. It was a first attempt, so I was thrilled to participate and made the bold move to travel South for the opening reception and artists breakfast at the end of September. The group was so warm, welcoming and a ton of fun. My painting sold on opening night, I made new friends and I was commissioned a month or so later to paint a 2nd version of the selected piece for a collector in Arizona. It was a heady mix of friendship and success, I couldn’t wait to try again this year. A few weeks ago, I submitted 2 Wild Bird paintings - the Costa Rica Oropendola de Montezuma (April’s letter) and the new Great Horned Owl. This Owl painting has been a challenge and an obsession over the past months - I almost abandoned it multiple times! I continued to work on it even after I’d made the submission, knowing I risked a penalty if it was chosen. There’s a fast rule that when a selected artwork arrives at the gallery it must match the digital image exactly. When I learned that the painting had been successful, I knew I had to confess and suffer the possible consequences! The penalty to proceed would have been too high, I had no choice but to apologize and withdrew the piece. I’m sorry to miss the show this year, but I think the painting is improved. Here’s a side by side comparison - can you spot the differences? What do you think? Was the sacrifice worth it?
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