BECOMING GALLERY DIRECTOR AT DETOUR GALLERY

At the end of April 2021, I started working Full-Time as Gallery Director of DETOUR Gallery. It has been an amazing time, and I am truly having a lot of fun working at the gallery.

My day to day work at the gallery includes corresponding and meeting with clients/ visitors, setting up events, curatorial work, social media management, packing/ shipping, and a whole lot more. I have a lot on my plate, but it is all great work!

Due to this, my time at the easel has been reduced a bit. I now paint for about 2 hours a day, either before or after going to work. I try to work on my art as much as I can over the weekends as well.

I feel pretty happy with how things have fallen into place, and I can’t wait to see where this all takes me.

TO THE MOON!

I recently found out that a digital copy of my little drawing, Ashes to Ashes, will be sent to the moon.... literally!

A time capsule containing several digital art publications is set to be aboard Astrobotic's Peregrine Lunar Lander, and scheduled to land on the Moon in late 2021. I am stunned, and never imagined it would be possible for my work to be even a teeny tiny enny-bit included in any sort of space-thing.

Ashes to Ashes was published a while back in a 2018 Poets Artists/ Abend Gallery Miniatures Show Catalog. This catalog was chosen among a handful of other Poets Artists publications to be digitally included in a payload on the trip.

Believe it or not, this will be the first US spacecraft to land on the Moon since the Apollo program 50 years ago. It is also the first commercial launch to the moon IN HISTORY. You can read more about the scheduled launch here: https://skyandtelescope.org/.../two-lunar-lander.../

I can certainly say many thanks are due to Didi Menendez from all us, artists, for her continual support and journey to promote and share artists' work through her Poets Artists publications! You can find out more about Poets Artists here: 

https://www.poetsandartists.com/magazine

And many, MANY thanks to Dr. Samuel Peralta, Canadian Physicist, Emmy Award Winner, and Science Fiction Author, for organizing and generously hosting 1200 artists on the scheduled payload.

"Why am I doing this? When I learned from WOTM that I could send my work to the Moon, it was an amazing feeling... and one I wanted to share with as many writers and artists as I could. Annex 9 is all at my own expense and effort - I have been blessed, and I am spreading my blessings to you. So sit back, wait for the launch, and enjoy - every time you see the Moon, it will be ever so much more special ." - Dr. Samuel Peralta

WE GOT MARRIED!

Kevin Moore and I were married on June 26th, and shortly after, we took off to Colorado for our honeymoon. Prior to June, we had been together for a little over eight years. We met at art school (Ani Art Academy Waichulis) in 2012, and started dating not far after.

We were married on Ocean Grove Beach and celebrated the night in Asbury Park, NJ. The following day we took off on our flight to Colorado. In Colorado, we went rock climbing at Garden of the Gods and mountain biking outside of Boulder. We spent a bit of time sketching in a park and visited the Denver Museum of Art. All the food was great and we even managed to fit in a comedy club show. It was a nice break from our usual work-routine!

If you are not familiar with Kevin’s work, you can see it here:

https://www.kevinmoore.studio/

Kevin is a realist oil painter, like me, and we have collaborated on paintings in the past. Be sure to check out his art!

IBEX DREAM FUND GRANT

Kevin Moore and I had a photo-reference modeling shoot a few weeks ago. Our three hired models did an amazing job, and we were so happy to have the opportunity and funding to shoot for two hours. All thanks to our grant received from the IBEX Dream Fund!

The photographs pictured here are somewhat sneak-peaks at future paintings. As we were photographing, the poses and environment morphed organically to provide many variations. We reviewed the nearly four hundred photos we took, and we definitely already have our favorites!

We have bought samples of a type of linen we intend to use for our paintings. We are currently testing it out to see if we want to commit to large works on this material. Masonite panels are our usual go-to!

To learn more about the IBEX project, visit here:

https://ibex-collection.com/

FIVE AND UNDER  2021 | ARCADIA CONTEMPORARY

I was able to see my painting, The Endeavor, showcased at Arcadia Contemporary last night.

Their exhibit, Five and Under 2021, debuted over 200 artworks by around 70 different artists. There were so many great pieces of art on display, and I was so happy to be included!

The Endeavor was a painting I started back in 2020 during the pandemic lockdown. I was working on many other projects when I started this painting, so it took quite a while for me to finish it (especially due to its size). This piece is a self portrait, as I could not hire a model at the time to pose!

The Endeavor

28 x 24”

Oil on panel

2021

To see their show catalog, visit here:

http://www.arcadiacontemporary.com/catalogs/2021/five-and-under-2021.php