July 2011

I was honored to have one of my paintings selected for Maryland Federation of Art‘s National Juried competition “Strokes of Genius,” juried by Daniel Shay of the National Gallery of Art in DC. We had a lovely chat about my painting, and when I asked what he responded to, he said it was poetic and cerebral. Wonderful comments! For this series, I put my brain in the passenger seat and let my heart take the wheel. And while I was surprised at the descriptor of cerebral, I did plan this series and how each painting would develop, which was a first for me with the abstracts. The freedom from extensive planning is what drew me away from representational work and toward abstraction. Now that I’ve had my bout with wild abandon, I can happily blend planning and spontaneity.

I am encouraged to continue in the direction of this recent series. Getting feedback is important at this stage, as it is harder to know if I am truly developing and growing with my abstracts than it is with my representational work. Thank you, Mr. Shay, for your time and gracious conversation.