…and I don’t mean Covid-19 tests. I mean the good things that happened during and because of the pandemic. We have all had to face challenges and loss; the loss of loved ones, good health, business, time with friends, vacations, celebrations to name but a few. However, since the news has the negatives well-covered, I’ll refrain from more of that and ramble about some unexpected positives.

It is amazing what humans can do when necessity demands it - the incredible speed with which vaccines were developed is the obvious example, but there are many. I love that cities were able to quickly redesign/reallocate streets to accommodate pedestrians, patios and bikes - something that would normally take decades. I appreciate technologies such as Zoom (though I don’t really love zoom meetings) and that so many people learned and adopted new ways of communicating. Many people experienced the outdoors for the first time, hopefully leading to better appreciation and understanding of nature. Many learned new skills, bought bikes, changed their diets or grew closer to those in their “bubbles.” We undertook a major renovation of our second floor including my studio which we’ve been putting off for many years. Many simply survived, and that is a positive. We are almost through this thing and that is, well, you guessed it.

For many artists I know, the pandemic has a been a time of intense creativity for both their artwork and businesses.  The absence of performance and exhibition opportunities was crushing for so many and necessitated developing new (mostly online) platforms for sharing their art, which will likely now augment if not replace many traditional platforms. For many, their work was seen by new audiences across the planet which may not have otherwise happened. A positive. And I don’t mean the blood type. Ok I’ll stop.

The pandemic has sparked a kind of creative renaissance, as artists were even more cloistered in their studios and needed to express themselves more than ever. (See my post “Creative Isolation” for more). As we are all consumers of the arts, whether it be music, theatre, dance, film, literature, or the visual arts, we will have a lavish abundance of creative works to enjoy over this next few years. Definitely a positive.

Another unforeseen and welcome outcome is that since much of the visual art world moved online, artists could enter more juried exhibitions and competitions with digital images instead of physical paintings. It is a challenge to submit actual paintings that have to a) be available and b) be shipped across the globe at substantial expense, effort and not at zero risk. Online digital submissions have allowed artists to enter work from their archives that might reside in art collections or are committed to other exhibitions. I took this opportunity to complete more submissions than usual, and am pleased (and lucky) to have had my work accepted into ten adjudicated exhibitions and to have received several awards. I also earned my SFCA status (see “FCA: A long Story”).

I have just sent out my semi-annual newsletter and so subscribers won’t hear from me directly until October when invitations to my 28th Annual Exhibition will be mailed.

The exhibition will take place on Thursday November 4th. (More details to follow in another post.) The next preview painting will be posted on July 4.

Not subscribed? We send about 5 or 6 emails per year, so no need to worry about over-crowded inboxes.

Over the summer I will be working hard on new paintings, going on a couple of backpack trips and as Chair of the CSPWC’s Open Water Committee, I’ll be working on the details of that exhibition. Wishing you a great summer (maybe even the greatest summer ever for those in Alberta… ) of reconnecting with loved ones, maybe even travelling and generally enjoying those things that we have necessarily had to forfeit. Thanks for reading and see you in the fall - I’m positive! (not that kind of positive 😉)