Calling the neurosurgeon’s office the other day paid off, as they are scheduling me a tad earlier than August 5th. I’ll be going on the morning of July 28th instead. And, I’ll be seeing the surgeon instead of a PA. I feel a lot better about that. 

I’ve been working on West Valley Fiction for the last couple of days. It’s finally coming along, close to finished. I’m taking a break to write this because my hip was starting to burn because, again, I was standing in front of the easel and not using the chair. It takes some effort to get into the chair, position it correctly, and have everything I need within reach. It doesn’t roll on my floor because my studio room is carpeted. If we ever purchase this house, I’m going to rip out the carpet and treat the concrete underneath it. 

Anywho, there’s still some time I have to put into this painting. I have to painstakingly paint red around all the white dots in her dress. I’m also going to do a few touch-ups that you probably won’t notice, but for now, I have to let it fully dry before doing either. This picture is version 10. One last picture to do before the final.

So, I’ve been thinking about applying for the Guggenheim for a very long time now. I kinda decided to do it this year, but I’ve been plagued by a ton of doubt, even though I have all my references lined up already. I’ve been active on Netvvrk again, and joined an application group where we are going to help each other with the Career Narratives and Project Proposals. I looked at a few of the winning artists’ applications (there are a few members who have won it and made their applications viewable to others), and that just made me feel so small. Besides the lack of education or degrees, I also haven’t exhibited in numerous museums, unlike the other applicants or winners. I don’t mean group shows, either. These artists have had solo shows in major museums around the globe. I’ve never even shown internationally…yet? I say “yet,” but really, when is that ever going to happen? I’m 57 (this coming Sunday), and I remember trying to show in Alberta, Canada, once, and I wasn’t even able to send my work there. I couldn’t afford it or the customs fees. It was extremely complicated; I didn’t understand how to do it even if I did had the funds, and I’m talking about a small gallery in Alberta. So, it didn’t happen for me. I once created a postcard painting, which traveled to Denmark in a group show, but I never received the postcard back. That was at the beginning of my career. You’d think they could have stuck some postage on it and mailed it back, but I don’t know what happened to that.

I can’t imagine the costs of sending my work to Europe, if anyone would have me, let alone New York. I’ve been in two group shows in NY, and one of them paid for the shipping (there and back). because I won the Wynn Newhouse Award that year, and it was the winners’ show, paid for by Syracuse University. I was in one group showing NY before that, but only needed to get one painting there. That was somewhat easy, or I couldn’t have done it. I got a guy who was driving across the country to take it there and bring it back for less money than it would have been to crate and ship it.

Other than that, I’ve got nothing notable in NY or abroad. I’m going on my awards and solo shows, most of which are in Los Angeles. I know I won’t win, but Paddy Johnson said on a recent podcast that applying is still a good idea for artists, as it’s good practice. Additionally, the more I work on my written application materials, the more I can reuse them for other grants. 

I think that’s all for now. I need to figure out a way to move this painting into the garage without smudging it, and then bring the bigger one back in and stick it on the easel.