June 15, 2026 Issue 4

It’s Just Shapes: A Diary of Painting

Quarterly Studio Newsletter

"View from the Tractor, 48” x 24” acrylic and mixed media on canvas, available

I am someone who needs rules and structure. But then I also really love the little rush I get from breaking rules.

In the studio, I can create situations where I get to let this dichotomy play out. I will set a rule for a painting that I follow religiously until I get that delicious urge to break it. So then I break it! Then a new rule emerges. I follow my new rule until it starts to feel restrictive or boring. I break it and set another new rule. Its like a little game I play throughout the course of a painting. I continue to be fascinated by the ways in which painting both emulates and informs my daily life outside the studio.

Read on to find out what I’ve been up to these past few months.

Break the Rules

Silo Study 2, 12” x 12” acrylic on canvas, available

March

March found me back in class, this time at the Palette and Chisel in Chicago working on portraiture in oil. Though I have not been making portraits in most of my work, I knew the class would stretch my skills and help reacquaint me with the feel of oil paint again. 

My family came up to New Buffalo to celebrate a successful run at David’s Delicatessan, where I sold two originals and a number of framed prints.

April

April is EXPO time in Chicago, and I get very excited at the chance to go see paintings from over 100 galleries worldwide. EXPO is an international contemporary art fair that takes place annually at Navy Pier. I paid close attention to mark making and the ways that painters were using their materials. Like last year, I continued to notice a strong emphasis on storytelling and celebrating traditional women’s work like quilting and fabric arts.

I’m proud to share that my oil pastel piece, “New Life Beckons,” received an honorable mention at the Yellow House Artists Springalicious exhibition that ran from March 30-April 24.

This piece by Taylor Simmons stayed with me for a long time. It was bold and eerie, and the composition had a tension to it that kept me wondering what the story was.

May

Friends who came to support me at my first ever fine art booth!

May was jam-packed. Preparations for my first ever fine art fair at the end of the month were ongoing throughout spring–painting, wiring paintings for hanging, acquiring tent materials, setting up a point-of-sale system. In the midst of all of that, though, I also took a trip to the Harvest Hangout in Goodland, IN to do a little painting on site for their “Meet the Artist” day. A few days later, I was a guest at Career Day at Melzer School in Morton Grove for an excited group of 5th graders. I loved talking to the kids about art! I think I will definitely need to return to some sort of teaching at some point down the road.

My booth at Career Day

The Harvest Hangout, 12” x 9” oil on canvas panel

Needless to say, the highlight of the month was the St. Charles Fine Arts fair. I don’t think I realized how much it would mean to be able to witness so many people react to my work in real time. Thank you to all of you who came and signed up for my newsletter, and to many of you who also purchased one of my paintings or prints!

Back to work!

Following a busy spring, it has been great to get back to the studio and into my sketchbook to work out some new ideas. I would love to be able to bring a few new pieces to the Geneva Fine Arts Fair at the end of July, and I will hopefully see many of you there!

Upcoming exhibitions, fairs, and events: