On Guam you are surrounded by flowers year round. Exotic, colorful flowers. This photo is taken in our garden. Suddenly they have found their way into my mind and my work...

In the past I have never really been that interested in flowers in art! While still living in NJ I did make a couple of paintings before leaving that, contained flowers. I don’t know where they came from, but somehow they fitted in with the theme and feel of my work. I wonder if my mind was slowly trying to get used to the idea of living on Guam...? Here on this tropical island, you are surrounded by flowers year round: Easter, Christmas - midsummer. Makes very little different in the flower department! Nature is full of colors, often in the shape of flowers on the ground or bushes. Perhaps it is seeing all these stunning nuances and gentle shapes around me - maybe the view from my studio - or simply the heat? But whatever it is, I have gained an interest in the world of colorful exotic flowers in painting... And of course, when I realized this mind shift, the first artist I went to explore was Georgia O’keeffe. I now own a little art pocket book with one hundred of her flowers.

I was always aware my work changed with my surroundings. Never the less - I never really saw a flower chapter coming...

Georgia O’Keeffe has recently moved into my art library...

Cleaning out the Studio

Cleaning my studio was long overdue. It wasn’t dirty, nor messy really, just disorganized!

Ever since arriving in Guam, I have worked between my things, without having a true space for each item. We were so busy arranging the rest of the house that when I got to my studio, I just wanted to PAINT. But last week, I finally decided it was time to do just that: arrange my studio to make it work better on every level.

I took everything out and started over. I got rid of things I know I would never need again, and it felt good to see the get-rid-of pile growing, and all the extra space I didn’t even know I had.

Over time I have collected boxes and folders full of pictures, photos, cards etc. The hardest part was to sort through those. And actually, I must admit I gave up and kept most of them. I remember where and when I got most of them, and the story behind each card and image. And (my best excuse:) they don’t take up THAT much room!

Another nice addition to the studio is that I now finally have all my art books around me. That had been my plan all along, but until now they had lived on a shelf in the living room. I like them them upstairs, with everything else ART related!

By the end of the day I felt so good - the studio was clean and organized. And seemed much roomier. And best of all: I now actually know where everything is.

The Arrival of a new Art Book

”Painting People - figure painting today” by Charlotte Mullins

When I went to the base this morning, and checked my PO Box, I got a pleasant and very anticipated surprise: the ART BOOK I ordered on Amazon months ago (”Painting People - figure painting today” by Charlotte Mullins) had finally arrived!

Guam is in many ways a different world, so isolated and remote, and somehow it takes the mail months to get onto this island, and into my PO Box... But anyway - I got my book, and couldn’t wait to get home, make a cup of tea, put some great music on and open it... I still haven’t, I am trying to hold on to the excitement just a little bit longer...

A new art book on Guam is my closest substitute for an Art Museum. Since here’s no MoMA, Guggenheim, commercial galleries, or anything remotely close, this book will be my next art experience. The Internet is also invaluable, for inspiration, art news, brand new pieces of works, shows, etc., But there’s something extra special about a book. Better go make the tea, and put on the right kind of music...

New Year On Guam

“I’d rather be in the Studio” excellent book by Alyson B. Standfield on art marketing

Happy New Year! I simply can’t believe it’s been a year since I sat in “Brewed Awakening” cafe in Metuchen, writing my new year blog entry from last year. I remember it very clearly for some reason, and it doesn’t seem long ago at all. Just about everything in my surroundings has changed since that cold winter day in the cafe, when a thin layer of snow covered the ground. Jersey was busy, crowded, multicultural and close to New York City... Guam is laid-back, with stunning Nature, H O T, with extremely high humidity, and is pretty much as removed from anything or anywhere else as can be. I am not going to lie: It does feel very remote out here at times!

Since moving here, I haven’t been as inspired to work as much as I probably expected. I have the most fantastic studio, but just haven’t quite felt it yet. Adjusting to these new surroundings has been a work in process. Not because it has been bad - just because Guam is so absolutely different from anywhere I’ve ever been. Not having Art Museums and galleries fairly close by is a new thing for me, and one of the things I miss the most from NJ. At some point I wrote a blog about the work going into searching the island for the right art materials. That was a new and unexpected obstacle right there in front of me.

Instead of painting, I have in fact spend a lot of time reading art books, magazines, and books on art marketing. I have used the Internet a lot for the ideas, inspiration and fresh air in art and culture that I used to get from a day in the city, going to MoMA, or dinner with friends.

But I am excited about 2010. I am excited about getting back into painting, I truly miss it. I think it is time, I miss having paint on my hands, and unfinished pieces hanging around the house...