Painting Together, Apart

Patti and Kim live in homes that are over 150 miles apart, yet they critique each other's work, provide encouragement, take classes together, and participate in art shows together. How did such coordination get started, and how do they manage to keep it going?

Patti recalls, "I think what started our interest together was as I would paint, I would e-mail Kim digital copies of what I was working on and ask her to critique for me."

For Kim, working together was a direct result of the mother-daughter shopping trip for supplies. "It was definitely the trip to the art store that started it. After my purchase, I was a little lost for both a subject and a starting point." She continued, "Mom helped me layout a painting of Grandma Bernice. I worked from a black and white picture taken when she was 14. At the end of every setting, I sent Mom a digital picture via e-mail so she could make suggestions and provide guidance."

Kim and Patti have worked together long enough that they seem to see a bit of each other in their work, and they seem to take more care when recommending changes. Kim describes how her comments about her mother's work has evolved, "Initially, when she asked me to critique a painting she was working on, I was so flattered to see her paintings change with my suggestions. Now if she doesn’t change it, she has to offer up a pretty good reason why not."


Above: Patti, painting on her porch.