This past weekend we went out to UCR / California Museum of Photography…aka Riverside Museum of Photography, for two opening receptions - one photography and the other painting. At the painting show we ran into a friend from grad school, Alex Couenberg, who had a dynamic painting in the show, what really amazing about Alex, is his artistic practice. He’s got a very thriving art career…check out his website and you’ll see great work and a busy schedule. 

In the past, it was easy for me to think “oh he’s got a wife that works…of course he makes art” but then I found out he works FULL TIME teaching art at a high school. Then it was “oh, but of course they’ve got no kids” and I found out he’s got FOUR kids! What he actually has is an amazing work ethic. In speaking with him that evening he told me about his daily life - most afternoons when he gets out of work, he heads directly home and into the studio where he paints for 4-5+ hours. Closer to home, my mom at 85 paints almost everyday.  I’ve thought about this a lot since then and find it inspirational. 

It was a great evening, the two exhibitions worked well together. In the Sunshine of Neglect was curated by Doug McCulloh and featured a rare in-depth examination of photographer’s response to the Inland Empire. Paintings from the Interior was curated by Andi Campognone and featured a very lush set of paintings…there was a real love of the medium at work.