It's been 4 months of constant change. Change and rebirth. I quit my job as a digital media director to focus full time on painting - big change. One week before my resignation took effect, I learned I had won Outstanding Acrylic in the Bold Brush competition - definitely a rebirth. That win resulted in a story by American Art Collectors January addition. I felt like I was ready to launch into the stratosphere.... but then change happened. I moved to Arizona. My studio was in boxes, waiting for me to establish a new studio. My plein air equipment sat idle while all of my creative energy was focused on establishing a new home, new community and new friends. Finally, holidays were over, move was complete and I was ready to start my new life as a southwestern artist. I rushed out into my new landscape, confident and READY TO PAINT, but something unexpected happened. I couldn't. The unseen muse that has guided my brush was missing. The palette that she inspired, the brushstrokes that flowed effortlessly, the intuitive composition - all gone. In their place was different light, unfamiliar fragrances and colors so intense I could taste them (but also so subtle I could missed their nuances). So now I need to find a new muse and that's not as easy as simply declaring my intent. I can't walk into a store, plop down a few dollars and buy my way into artistic genius. I have to work for her. I need to search and discover. And so my life as an artist is starting anew. A rebirth. My days are filled with hikes, and mountain bike rides, gazing at the mountains, the skies, the flora. Breathing in the desert air and exhaling my expectations. And daily I show up to my easel to see what is and what isn't. Soon, very soon I think, my brush will sing again and paint will fly with reckless abandon and I will become a southwestern painter (until the sweet mist, rain and sea calls me back to paint the northwest once more).