American Patina
Since our gallery opening in mid October, the last few months have flown by. I thought it was high time I update you on some of the things I’ve been up to.
If you didn’t already know, I was invited to join Georgia and Dave Rowswell at their new gallery, Open Door Studio and Gallery, where I have both studio and gallery space. It’s difficult to find the words of gratitude I have for their inclusion of me as well as the new gift of dedicated studio time I have at the gallery. As any artist knows, working in a home studio is wonderful, but difficult to concentrate with the normal interruptions of daily life. Now, I am at the gallery part-time, with a full 15+ hours a week that I can do nothing but art. That may not seem like a lot, but for me and my stroke brain, it’s just enough time without getting too exhausted.
A good chunk of 2025 was a difficult time for us, as Mark had some health problems. He is completely recovered now and well on the road to fitness, for which we are both incredibly grateful. Looking back, it’s a time we didn’t realize was really stressful, because we just had to get through it. Artistically, I didn’t pick up my camera much for months and was very unmotivated. I chastised myself a bit, putting unnecessary pressure on myself thinking that I needed to “get out and shoot.” But it was not the right time, and I have since learned that it’s ok NOT to feel like creating something. Art can’t be forced!
We are hopeful and looking forward to a better year in 2026. God willing, we will be able to do a little traveling this year, a lot more outdoor activity, and most of all, enjoy good health. I am motivated to start shooting more, as I learn to balance photography with all the painting I’ve been doing. My current medium of choice is gouache, which is where I started as a kiddo when my Mom bought me a set of what I thought were watercolors on a trip to France in 1979. I thought gouache was just a funny French word; now I know that it is a medium similar in behavior to watercolor, but opaque.
So what am I painting? Well, I started out experimenting with an old truck that I’d photographed in Utah. Painting that first truck re-ignited a passion for old cars and trucks that I’ve had since I was a kid. As the youngest daugher of a gifted auto mechanic, I wasn’t old enough to learn a lot from my Daddy when he was working as a mechanic, but I was always interested in it. I loved the smells of rubber and oil, the chrome, the swoops and curves of metal that made up the powerful forms he would lie underneath in our old garage with its dirt and plank floor. Our extra family car was an old 1953 Chevy Deluxe, of which we were all fond of. The paint was faded from green to pink, there was rust growing in the wheel wells, but it always started and ran like a dream. I loved to hear the stories about who all had driven it, trips taken, and memories made.
Hence, a series was born based from my first painting of the old GMC in Utah. I am now finishing the 10th and final (for now) truck painting. Each truck has been chosen for its beauty and form, for its function. They are all work trucks, all with stories of their own, all from the golden age of the auto industry. Here is my artist statement about the series:
American Patina: Portraits of Rust and Resiliance
American Patina is a tribute to the workhorse trucks that helped past generations build our nation; those used in oil and mining, farming, road and building construction. They are the trucks whose form and function meet in equal measure, masterpieces of functional art. Decades later, their unapologetic and unrestored presence in our fields and abandoned lots give testimony as weathered monuments to the golden age of American automotive design and craftsmanship.
I will be debuting the entire collection at the Cheyenne Civic Center as the featured artist for April and the April Cheyenne Artwalk. Each painting will have its own story of what kind of truck it is and how it would’ve been used in its prime. I hope you enjoy a preview of 9 of the trucks here (still finishing the last one!), and if you live in or near Cheyenne, come visit the Civic Center to see them. I will be there for ArtWalk on April 10 from 5-8pm.
Also, if you’re in Cheyenne, you are very much invited to stop by our gallery at 1609 Central Avenue! I work Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons, but the gallery schedule is also on our website at odsgallery.com.