Catching Up with Christy Tremblay
I left you last January, with talk of hopes and dreams, of new art ventures to come and experiences with travel inspirations, that I looked forward to during our stay in South Korea, at Camp Humphreys. Little did I know that right around the corner, was a storm approaching that would change my plans tremendously!
At least, that is what I thought when Coronavirus became real. I first planned to do nothing. How could I possibly keep painting, and selling my art? How could I find the time with my two teen-age daughters at home in virtual school, and my husband's all-consuming schedule as the Garrison Commander of Camp Humphreys (similar to a mayor.) I prepared myself to settle in, with the stay at home orders, to focus on supporting my daughter's at home school and my husband's job (which quickly became the COVID19 expert and spokes personality for Camp Humphreys, all of the military bases in South Korea and even military family members tuning in to his Face Book Live Show from the USA) and maybe in between, I could find time to paint a small canvas or two.
As the weeks passed by and a new normal was realized, I began to crave my art again and I realized that I needed it, especially during these times, as much as others did as well.
With my daughters being teenagers and home, I did have a bit more flexibility to" hide" in my art studio-garage and paint the day away-which is exactly what I did!
I engaged with my collectors through Facebook and Instagram and created my studio space to paint daily paintings and make process videos of each piece, of which I would auction off on a later date. These daily paintings became something I looked forward to each morning and I think my followers also loved to see something new while in quarantine.
The art auctions quickly became a way to interact with my collectors and keep me creating a new collection of work.
During our time in Korea, I have loved visiting the temples, for inspiration in my art. I always notice how beautiful the light is around and on the temples. It's never not been breathtakingly beautiful. It's as though the temple monks knew I was coming and magically made it a perfect display just for me.
There was a length of time in the past year, when (due to Covid19) that we could not visit temples. Luckily I had many photos to refer to, from past temple visits, and I used these for painting inspirations during the lock-ins. I also had a collection of temple roof tiles that I paint on, I continued to take custom orders and was busier with orders than before the virus.
Along with my daily paintings and roof tile artwork, this past year, I also created several large commissions of Korea inspired paintings, a new ornament collection, a series of painted kimchi pots (Korean pottery,) a pear blossom canvas series (featured at a local farmers/art market) and numerous other custom pieces of art.
If I had to think of a motto for this past year; it would definitely be- "Take a step following the light." I saw this phrase, recently, written on the side of a wall at one of my favorite nearby temples.
To me, it means, to follow your passion and to continue working towards your goals and desires. To keep whittling away at what gives you meaning and makes you feel happy, even in challenging times. You never know what will happen, such as a pandemic!! If you stop everything you love for something, where do you find meaning?
I never would have imagined that the past year of 2020 would turn out to be a successful year in many ways. Yes, there was much loss and sadness, and things we could not do. However, for me, I was able to find my light and continue to grow in many ways.
Follow Christy on:
Facebook: facebook.com/christytremblaygallery
Instagram: @christytremblayart