Dr. Viki found her Muse

Since I am a woman artist out west, I felt it's time for an update. This blog has been chugging along remarkably (sometimes with little help from me) since 2012! In the ensuing years, I wrote a 600 page dissertation and earned my Ph.D. in Art History, retired from teaching full-time, moved to Portland for a year with my husband and our hound, Charlie, moved back to Southern California and we sold our home, landing in Camarillo, just up the coast. I jumped into the activities offered by our new community with plans to continue to do adult ed and teach art and art history, and became site coordinator for the OLLI program through California State University, Channel Islands. Then, Covid-19 came along and shut everything down.

Now What? All the time that loomed before me. I tried to learn Italian by watching Alberto Arrighini, a terrific young man who, via YouTube video sessions, came up with a smart concept called the Natural Method and, it really works. However, I had no one to speak with so...my Italian has remained light, as in non-existent. I regularly say, "Che Palle" (my best line: "What a drag"). Then, I tried a bit of sewing (which I hate) repair on a couple of inherited quilts and frankly, yeah, no. I'll gladly pay someone else to do that. 

During my last several teaching years, I picked up painting in earnest and played around with portraits, creating a series of Biblical heroines at a seminal moment in their stories. They turned out pretty well but now I have 10 or so 18x24 inch canvases sitting in my home studio that are unframed and still wrapped from the move. It occurred to me that something needed to happen...introspection and self-exploration. I thought about what I really love to look at and be around. Beauty was the answer. Where can I find the most inspirational beauty? For me, it's the ocean and the sky. Why not spend my time photographing and painting the two things in nature that move me most? 

Research was needed. I went online and came across a young woman who paints water and MAN, the paintings looked like photographs. Her name is Irina Cumberland and she is incredible. She has a course online with two demos and everything you might want to know about painting water and reflections. I took it and found it to be just challenging enough but not overwhelmingly impossible with a LOT of practice, practice, practice. There's still a long way to go but I have four finished pieces and three in process. Again, what to do with artwork that just piles up?

I needed inspiration! Christa Cloutier, is an artist and teacher who runs workshops (now mostly online) and who created a series called The Working Artist. I watched Project Planning for Artist Brains and, after following the steps and answering the questions she posed, for the first time ever, the proverbial light bulb came on. Actually, it was more like a Klieg Light...you know, like the ones used to sweep across the skies at a Hollywood premiere. 

I've decided to market my work of the ocean, waves, beach scenes and reflections and donate a portion of any proceeds to the Surfrider Foundation, Ventura County Chapter, which is dedicated to the 43 miles of beach and ocean health, clean-up, and education here in Ventura County, where I live. I've been blessed to live within 20 miles of the coast nearly the entire time I've been in California and love everything about being close to the ocean. I got my logo/biz cards finished and now, will build a website for artwork. I needed direction and structure and wow, I finally seem have it!

Sources___________________________________________________________________________

Christa Cloutier: https://theworkingartist.com/

Alberto Arrighini: Italian for Americans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKwAAjTVFRshAqEP6FiHsWg

Surfrider Foundation: https://ventura.surfrider.org/

Paintings by Me