Artist Statement

Field report: Artist stopping to smell the roses (Self-observation)
Date: September 2025
Site/location: Brooklyn, NY

First impressions:
I observed an artist walking her dog at a leisurely pace, listening to music or maybe a podcast. Every block or so she stops for one of two reasons: To take a picture of a flower or to consider if she should collect an item from the trash (n.b. In local terms this practice is called “stooping”). She primarily collected second hand canvases and scraps of wood, but once I observed her collect a large easel.

Later, I observed her in her studio. The studio walls were bright green from baseboard to ceiling, and well adorned with art (mostly her own, some collected). She was working on a painting much larger than her existing work. She started with broad strokes and sharpened the subject with detail. Nearby there were jars of acrylic paint and tubes of acrylic gouache. Her dog and cat were asleep on the couch. She appeared to be at ease and content, enjoying the process.

Many of her recent paintings were of flower references collected on her walks. I also observed paintings of medical items (pill bottles, neurology tools), landscapes, and abstract watercolors. Two works stood out from the rest: One a screaming, abstract face titled Unsettling Side Effects. The other black marks on a white canvas somehow full of emotion.

Conclusions:
Contrary to NYC’s reputation as ‘the city that never sleeps’, I saw an artist cultivating a slower pace of life even in a bustling city. Like her flowering subjects, this artist insists on existing here—as a queer artist living with chronic illness. She is refining her skills through her representational paintings, but some of her out-of-place work nods at something deeper. Worth continued observation.