A tough road to a good week

Pardon my absence from blogging these last few weeks, but  I've had a bit of a tough road, health-wise this winter, and am only just coming out of it (I hope). For the last six months or so I have spent a good portion of my time chasing down the root cause of my aliments. In a nutshell it turns out that I have become allergic to many things. Suddenly, out of nowhere, my body developed rather alarming allergic reactions to common household products, metals, and even most of my clothing. Uncovering the culprits has been a bit like peeling an onion.

I have spent several weeks sorting through it all and purging what I could. It's costing us a small fortune and a lot of trial and error to replace these things in our home with ones that won't make me sick, but there is really no other way forward.

It's hard to pinpoint the how or why of it all. Could it be related to my occupation? Possibly. But just as easily it could have been set off by cleaning products, beauty products, or something in the water. Who knows? The only thing more I really want to say about it is that if you are an artist, protect yourself. I have been wearing latex free nitrile gloves for a number of years now, and consistently painting solvent-free en plein air and in the studio for the last 8 months or so. But there were many years before that when I was not so cautious and had my hands in solvents, likely breathed in volatile organic compounds on a regular basis, and allowed my materials too much direct contact with my skin. Bottom line, you have to treat your materials with a healthy dose of respect or else risk paying the price with your health.

Yes, I am still painting. I am trying to be less of a slob about it, and protecting myself as much as I can.  Things are calming down with the allergies from my efforts, but it has been a long, tough road. This week though, I got back outside to paint, and it felt so good! Here's an in-situ shot of one of my paintings during a visit to the Meadow Farm Museum, where I twice visited this week.  I haven't had a chance to photograph the finals but when the rain lets up I will share them also. 

As a bonus this week, I was notified by Plein Air Magazine that they wanted to feature my painting "Spring Renewal" in their ezine OutdoorPainter.com in their "Why This Works" column. Yeah! It's good to be getting back in the swing.

Local fare

Doing the mom/artist thing is a constant juggling act. For that matter, doing the mom/anything thing a juggling act! I love painting the early morning light, but so many mornings, despite my best intentions, I cannot get out of the door to paint on locations as early as I would like.  It seems silly, but this can actually be a source of considerable anxiety for me. But, as with so many other lessons that parenting teaches me, I have had to learn to make peace with what is, and perhaps even embrace it. 

This painting occurred on such a morning. With a late start I decided to see if I could find something of interest to paint in my neighborhood. It's actually not that hard in Ashland, as it's a small railroad town with beautiful historic houses and lots of charm. 

"Bicycle Garden," Oil on linen, 10x10"

If I'm not mistaken, this bike has been on this corner since the fall, in anticipation of the UCI Road World Championships that whizzed through our locality in September. In Ashland, decorated bikes were set up everywhere. Even after the races, many of the bikes have remained, their decorations changing according to the season. I have been eyeing this corner for a while now, enjoying the charm of it. When the daffodils popped up, that sealed the deal for me. 

Incidentally, you never know what can happen when you stand on a street corner in a silly hat, no makeup, and sweatpants. You just might encounter a photographer who works for the local paper!