A look back at 2009

During 2009 I ended up making the Artist's Gallery my "home-base" in Lambertville, NJ. It is a co-op gallery that I've been a member of for the last 3 years, and I'm enjoying the experience. A co-op is a little more of a hands-on experience than a standard gallery, the artists are entirely responsible for running the gallery. Along with having a personal investment in the place, I also enjoy interacting with the (no more than) 18 members at our establishment. This is also a unique place in that we jury to accept new members, and we like to keep the art diverse and of high quality. Each artist is featured once a year in a duo show.

I also was able to show my work in other venues in NJ: Lambertville, Hopewell, Princeton, and in PA: Jamison and Philadelphia, a Society of Animal Artists show in Colorado, and new representation at Robert Paul Galleries in Stowe, VT. Over the last couple of years I haven't entered as many juried shows and concentrated more on painting, and getting enough work to actually show in more venues, which is something I plan to continue into 2010.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all those that came to the galleries and shows, checked out my website, and hope those that brought a piece home are enjoying the work as much as I enjoyed painting them. I also want to thank those behind the scenes that work on setting up the shows and their efforts to help make these events such memorable experiences.

I'm eager to see what 2010 brings, I'm starting the year traveling to one of my favorite places, Trinidad! The island and it's rainforest are always an inspiration for me! I'm planning on creating new works from these inspirations for the May duo show at the Artists' Gallery with my friend Paul Grecian (a new member). We are both nature and animal enthusiasts, and I'm looking forward to seeing the gallery go wild!

"Looking Back" House Sparrow © Beatrice Bork