I’ve been struggling to find inspiration in the studio lately I think due to anxiety affecting me in my personal life. I’ve recently had to relocate officially to Pennsylvania from New York. And though the transition is more a confirmation of a reality I’ve been living for sometime now, emotionally it feels like a defeat. Being a New Yorker was a thing I was proud of. That whole “if you can make it here” thing was something I took to heart in the midst of many struggles over the last 15 years in the city. I always seemed to make it somehow. Unfortunately the expense and the difficulties of travailing back and forth to the city just proved too much for me and so I moved in officially with my boyfriend of the past 4 years to Allentown. What the future holds now is really anyone’s guess because we may have to quickly move from his house since he is looking to sale his home. And so I move into uncertainty with my move to Pennsylvania. This cloud has been hanging over my studio practice for some time, pretty much the whole year so far, but I’ve tried my best to channel all my feelings of uncertainty and sadness over loss-of-place into my artwork. I finished Maybe Baby last week and this week I started a new monotype print series I’m calling Pecks.
One of the things I most enjoy about being in Pennsylvania is the natural beauty of the state. A couple times a year a group of friends travel to the Poconos to camp and in this last year I took a series of pictures of the area we camped at. I mentioned Pecks Pond and the Pickerel Inn in previous posts. I returned to those pictures last week and choose seven to do monotype prints from. These monotypes, the first prints I’ve done in 4 or 5 years at least, are 4 color prints with a decorative edge. I’m not exactly sure about the decorative edge but I’m thrilled that this print and drawing piece turned out so well. I’m taking the success as an indication that things will indeed be alright with my official move to this state, my new home. Here’s the original photo and my monotype. Until next time…
Anthony Smith Jr. 