I am finished the twenty paintings for my July show at the Elliott Fouts Gallery. Above are five of the images I shared on Instagram, where you can find me as xmarksthestott.

Over the last year, I moved from the house where my family lived for a decade to a rented home in a new city, then to a new home of our own. Moving a family a couple times in a single year is serious work. It has been months that I worked amongst boxes stacked beside me in studio spaces that have felt temporary and really, really chaotic. Only today did I finally get the last part of my studio set up. I plan on being here for a long time and I wanted it to feel right, to feel like a space where I can easily focus and spend my days.

We had some misadventures over the last year. My wife and I honestly don’t think we would have relocated our family if we were able to peek in to a crystal ball and saw what was before us. But everything works out. We stuck to it. Our kids are happy. We are happy.

So now that we are settling down proper and good in our new home, I’m ready to get a little more ambitious with my painting.