Individual Artist Project Grant

Creating paintings for the upcoming show at the Jaques Gallery in Aitkin will help expose a wider audience to my art. I am excited to show more of my work at a location that is outside the Duluth area. I hope that by displaying my work in shows such as this, I can inspire others to appreciate birds and nature, and in turn want to help protect it. As a life-long bird-watcher, I firmly believe that a strong connection to the natural world is very important to instill in as many people as possible, especially the younger generation. I also believe that a painting which has a stronger emotional connection to a person is more likely to inspire them to see the natural world differently, which in turn creates a greater possibility for our human communities and the natural world to thrive together. As an artist, the more emotional power I put into my work, the more likely it is to have the kind of impact that I want it to have on my viewers. Avian self portraits is one way of exploring that greater power and impact.Creating self portraits in birds helps me to focus on what is really important in my art, which is self expression. Birds are beautiful, to be sure, but my goal in painting birds has always been to show how a lifetime of watching birds and being outside in nature has affected me. Now I would like to take this a step further, and put my own qualities into the birds, and along the way hopefully discover new things about myself. By producing these new paintings, and using them as part of a show at the Jaques Gallery in Aitkin this spring, I will be able to broaden my audience and further my career as a local artist, which in turn may inspire others to have some of the same wonder and appreciation that I have for both birds and nature. Because my project involves a public event, I hope to receive favorable feedback on my paintings, which will help me to know the work was a success. I have received two previous grants from ARAC, and both of these opportunities gave me time and confidence to continue my painting. I was able to complete many paintings for two shows at the Great Lakes Aquarium, one in 2014, and one in 2021, and both of these shows were partly funded by grants from ARAC. My latest show at the Aquarium featured 25 completed paintings. I have already finished a few self portraits in birds, and these are included in my work sample: "Broad-billed Motmot in Panama," Peregrine Falcon at Tettegrouche State Park," and "White-throated Sparrow Singing." I am excited to continue creating these type of paintings, and exploring new possibilities in what I can create with self portraits in birds.If I am able to complete eight paintings that convey new things about myself, I will consider the project a success. On a personal level, I will know these works have been a success if they carry the emotional impact that I intended, and on a public level I would be very happy if some people relay to me that these paintings have somehow touched them deeply. Very often, when I show my work to others, they help me to see things that I hadn't necessarily seen myself. During my previous shows at the Great Lakes Aquarium, I was fortunate to sell many works, and I am hopeful that this same success will continue during my upcoming show in Aitkin. I also hope that this opportunity will lead to other shows, such as a potential show at the Tettegouche State Park Visitor's Center. I have greatly increased my social media following in the last year, and this is an important way for me to broadcast each new painting that I complete, and to receive comments from the public about my work.