Some of my thoughts and newsletters are shared only with subscribers, making them extra special and exclusive. So be sure to subscribe so you can read all the letters :)
Reporting to you live from the Dallas Ft. Worth airport! I am on my way back home from the most amazing week in Montana. I’m feeling rejuvenated and ready to get back into the studio with fresh eyes.
(Some Montanan memories at the end if you’re curious!)
Summer Reverie, a special night celebrating my newest collection at True Blue, is just around the corner! I can’t wait to share all the work I’ve been creating for this new chapter of mine.
You are invited :) Friends and family and lovers are invited!
The paintings in this show belong to the running body of work that takes an internal look at my childhood growing up in North Carolina. Alongside The Race To Grow Up, debuting in Charlotte on September 20th, this series exists in the time pocket of North Carolina’s summer blue hour, just somewhere on the coast.
I like to think Summer Reverie is a little branch of the larger tree, The Race To Grow Up.
a little blue studio moment - “Blue Eye” 3x8 acrylic on cradled wood
As you may already know, this body of work takes an introspective look at growing up, from the shifting perspective of adulthood. A way of making sense of what’s passed, making sense of memory.
If you’d like to read more about The Race To Grow Up, this previous letter is for you.
Now that all the work is done and I can take a step back, Summer Reverie is an ode to that ephemeral, fleeting feeling I’ve always had when summer starts to say goodbye.
Summer has always been my favorite season, where I feel most myself—most alive. For a kid, summer means freedom. I signed little strange notes on my friends’ yearbooks and dashed out the gates to play land! I still feel that seasonal freedom, even though I’m no longer afforded summer breaks.
Inside this entire body of work, exhibiting in both Wilmington and Charlotte, the memories of summer are very loud—illustrated in the colors, compositions, and feelings.
When I look at the work, especially together as an entire body, there are sounds of cicadas; beady, sweaty skin; glowing pools; dewy leaves; sun-kissed bodies; friendship; the sad feeling of August’s end; blue hour shadows; dreamland fields; strange and scary thunderstorms; girlhood memories bathed in moonlight and sunlight.
Summer Reverie Painting Spotlight
To speak directly to Summer Reverie, I’d like to talk about a few of the paintings. I am picking up the paintings from the frame shop tomorrow when I am home, so I don’t have pictures of all of them!
—
in-progress studio shot
“Cicada Sound” 36x36 acrylic on canvas
Two of the paintings feature girls around a pool during blue hour. I didn’t entirely mean for this to happen, but it looks like they’re on opposite sides of the pool, looking back at one another. Two girls at 3-feet deep, and one over at the 6-feet deep side. While painting, I felt somewhere in the middle, floating and looking back at each of the girls, wondering how they are feeling and why they are here. I never quite know how to answer that question.
“Moon Bath” 24x30 acrylic on canvas
Two of the paintings feature a girl in the middle of the ocean alongside the moon. In Moon Bath, the little glowing moon hovers over the palm of her hand, shedding light as she swims further. A magic power only the imagination of a little mind can waver. In Soft Waters, the moon floats beside her, fixed over what’s left of the silhouette of a girl once there. A memory, I think.
Soft Waters is done on cotton washcloth, embroidered the finished painting with red thread, and strung blue, silver, and red beads. Playing around with mixed media is exactly what this series calls for. A tie back to my younger self and her interactive art featuring beads, glitter glue, marker, crayon, construction paper, and just about anything else I could find.
The color blue holds the reins in this body of work. Pockets of pink, green, and yellow have their moments, but blue overtakes most paintings. Blue captures memory better than any other color, especially inside this series situated in North Carolina.
I don’t know if it’s just that I know North Carolina best and have attached feelings here, but when I think about blue hour, it’s never been as magical anywhere else. When it arrives, everything turns a grainy blue and suddenly it feels like I’m inside a memory already. Soaking it in before it’s dark and the magic filter gets turned off. These paintings are me, soaking in the magic.
Summer’s End
I see more emotions on those around me in the summer. More laughter, more feelings—loneliness, happiness, longing, excitement. This season has always had a way of lifting the heights of all the senses. A visceral season.
The end of it is near, and I already feel that looming feeling of “Did I do enough?!” “Did I relish in summer’s warmth enough?” It’s always been that way. I’m never ready for this season to leave my side.
Celebrating the end of the summer with this special new partnership with True Blue, a company that has continued to support me as an artist and businesswoman, means a lot to me. I think the name Summer Reverie ties in all my feelings perfectly.
I hope viewers can also enter their own memory field when viewing this work on Saturday night. If you’re in Wilmington, I hope I can see you there! And we can relish in summer’s last weeks.
One more thing before I go! If you are around tomorrow, Friday, August 22, I will also be showing a painting at Gallery 906’s new group show on Castle Street.
If you’re curious, here are some moments from our Montana trip in and around Bozeman.
Jack took me on my first backcountry camping trip! I’ve never had to saddle up with everything you need to survive and carry it on your back. Jack was kind and offered to carry the FIVE gallons of water in his pack. We hiked up to these beautiful glacial lakes known as “Sunlight Lakes” and were lucky enough to be down there all alone. That is, besides the magical mountain goats who blessed us with their presence just as we arrived. They scurried off and did what they do best—scale the steep mountain ledge. They were about three times the size of the goats we had growing up. The hike itself was extremely difficult, steep, and a little dangerous—Jack’s favorite! He calls it “type 2 fun.” We only took one wrong turn and ended up having to scale back up the jagged, loose Rocky Mountain ledge once :p
Another main highlight was, of course, the reason we took the trip out—a beautiful friend’s wedding situated right on Hardscrabble Ranch. We stayed in nice tents on the ranch and really got to spend time with friends the entire weekend. It felt like adult summer camp. I laughed all weekend and danced my heart out on the dance floor.
Also, while Jack and I were connecting on our flight in Chicago to Bozeman, I saw a guy that looked just like my brother, Des. I looked a little closer, and it was him! His wife, Emi, and he were also going to Bozeman, and it turns out we were on the same flight. Yesterday, after our final dinner in Bozeman, Jack and I heard some yelling and waving from a gray minivan passing by. Turns out, it was Emi and Des again! They pulled the van over and we both shared memories from our trips, hugged, and were on our way. Funny how we ran into them as we arrived and as we left. I think they were our good luck charms that kept us safe in the wilderness.
Emi and I during our final embrace!
Thank you for reading! By the way, if you ever want to send a reply, you can directly do that to this email. I’d love to hear from you! There are about 300 of you lovely subscribers now!
I hope you find a way to say goodbye to summer and hello to autumn in a way that makes you happy 🩷
Some of my thoughts and newsletters are shared only with subscribers, making them extra special and exclusive. So be sure to subscribe so you can read all the letters :)
