I just finished my fellowship with Neal last week. He is off
to another competition in the Rockies in Colorado where he’ll be painting for the
next two weeks. This entire summer has truly been an honor to work alongside
Neal. I gained much insight into the plein air community while also learning
how to be a self-sufficient and functioning artist. I also learned how important it was to be on top of everything.
I know that sounds like a pretty obvious statement but I haven’t totally
grasped that concept until now. Working in a real life setting, I began to
think more about my own professional goals and where I want to go with my art. I
now begin to focus on where I want to be rather than what I don’ want right
now. This fellowship has helped shape my ideas while allowing me to work in a
current field that I wouldn’t have understood prior.
This will be an experience that I will not only take back
with me to school, but also as an opportunity for growth in all aspects of my
life. This fellowship has helped me understand greater how I can achieve my
goals as a painter, helped me narrow down and specify my goals, but I have also
gained a beautiful relationship with Neal as a mentor and friend. I wrote this
in my overall review, but I want to share how impacting this fellowship with
Neal was for me. I have never had many positive relationships with male figures
in my life, and when I found out who I would be working with, I just expected
this type of experience to be like those I’ve have in my past. Working with Neal, I got to see how
sweet, caring, and loving a person could be. And from of all the panels I made,
frames I put together, and painting demos I watched, I believe that out of all
my experiences in this fellowship, this was the biggest gift I could have received.
I am very thankful for having this opportunity and I cannot wait to get back to
school and start to apply what I have learned.
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