At Home With Sterling Edwards

Editors Note: In talking with Sterling the other day I realized that we need to keep in touch with one another. After reading what Sterling has to say about being at home, visit his websites and be inspired by his art.

Sterling Edwards

(Confined), March 2020

www.sterlingedwards.com

I’m sure that as you read this you too are confined in your home due to the Coronavirus. Isn’t it amazing how quickly our lives and this world can change? It really reinforces the old saying, “never take anything for granted”.  Until recently, I spent most of my time traveling around the U.S, and on occasion, other countries teaching painting workshops. I’ve been doing this for about twenty years, and I can truly say that it is a great way to make a living. The only real downside to my job is all the hours that spend strapped into a micro-seat on an airplane or sitting in one of those airport chairs that were carefully and masterfully designed to be uncomfortable. For the time being, however; those days are gone. Like everyone else that I know in this business I am on lockdown. Workshops are either being cancelled or rescheduled. As I write this no-one really knows when it will be safe to gather in groups again or travel. So, I’m using this opportunity to get in some much-needed studio time.

For the last year or so Diane and I have been working on setting up a recording station in my studio. Our goal is to record painting demonstrations that can be purchased as digital downloads. I plan to eventually have an entire library of subjects available for purchase on my website. These videos will enable me to cut back on the number of workshops that I teach every year and give me more studio time and time to relax. In fact, we’re even looking beyond the videos and planning to do live televised classes in the studio at some point. I don’t claim to have the slightest idea how to do that, but I know that I can learn. So, I have spent the last week in the studio organizing my painting table to accommodate the lighting and camera equipment that we’ll use for the videos. A few weeks ago, I was contacted by California artist and good friend Birgit O’Connor. We call each other from time to time and catch up on what’s happening with our careers. She asked me if I would be interested in an interview that would be recorded and watched on Facebook. I had never done a filmed interview from my studio before so I was a little unsure how it would go. She reassured me that it would be a piece of cake, so I agreed to do it. A couple of days later we interviewed each other, and it went very well. Birgit posted the interview on Facebook and it received good comments so I am sure that we will do more face to face discussions on various topics. I’ve also used some of this free time to clean out a little bit. I have concluded that art supplies multiply at night. I don’t know how but I’ve suspected it for years and this last week has fueled my suspicions. I was finding things that I purchased twenty years ago. These are things that I no longer need but I know that they would be used by someone else if they had them. So, into the box they go. When the box is full it will be given to a public-school art teacher to be shared among the students. I’ve done this a couple of other times and the response has been incredible. Funding for school art programs has been slashed to the bone and it’s not unusual for the art teacher to buy supplies for the students out of their own pocket. I know that anything that I donate will be much appreciated. It’s a win/win. I need the space and they need the supplies.  

I have also used this time to write my monthly newsletter, catch up on emails, design a couple of brochures, update both of my websites, and work on some paintings. As you can see in the photographs, I’m working on some large acrylics on canvas. Most of them are Abstract Expressionism but there are a few that are what I refer to as Representational Abstracts. These are paintings that have a distinct theme but also incorporate some abstraction in the way the various shapes are distorted and interact with each other. I like to call it my signature style. In fact, I wrote an article about it titled, “Abstract Art You Can Hang Your Hat On”. It was published in the New Palette Magazine, Issue #67 in 2018. For those who might be interested, I also wrote an article titled, “From Here to Where” that was featured in the New Palette Magazine in issue #62 in 2017. That article was all about Abstract Expressionism; something that I really love. The magazine is published by Cheap Joe’s.

It goes without saying that I’m also doing other things besides working in the studio during this time of confinement. The weather has been relatively mild, so Diane and I have gotten in a few days of what she refers to as “dirt therapy”. We’ve been planting shrubs, raking what’s left of last years leaves, and generally cleaning up the property. I should stress that she is the only person in this house that calls it therapy. I call it back breaking labor that should be deemed unlawful for a guy my age. Diane tells me that it’s good for me to get some fresh air and use some of my muscles that I haven’t used in a while. The reason that I haven’t used them in a while is because they don’t work. Well. She’s not buying it. Diane is a former nurse so all these excuses that I come up with are just wasted breath. But I’ll have to admit; of all the people to be cooped up with for weeks on end she is the one I would choose. We’re a good team and we know it. We live in two acres of woods and look forward every day to sitting on our screened porch and enjoying a gin and tonic in the evenings. We also spend many of our evenings watching movies on Netflix and Amazon.

This really is a matter of trying to make the best of a bad situation. I think that we are very fortunate, and we fully realize that many are not. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who are struggling or suffering through this crisis. We hope that all of you are safely tucked away and well.