In 2006 I applied unsuccessfully I have to say , for a residency in Santa Fe , NM , and so , undaunted , as my heart had been set on this , I decided to create my own residency and drive out to New Mexico from Charleston , SC . Fortuitously , the week before leaving , I received an award from the SC Coastal Conservation League which paid for my rental house and use of a studio for two and a half months . A case I believe , of trusting in following my intuition or gut feeling as to where I needed to be .
This proved to be one of the happiest and most productive times in my art career . I spent many days painting and drawing in the landscape and returning to the studio to develop work . While working in the landscape for hours at a time I felt very grounded and connected to the land . Once occupied with the process of observation , open to my surroundings and focused on transferring my feelings to paper I experienced several interesting occurrences , all of which added to my reflection and questioning as to the power and energy of the landscape .
It can be tough working on location , especially in the heat , but if well prepared there is nothing to compare . I find no other way to make work with any felt meaning or depth that reflects a locality and a sense of what may have gone before .
It was towards the end of my stay in Santa Fe , that I took a workshop in wax encaustic with Laura Moriarty of R & F Encaustic and I was hooked !