"Knowing When to Walk Away"

Happy 2012, dear blog readers!

In this, my first blog entry of the new year, meet Kathleen Strukoff. We met her in November in Las Vegas, just after our hike into the Grand Canyon. 

Kathleen has a studio in a space called Emergency Arts, on Fremont Street in old Vegas. As you can see from the pic, we found her in mid-creation.

Maybe because my Opa (the Dutch word for grandfather) was an artist, I've always had a soft spot for painters. Kathleen told us a little about how she works. One of her observations felt so useful that I found my pen and started taking notes. Here's what she said: "The trick for a painter is knowing when to walk away... knowing when the painting is finished." She added that this is true for musicians, too, and that she knows this because her husband is a blues musician.

Of course, I started thinking about writing as soon as Kathleen said that. And it's somehow fitting that this morning, I came across  the little set of notes I took while we were visiting Emergency Arts.... I'm coming quite close to the end of a manuscript I've been tinkering with for ages. Part of me can't wait to let it go; another part of me is not quite sure it's ready to leave the safety of my computer screen!  For now, my plan is to  keep tinkering and re-reading and tinkering just a little more... and I'll try to keep Kathleen's wisdom close so that I will know when it's time for me to walk away!

Thanks, Kathleen, for the inspiration. I love your paintings and hope to see you when you come to Montreal. Keep that painting of the flower fields for me, okay?