End of Summer

August 28, 2026

Summer in Maine, as many of you know, is about as good as it gets. Perfectly comfortable temperatures, coupled with an abundance of beautiful places to enjoy being outdoors. But the warmth is fleeting here, and missing out on even a day of it seems wasteful, especially knowing how long and cold the impending winter will be.

As a young adult, I always felt torn between a desire to be outside in the summer and a simultaneous need to be in the studio painting. I tried to find a decent balance of both, but every minute painting left me longing to be at the beach, and every minute outside had me feeling guilty for not working. 

Motherhood changed that for me, and for years it was absolutely lovely to have a reason to be outside without feeling guilty. It has always been important to me to spend as much time with my kids as possible. I think it may be one of the advantages (depending on your perspective), to having kids as an older adult. I was already becoming aware, in my early forties, of how time speeds up as we age, and how quickly things pass. I wanted to enjoy every minute of my time with them.

So when the kids were younger I never worked in the summer. We swam, we hiked, we did art projects on the deck, we played. It was blissful. But all of you parents out there know what’s coming. I continued to make myself available, and stayed out of the studio. But recently I have found myself swimming alone, hiking alone, waiting for the teenagers to maybe want to spend a little time with me.

So, it seems I have timed things well. I embarked on a new adventure this summer which kept me quite busy. I was not in the studio, painting behind a closed door. I was preparing my booth and getting ready to attend art fairs. The kids were around, I was around, and we overlapped a bit. There was a lot of preparation for me to do each day to get ready for the shows, but also time for swimming and hiking when the work was done. (Occasionally I had company.) The weekends at the shows gave the teenagers time alone in the house to start to feel their autonomy and gain a sense of responsibility, which they enjoyed. 

And I got to head out to the art fairs. At every show I had wonderful, supportive artists in neighboring booths, and I was so touched by how welcoming and kind the art far community is. I had mostly shown my work in galleries before this summer, where I would have an opportunity to meet people at the opening receptions, which was always fun. But getting to be in my booth (outside!) all day with my work, talking to people about the paintings, hearing their reactions, and answering questions, was amazing. And, of course, getting to know the people taking the work home was incredible. 

We have a few more summer days to enjoy before the kids go back to school. Hopefully we can have some quality family time together, perhaps a picnic dinner on the mountaintop, watching the sun go down. And then, at long last, I will finally be back in the studio.