How being stuck inside created a new hobby
I began painting during the pandemic. It kept me occupied during periods of writer’s block. I’d always wanted to take an art class, but while I was practicing full-time with a family, I could never carve out enough time.
I began with an online class on painting with acrylics. It became apparent early on that drawing was not my strong point, but I had a reasonably good sense of color and composition and loved experimenting with texture. This led me to using various mediums to thicken or coat my paint, and to our local Japanese paper store, where I discovered wonderfully textured and colored papers. I took a collage class.
Over the past few years, I’ve been taking online classes in abstract painting with artist Nicole Cohen and a wonderful, supportive group of talented women.
Painting can be completely absorbing. I love it, and having a second creative activity helped me write. I’ll never be a professional artist, but I am having so much fun. After four years of painting on the kitchen table, I converted our garage (which had been a repository for forty years of junk storage) into my She Space, which I use as an art studio and which doubles as guest quarters.
I’ve had my art exhibited at the Brentwood Art Center show and at a recent exhibition in Santa Monica. I’ve also had a piece published in Persimmon magazine. I’m sharing a few of my favorite pieces online. I hope you enjoy looking at them.
Click on each picture to see the rest.
