What Past Artists in Residence Say About their Experience

During my residency, I had the invaluable opportunity to step away from the noise of daily life and immerse myself fully in my practice. With space to reflect and create, I began an intimate and deeply personal series of small self-portraits, focusing on my chin and hands. These works explored the emotional landscape of returning to myself after a bike accident that had injured my jaw and broken my painting wrist. The series became both a process of healing and a quiet celebration. The painting included in this exhibition is one of the 9 works from this series.

—AP

The 2023 residency at Jen Tough Gallery offered the perfect environment not only for experimenting with new markmaking and color layering but also through the simple power of a dedicated creative space. Being immersed in a thriving gallery and studio environment solidified a long-held dream and directly motivated me to open my own studio and gallery in Albuquerque. Created during the year I operated that space, this painting clearly demonstrates an evolution in my artistic voice. The ability to create, teach, and discuss my work in a focused space fostered an unprecedented level of confidence and growth.

—AJH

My residency at Jen Tough Gallery was an amazing experience to delve into focused and uninterrupted time to play and experiment with various paints and techniques. The environment was ideal for immersing myself into my creative process.

—AA

I did my residency in the summer of ‘24. I didn’t realize that summer is rainy season in Santa Fe. It was such a pleasure to paint as thunderstorms rolled in and cooled everything off. To get to New Mexico my family had driven from Portland, where we live. Oregon was experiencing massive wildfires, which we had to skirt around and avoid as we drove. The peace of the mountains near the residency was a respite. My time there allowed space to think and try new things in my work. I am grateful to the gallery for this opportunity

—AS

My residence changed my work forever, in both form and color. The teals and lavenders I introduced in New Mexico are now omnipresent in my pieces, and the memory of the afternoon rain impacts all my line work.

—BM

I dedicated time to exploring what it means to be heard. In the stillness, I found space to reconnect with my inner voice, allowing this painting to unfold organically. As part of the 'Listen to Me' series, it reflects my journey toward authentic self-expression. The phrase 'So Hum,' Sanskrit for 'I am that,' is inscribed 108 times within the artwork, symbolizing spiritual completeness and aligning with the traditional practice of mantra repetition to foster inner harmony.

—DJC

In August of 2023 I spent a week as a resident at Jen Tough’s Air Studios. It was a wonderful respite with time to just focus on my work, minus the usual day to day distractions. The studios are set in the hills outside of Santa Fe, in the stark and always inspiring beauty of the high chaparral. Having lived in Santa Fe for 12 years before come to the Bay Area, for me it was a homecoming on so many levels. While there I worked on my ongoing SWIMMER SERIES, both an internal and external reflection and expression of myself in the world as a being.

—DS

The Jen Tough residency gave me time to gather my thoughts after traveling in Northern New Mexico. During my studio time, I reviewed plein air work and sketches from my travels in Abiquiu. I was able to lay all my work out and develop them while my memories were fresh and my vision of the landscape clear.

—EJK

I loved this residency and it jump started my return to my art. My wife and I started periwinkle-art.com to showcase our new creations since the residency and I can't say enough how great it was to get to spend this focused time in Jen and Todd's space.

—EH

I was in Santa Fe during monsoon season, which meant that I got to experience amazing storms and skies every evening. I spent a lot of twilight hours walking the Rail Trail in Eldorado, watching the rainstorms gather as the sun set, and enjoying the glow of lightning in the clouds.

—ER

Santa Fe has long been one of my favorite places, so I was thrilled to discover Jen’s Studio Residency program. I came last year to break free from constraints and challenge my creative comfort zone—it was a transformative experience. This year, I’ve returned with my husband and our little dog, who’s now become my studio muse.

—HC

I built an installation titled Collage Memoir during my residency. The installation told the story of my conversion from economist to artist.  The two and three dimensional mixed media pieces contained a variety of souvenirs of various chapters of my life including maps, economics notes and legos. While most of the pieces in the installation were abstract, one wall of the exhibit was a large scale collage of self portraits on paper. When I returned home, I continued the project by incorporating self portraits into a lot of my new mixed media projects as in “Need to Get Through This”

—HS

I'm always torn between abstraction and narrative artwork. Time spent at the very first AIR residency gave me an opportunity to discuss this dilemma with other artists as well as having conversations with collectors in the area.
I still do both..but I'm closer to combining the two...and feel comfortable there.

—LB

My residency was valuable in two ways. Primarily it allowed me to experiment. I didn’t have distractions or pressure to create a final product like I do when working in my studio. I use the layering techniques I experimented with during my residency and increased skill in rendering depth in my work. Secondly, I benefited from the lively conversations with other artists doing their residencies. The discussions with each artist were both positive and inspiring and learning about their various processes was intriguing. I highly recommend enjoying a residency here. It is good for the soul and your artistic practice.

—PKW

My time spent in residency at Jen Tough gallery left me deeply inspired by the fantastic artists whom I shared a week in the summer of 2023. Playing with bolder colors, layering, encouraging movement, and developing a personal style became a goal after my experience in this creative and vibrant work environment.
Emulsion is one of many works on paper and canvas that represent the shift made from quieter, earthy pieces to dynamic palettes and brighter interpretations of themes.

—PR

Being surrounded by the incredible wildlife, vistas, and lighting in the Eldorado, Lamy, Santa Fe area is truly magical and gets the creative juices flowing. It's difficult to be in such a beautiful environment and not be inspired.

—PG

Immersive Glow was born from the refracted light and endless skies of Santa Fe. This atmospheric skyscape is a meditation on light, space, and presence—a visual deep breath wrapped in color. I painted it to hold that quiet moment when the sky seems to expand and everything softens. Layer upon layer of luminous tones mirror the shifting desert light, blending saturation with stillness. It’s both a window and a mirror, capturing the landscape outside and the clarity within.

—RK

I came into this residency planning to use a different palette (softer) than I normally do. I based my pieces on the sounds, smells, and colors that I experienced while visiting Santa Fe. My time at Jen Tough Gallery resulted in a calmer, yet rich in color mixes, that I fell in love with. I was able to play, mix, and create outside my normal frame of bold and bright.

—RV

The Light! On all those magnificent desert colors: lucious siennas, deep umbers, and rich ochres. How can one not but strive to replicate them!

—SM

The vast skies and incredible light were mesmerizing. I wanted to drink it all in, for it to last forever, to capture it in a box. I tried with my camera yet this magnificent landscape was too vast for that. It was more than landscape, it was a connection with something bigger. It wrapped itself around me and nestled into my being, The colors, the light, the purple mountains forever imprinted on me.

—SM

My time at the AIR Studios reinvigorated my creative practice, gifting me a lasting momentum that I carried home to my own studio and work flow. I had been dabbling back into live figure drawing before my residency, but after I got home I became much more diligent and consistent in going every week. I find figure drawing keeps my eye sharp and mind flexible in meeting creative challenges - skills that are integral to my creative practice in other mediums.

—SL