WRITING A BOOK

I haven't painted for four months! Which does not mean I haven't thought about it. I have been writing a book. The commitment was made back in early November, and I assumed that the writing was mostly done. Wrong! It was to be about my 4.5 years of full-time RVing, and I had kept almost daily journals the entire time. But, my thinking has evolved as I get more and more immersed in the process. I realized that selling/giving away almost everything I owned to start a full-time RV adventure was also about dealing with a health scare, a business that no longer gave me joy, and a desire to find a way to retire with limited means.

The working title is When Things Change: Your GPS for Getting Unstuck and Reinventing Your Life and the anticipated publication date is Fall 2019.

What do you do when you're feeling stuck?

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Last week I gave a 10-minute extemporaneous talk at Odyssey Storytelling about the events leading me to embark on this adventure. Another first! It went well and was great fun. If you have never been to Odyssey, check it out at http://odysseystorytelling.com/. 



Back to art ... I spent time in December looking through the notebooks I had kept during my going back to school days in the 1990s. I thought you might be interested in seeing some of the drawings.

These drawings were done during a five-week trip to Italy with several traditional-age students and one of our teachers. Being a non-traditional-age student and taking this trip was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I'll show and tell you more when I can figure out how to put text next to the photos!

Please visit my website and sign up for the

newsletter at:  https://susan-woodward.com/email-newsletter

Many thanks!

OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND

Those dates for the Open Studio Tour are 

coming up fast, and I hope to see a

lot of you over that weekend. That's always
the very best part!

Tucson Pastel Art Center

February 2 and 3

2447 N. Los Altos Ave

10:00 AM to 4:00 PM both days

Los Altos is one block west of 1st Ave. 

Here are a few of my recent works.

See more art at:  https://susan-woodward.com/

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Mini-Max Winter 2018 - Opening Reception

OPENING RECEPTION

"Agua Caliente"

"Windy Point Study"

I'm delighted to announce that the above paintings

have been juried in for the Sonoran Plein Air Painters

Mini-Max Winter 2018 show. These two are just

6" x 8" each - so they are part of the "Mini" half.

The opening reception is Sunday, December 9,

at Murphey Gallery, St. Phillips in the Hills, 

4440 N. Campbell, Tucson 85718,

from 12:15 to 2:30

The show will be up until January 11, 2019

Please call 520-465-6409 

I will be at the reception and hope to see you.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

"Coyote"

Recently finished this coyote and have been letting it 

sit for a while to make sure I didn't need or want

to tweak it somewhere.

8" x 10" palette knife oil on canvas panel

Here's the photo I worked from.

I've decided I want to do another, larger,

painting as well. Enlarged the coyote and have it 

set up on a 10" x 10" canvas panel, with 

less background. Can't wait to start. 

I saw him again last week on my walk, 

but my camera was in the shop.

Please visit my website and sign up for the

newsletter at:  https://susan-woodward.com/email-newsletter

Windy Point Paint-Out

Windy Point Paint-Out

I was back at Windy Point toward the end of May for another attempt at these wonderful rocks. The first photo is the view I chose. I just loved being up there painting. My eye traveled up and over the edge to the far distant mountain - it felt like I was at the top of the world.

Here is my plein-air study. It was not finished, just a rough-in of the scene. I worked on it more once I got home. However, unfortunately, I really messed it up, so ended up scraping it all off. 

 

I loved the scene so much though, that I decided to go ahead and do a larger painting from my photos. The wind and water does strange and beautiful things to the stone - also to the sturdy juniper trees scattered about the area, twisting them into odd shapes. Life feels clean and new in such a place - no sound other than the wind, distant traffic, and the occasional bird song.

This was the beginning. Hmmm, I wasn't sure what to do next, so let it sit on the easel for a week or so, then ...

... got rid of that small cliff at the very bottom, and now it seemed there was too much empty space and the left side of the lowest rock looked really boring.

After some final pondering, a bit of advice from fellow artists, and determined tweaking, here is the final painting. The entire process took me almost two months - lots of thinking, and sporadic bursts of painting. It is the first time I've painted this large in quite some time which might have something to do with all my procrastinating. I'm not sure, but I'm finally satisfied.

© Susan Woodward - "Windy Point #2" - 12 inches x 16 inches on stretched canvas.

Plein Air Study

© Susan Woodward "Windy Point"

6 x 8  inch palette knife oil on canvas panel

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On an early May morning, a friend and I drove to this wonderful setting, Windy Point, about 2/3 the way up Mt. Lemmon. We painted for about 1-1/2 hours, and by then the wind was about to blow over our easels and send gear flying. I finished this in the studio. I became entranced by the rocks and the view, so plan to go back again.

I love to read. As a matter of fact, that love wars with my love and desire to paint! Recently I read a book that sort of blew my mind and thought it was worth recommending:

“Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think” – Hans Rosling

Although there are real, serious, concerns, it seems that the world is in far better shape than we think. Our belief about how things are is skewed by our instincts.

How would you answer the following question?

In the last 20 years, the proportion of the world population living in extreme poverty has…

A: almost doubled

B: remained more or less the same

C: almost halved

The author poses simple questions about global trends like the above, and has tested audiences from all over the world, highly educated people, even senior policy decision makers. A stunning majority of them get it wrong. The correct answer is C – so if you got it wrong (I did) you’re in excellent company.

The book examines each of our instincts – shows us how to recognize when our thinking is being warped by it, and then gives us guidance as to how we can control it.

A fascinating and moving read that will change the way we see the world. If you take my advice and read it, please let me know what you thought.

Through Gates Pass

Gates Pass is one of Tucson's most-visited parks, and we 

often meet to paint there. This view is looking back at Tucson 

and the Santa Catalina Mountains. Painted from plein air 

studies and photos.

Palette knife oil on 6 x 8 inch canvas panel.