In the Studio: A Look Back on 2025

Commissioned Portrait

About my only artistic accomplishment this year!

2025 was not my year as an artist.

I’ll say that again: 2025 was NOT my year as an artist.

The first half brought creative paralysis—not just a block, but complete stillness. In June, I escaped to Greece for a family vacation, hoping the beaches of Crete might unlock something. It was a lovely few weeks, but I returned to disaster: a toilet had overflowed while we were away, destroying much of our house, including my studio.

We spent the summer in a hotel while renovations crawled forward. I found temporary studio space at Art Studio 151 in Sterling and loved the energy of the artists there, though I barely painted—the renovations consumed everything.

By fall, the house was complete, but the seismic shifts weren't done. We decided to move to the Shenandoah Valley, where I'm writing this now. It's beautiful out here. Quiet, peaceful—exactly what I need right now.

But something shifted during all that dormancy. I'm inspired again. I'm painting with abandon—producing work that doesn't look like mine, work I'm not ready to share yet.

I did complete one commissioned portrait last year and have one more booked, but after that I'm taking a break from commissions. I need space to experiment without a client's vision guiding my hand.

And maybe that's the lesson here: the relentless push to be productive, to be visible, to enter endless shows, to always be "out there"—sometimes that's the worst thing we can do as artists. Sometimes we need to sit still. Get comfortable with not producing. Let the well refill without apologizing for it.

The quiet out here seems to have unlocked something the chaos couldn't.