Starting the New Year in Acadia

Although my heart was in Acadia this New Year’s Day, I was not. Set back by a cold which I can assume was a gift from my darling grandson, I wasn’t going anywhere. But just off the easel is a piece I have been working on, tentatively titled “Acadia’s Craggy Coast,” so I have been in Acadia in spirit for much of the holiday season.

This isn’t the first time I have tried to capture the feelings I have for this East Coast National Park. It is the first time, however, that I have painted it. In the seven years I have been dabbling in pastels again after not opening my box since college days, I have considered my work drawings. In 2024, I took five classes that led me to a turning point. Now, I believe I do paint with pastels and can call my work pastel paintings.

2024 was a big year for me. I think it may be my favorite year of my entire life. Pretty surprising thing to write since November’s political tragedy was devastating. But I made a list of all the outstanding personal developments of 2024 and they add up to a wonderful year.

I love my relationships with my two kids. I got to have great adventures with them this year, one highlight of which was doing a triathlon all together. The other was winning third place in my age group in Pasadena with my daughter way ahead of me and there to photograph my goofy finish.

My grandson and I had great camper adventures to Franconia Notch and Bear Brook State Park, twice. 2024 started with a camping adventure in Acadia where I saw the year’s first light from Cadillac Mountain.

Last year I created nearly 20 pastels—most years I have tried to complete four things to exhibit at Downtown Keene’s ArtWalk. I took a class with Mary Iselin sponsored by Monadnock Area Artists Association where I learned three things: 1) To see the light in a scene, 2) To see the shadows in a scene, and, 3) to understand how complementary colors energize an image. I will never forget Mary asking me, ”Don’t you see the pink behind the blue in the sky?” Well, no I didn’t. But yes, I do now. Now when I do a sky, I lay down pink or peach first before applying the “local” blue colors of the sky.

During the summer I met the marvelous and amazing Maryann Mullett who taught me and her other students at the Jaffrey Civic Center to appreciate fruits and florals. In my first class, I drew/possibly painted some strawberries that I still find beautiful. The strawberries happened on the cusp of my transition from a pastelist who blended every color to an impressionistic pastelist who tries to keep each mark distinct and painterly. Maryann is a truly gifted artist and has the kindness, patience and selflessness to share her gifts. I tried very hard to be a good student.

By October, when I went off to Bennington, VT, for three days with Barbara Janiecke, I was prepared to learn. Mary Iselin’s color and light lessons and Maryann Mullett’s technique training ignited the student in me. I left Barbara Janiecke’s class bragging about myself—not that I was a great artist—although my work will never be the same. No, I was bragging because if there is one thing Ruth Simpson Sterling is, it is a good student. I thought I had lost my spongelike ability to learn and assimilate what I’ve learned. Barbara Janiecke reminded me what can happen when a student is 100% ready to learn. I had a life-changing moment after working on my version of Barbara’s class project (which students may not share online). I copied everything she did like a visual parrot. I didn’t inject any of my own ideas. I tried to see the subject just as Barbara had and execute similarly. I videotaped every step in her process. When I left the three-day seminar, Barbara said what I had done was “fantastic.”

My first three works after Barbara’s class were challenging. Her choice of subject matter lends itself to her “poetic landscapes.” She is a master. Going forward in 2025, I will continue to be her student and hope to feel “fantastic” results. All three teachers asserted that their brilliant work results more from practice than talent. Studio time is a goal of 2025.

In 2024, I was determined to advance toward my goal of being a respectable golfer. Golf and art can compete for time. The two pursuits can also coexist—four of my 20 artworks last year were of beauty observed on the golf course. My investment in a golf membership and new clubs have not led to any regrets. This year is my year to break 100 which I will celebrate if I score 49 for 9 holes. My last night of ladies league I shot 52. Don’t laugh. I know I can improve.

Which leads me to a philosophy that ran like a river through all of 2024. Most people, including my “steady fella” Jeffrey (another nice thing about 2024!) contend that anything worth doing is worth doing right.

I truly believe, that anything worth doing MUST be worth doing badly. Otherwise we will never try something new. We will never crawl in order to walk in order to run. Whether it’s golf, pickleball, triathlons or pastels, I first must be willing to fail and fail and fail. Because at some point improvements will occur. And as Babe Ruth pointed out, it’s hard to beat someone who never gives up.

NOTE: Thank you to my many friends in Monadnock Area Artists Association who have helped me in my artistic journey including Jeanne Maguire Thieme who leads monthly Critiques with Care. Carol Corliss has shared many tips with me from substrate samples to packaging resources. Gill Truslow gave me a partitioned box. Both of these pastel artists set a high bar for me. Thank you to Kate Beetle who woke me up last spring when she asked me what kind of paper I worked on. Hanging around these talented people, including Kris Stewart and others, has made this a fabulous year.