Off To The Races

April 2026

And so it begins! I’m heading out this week to my first show of the season. There are a ton of practical things to consider, like varnishing/signing/titling all the new work and loading it in the van, making sure said van still starts, mapping out my route and planning when to leave, remembering to check the weather so I can pack appropriately, etc.

I’ve been doing art shows for 15 years or so now, but I still get butterflies at the beginning of the season or when I’m heading to a new-to-me venue. This year it’s both! My first show is in St. George, Utah, a place I’ve never been and a show I’ve never participated in. (See details in Show Schedule, below)

It’s a bit like stage nerves. I’m about to be “on” and I’m wondering if I’ll remember my lines. It’s hard to tell if I’m excited or anxious. Maybe both. It takes a fair amount of risk-tolerance to do this job!

Warmly,

Rachel (feeling nervous-ish)

p.s. Said van (aka “The Beast”) has more issues than whether or not it starts (it does). My mechanic has pushed aside other jobs to fix a “scarily loose” right front tie rod and left front wheel bearing. Bless him. Other issues (coolant leak, catalytic converter rattle, and A/C compressor leak) will wait until I get back. This poor van has over 500k miles on her bones; I’ll forgive her.

In the Studio:

Lots of riffing going on…

A Charmed Embrace, 40x60 inches, oil on canvas, SOLD. (highlighted in the Collector Corner, below!) This commissioned painting led to a couple more. I couldn’t resist playing with this idea:

A Deep Mystery, 80x60 inches, triptych, oil on canvas, $8950; There Is Music, 60x30 inches, diptych, $4850.

Pursuit Of A Dream, 48x48 inches, oil on canvas, $4950. This made me so happy I decided to do it again, with a different color palette:

Sometimes Magic, 48x48 inches, oil on canvas, $4950.

And finally, leaning into the abstract a bit:

No Doubt You Belong, 36x48 inches, oil on canvas, $4450.

Begin Again, 36x36 inches, oil on canvas, $3450.

Leaning even further, a couple of *actual* abstracts:

A Beautiful Mood, 30x30 inches, oil on canvas, $2550, and There Was Light, 24x24 inches, oil on canvas, $1750.

Collector Corner

A Charmed Embrace, 40x60 inches, oil on canvas. I created this piece using a couple of previous paintings as reference along with the collector’s view from their window. I’m fascinated how it speaks to the other colors in this room in a lovely, quiet way, even with such saturated colors. Thank you Mark & Debra C., for putting my work in your Argyle, TX, home!

Blue, blue, blue. I’m so delighted to be included in this grouping of paintings in this collector’s Dallas, TX, home. That’s me in the middle. :) Never Alone, 36x36 inches, oil on canvas. Thank you, John S.!

SHOW SCHEDULE

APRIL

3-4: St. George Art Festival, Historic Town Square, St. George, UT. 10am-7pm Friday, 10am-6pm Saturday. Booth F13. More info here.

16-19: Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX. 10-8pm Thursday-Saturday, 10-6pm Sunday. I’m delighted to be invited back to this show! I'll be on Main Street, between 7th & 8th-- Booth 822. Here's the show's website for more info!

24: Spring Members Show, PAM Rental Sales Gallery. 1237 SW 10th Ave at Jefferson, Portland, OR. Opening reception 4-7pm.

MAY

1-3: The Brookside Art Annual, 63rd & Brookside, Kansas City, MO. 5-9pm Friday, 10am-9pm Saturday, 11am-5pm Sunday. Booth 117. More info here.

29-31: MAC ArtFest, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane, WA. 12-7pm Friday, 10am-7pm Saturday, 10am-5pm Sunday. Booth: TBA. More info here.

Please patronize these galleries:
Art on Oak, & Stave & Stone Winery in Hood River, OR; PAM's Rental Sales Gallery in Portland, OR. Check them out!

Today

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze

that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house

and unlatch the door to the canary's cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,

a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies

seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking

a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,

releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage

so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting

into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.

-Billy Collins

ABOUT MY NEWSLETTER

New pieces, works in progress, notifications of art shows and other happenings, insights into my artistic process and always, some philosophical ramblings thrown in for free. Unlike myself, my art has no façade, no pretense, no anxiety, no insecurity. My work is always, and completely, reverent, sincere, earnest, transparent. It represents me at my best.