Emergency Working Artist Project Grant FY21

I make an income solely as an artist and have been able to continue to grow as an artist through funding from grants like this one, which supplement and fill in income gaps between the sale of works and the costs of living and creating. Often these grants fund work that is of exploratory and learning value for me as an artist, to find new tools and successful ways of creating art, that then translate into future sales of paintings. Essentially, this funding buys me the time and supplies to keep being an artist, to support my family, to increase my skills, to pursue new directions, and to keep producing work that brings beauty, enjoyment, and art appreciation to others in the local community, digital community, and personal lives of collectors. My goal with this specific funding is to create two paintings that will stretch my skills into larger, more complex paintings than what I have done in the past, and will set the tone for subsequent 2021 works. I have received multiple grants from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council in the past, and have successfully executed and completed the projects for each one in alignment with what I stated I would do. In 2020, I had received a grant to take a workshop that ended up being cancelled due to the COVID shutdown, and even in that project, I was able to redirect the funding to create my own at-home workshop with DVDs from the instructor. I have a strong will to progress as an artist, and have used grants to successfully keep those goals moving forward. I currently work full-time as a Fine Artist and have a clear idea of what I am capable of, what I can complete, what that may realistically cost me financially, and how to self-direct my projects in increasingly difficult and challenging subjects as I continue to gain skills. I have no doubt that I have the self-discipline, artistic ability, organizational ability, and desire to complete the clear goals I have set for myself with this project.I will measure the goals listed by: - Completing and submitting a final report to the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council documenting the success of the project. - Documenting with photos that I have in fact completed two large paintings at the end of the project period. - Documenting the final use of expenses/expenditures following the budget stated.