Dip a toe eye hand
Day before they close it down
The paint dries like hope
May 12, 2019
Garfield Park Conservatory
It was such a scary time when we met. Everything felt unsure, incomplete and new. The chance to paint together brought me in to connection with purpose and practice.
March 18, 2020
Remote upstate NY
Here it begins:
Memory is tricky, But
great experiences are made through extraordinary events.
And this event, my time in the park with leslie
that she made an opening for, cultivated by her
unrehearsed by me
took form as organically in plain site
as the drawings we made
while we took site and plein aired our site
the location was intimate and open
we had visitors both Woman, Child, Animal, Insect
that flew for us, and told us what we were doing was beautiful and took our photo
it was a moment where connections and differences were made and noted
where seeds for imaginative projections were made
an archaic event, two humans in greenery, trying to make sense of their own relationship, to an external world through image making
showing each other what they saw, how they see, seeing who got it right, and whose window directed us forward
oh it was a memory all right, one that stuck
August 16, 2019
Humboldt Park
September 2, 2017
Humboldt Park
June 20, 2021
Gompers Park
Painting is usually a very solitary activity for me, so to share that with someone else and to talk and laugh was wonderful, especially after living through the long lonely pandemic. To just show up and everything is already ready (paints, paper, brushes, chairs) on a beautiful summer day and spend some time with someone I’ve always liked but never get to see was a gift to me in so many ways.
June 24, 2021
Humboldt Park
I was feeling very nervous as I walked up to the top of the hill. I’m generally pretty awkward and I think I’m especially bad when meeting new people (even though we had spoken before online), but Leslie was really easy to talk to in a way that was both calming and upbeat. We walked down the hill to the edge of the pond and set up our working space.
Leslie jumped right in with a big wash of yellow and, at first, it took me a bit to figure out how to paint and talk at the same time. It was a little like trying to rub your belly and pat your head – my color-mixing/choosing mind and my sentence-forming mind were out of step. But once I had a good palette started, I noticed that it was actually nice to chat while painting as it freed me from overthinking, and encouraged me to make quick decisions. Part of my brain turned off and perhaps more of my subconscious could seep out in return.
A few things we talked about:
September 26, 2021
Palmisano Park
July 4, 2021
Soldiers Grove
July 22, 2021
Eagle Rock Patio
July 7, 2021
Looking Glass Garden Chicago
