It starts with a sketch

Blog post Oct. 26th

"It starts with a sketch."

I’ve known Annie for almost 32 years (we’ve been married for almost 31 of them), and she has always kept a daily journal. From time to time, I would notice her doodling or sketching in those pages and think to myself, “Hey, that’s pretty good.” Not being an art critic or even very interested in art in general (I can’t even draw a decent stick figure), I never said much back then other than an occasional “Nice one.”

Before this turns into a tome the likes of War and Peace or an epic Stephen King novel, I’ll get straight to the point of this week's blog.

As we head toward our January 1st launch as a 100% fine art website, I want to show you how the magic actually happens. Annie’s finished paintings can take anywhere from a couple of hours to several weeks to complete once the concept finally shifts onto canvas or fine art paper. Most of her work is done with vibrant acrylics or detailed watercolors. Every single change along the road to completion—and believe me, there can be many—is a lot more complicated than simply erasing pencil on paper. The more intricate the design, the more involved it becomes to make revisions in idea or direction. But every masterpiece starts with a sketch.

In my opinion, the attention to detail is just as important as the skill of the artist in bringing a thought to life. The mind of a true artist doesn’t get from Point A to Point B in a straight line. It is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, changes and revisions. Although Annie studied art in college, her professional art career didn’t really blast off until she retired after teaching high school English for 35 years. That retirement lasted about a single week before we signed a lease on an artist-in-residence studio at The Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River.

After four wonderful years at The Narrows and several hundred craft shows, we opened our retail boutique right here in Somerset, about a mile from home. After eight great years serving our community, Covid came along and forced us to close our physical doors. But we hit that curveball, pivoted, and set up the home art studio that leads us to where we are today.

Our history has been full of twists, turns, and unexpected changes in direction—but the whole grand adventure started with a simple sketch in Annie’s journal.