After the Sedona event, I drove over to New Mexico to see my mentor, Ann Templeton (www.anntempleton.com) to visit and show her a few of the paintings. Ann was weary from two back-to-back trips -- a trip to California, and then to North Carolina, where she taught a workshop. Despite her weariness, Ann looked over my work and gave them largely unqualified praise. It feels great to get that kind of praise from a mentor.(Above is a photo of me at the Quick Draw event, courtesy of Stephen Sanfilippo at www.stephensanfilippo.com.)
Now that Sedona is over, what would I do differently?
First, I would have done even MORE paintings that very first day. Even though I did three on the second day, I just did one on the first. At least two on the first day really would have gotten the motor started. (Not that 11 "done" paintings is a paltry number, by any means!)
Second, I would have done a few larger paintings. Although ultimately it would have meant perhaps FEWER paintings, a couple of larger ones would have allowed me to capture more of the panorama that is unique to Sedona. It also would have given my work more visual impact on the day of the final show.
Third, rather than run helter-skelter to almost a dozen different locations within a 20-mile radius of Sedona, I would have settled on simply a couple of places. For example, Red Rock State Park had a wealth of painting spots, but I spent just a day there. The pace would have been a tad more relaxed.
Other than these differences, I wouldn't have changed anything else. And I certainly wouldn't have changed much about the event itself -- it was very well-organized with a great support staff and wonderful sponsors! Would I do it again next year? You bet!
