What is your day like when working on your art?

I’m adapting to a new schedule as I recently changed to a tiny-home lifestyle and am enjoying simplified days, which in turn is replenishing my own creativity. I generally wake before dawn, start the fire and prepare coffee. With planning and good fortune I will have charged my equipment so there’s music and limited internet available – I used to check email constantly and was online every waking moment. I got extremely depressed and had years of insomnia, but lately I sleep soundly and feel more content by the day. In 2016 I hope to do mostly observational work – plein air, sketching from life – it really sharpens your techniques and trains your memory. My tiny mobile work space (less than 100 sq ft) has a large wrap-around window which frames Colorado vistas the whole day long, with a plain wooden desk over cupboards containing oils, watercolors, acrylics, linoprint and encaustic supplies, ink, markers, pencils, pastels and brushes. It’s hard not to be inspired and if no real concepts are forthcoming there is always an interesting visual detail to sketch out in a notebook – some sunlit snow, a stand of leaning pines. Our harsh conditions can affect plans too. For a week or two in the icebox, my paints, pens and mediums were frozen solid and I could only use pencils. The winter days are so short it doesn’t take long before daylight is gone and it’s time to pack things away and prepare for night. I’m excited for summer and more outdoor time. Maybe I’ll do a festival or two. Or maybe I will just hang out in our forest some more.

What is the best part of being an artist in Grand County?

I think the greatest thing about art in Grand County is the spectrum of artists tucked away doing their own thing, followed closely by local patrons who might not have a lot of disposable income but conscientiously support creativity and appreciate thoughtful work. Our county seems so sleepy at times but in homes and in the woods and in digital studios and galleries there’s a flurry of activity using all mediums and concepts. At times artists are even making a living, which demonstrates incredible tenacity.