Go-Time
My Willowhouse art residency is around the corner
August means it’s go-time.
The next two weeks are going to be nutso as I prepare for my residency while also juggling social obligations, art markets, and freelance work on top of it all.
This 12-day art residency will be a much-needed rest for my artist brain. All of the hard work and grinding from the last two years have culminated in this residency, where I plan to reset and lean into the desert landscape, one of my favorite places to be.
I’ve been reading a lot of Thoreau recently, and he had this to say about his “poetic” farmer neighbor:
“He does nothing with haste and drudgery, but as if he loved it. He makes the most of his labor, and takes infinite satisfaction in every part of it. He is not looking forward to the sale of his crops or any pecuniary profit, but he is paid by the constant satisfaction which his labor yields him.”
A full-time artist’s life is hard and is full of a lot of things that take me away from doing art, but they have to be done. Much like the farmer, a lot of labor goes into a single carrot. You have to learn to love the process as I have.
West Texas Commissions
I already have a couple of people who have sponsored this trip, but if you’re looking to support me, I am offering commissions! I’m doing plein air commissions of the West Texas desert while I’m there, so you can have a piece of my trip.
More info here if you are interested
Happenin’s
This First Friday (6-10 PM) will be the opening for my comics class at The Contemporary. Come check out what my kids have cooked up this summer. They all made such incredible work, and I cannot wait for everyone to see!
This is the last weekend to see Love Letter Pt. 2 at Clamplight before it comes down! I have two pieces in this show, so go see it!!
I’ll have a self portrait alongside 44 other artists in this show at Uplift Gallery called All About Me. This show opens while I’m in residency, but if you’re in San Antonio, go check it out!
I probably won’t send an update again until I’m a lizard in the desert, but thanks for reading and supporting me!
Cheers,
Shelby