During the course of painting the paph orchid, certain small details change over time. As I concentrate on various parts of the canvas, some other areas begin to develop in response. The shapes don’t necessarily change, but the focus on their importance might and I make those changes mostly with color. I try warm and cool tones taken from the larger surrounding colors. I work on whether areas want to recede or not, whether they want to be focus. I change these by playing with saturation, the brightness of a color and the value which is the lightness or darkness of that color. Eventually over time, as the entire painting begins to coalesce, the details do as well. They announce themselves to me when I move them in the right direction. Painting for me isn’t a journey where I know the destination point. It is instead an exploration of an untraveled path.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for my solo exhibition, “Portraits From My Garden” at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie, NY, from June 5 – September 15, 2026, my work for the group show, “Hearing Women’s Voices” at the Ceres Gallery in from June 23. to July 18, 2026, and my upcoming November 2026, solo exhibition titled, “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” in Chelsea, New York City