#sponsorslastfour #disruptedmilitaryspouseportraits From December 2024 Sponsor's Last Four: Kimberly , 12" x 12," Oil, Pastel, Charcoal, Gouache, and spray paint on Arches Oil mounted on Aluminum panel, 2024. As my husband approaches retirement from the military, I find myself thinking about this term often. " Sponsor's Last Four. " It 's so common in my life and those around me that it seems normal. And if a military spouse were to read this, they would know exactly w

From January 2025 Coffee for Two: All My Friends Are Not Here. 2024. Oil, Pastel, Gouache, Charcoal and Acrylic on Arches Oil Transitions are hard; they always are. The rhythm of life is upended- the familiar replaced with the unnamed- comfort with anxiety and struggle. Everyday tasks become monumental. And your friends? Spread to the far corners of the earth- literally. As military spouses, we become adept at the art of saying goodbye. We seal our sorrows down deep, pu

Work waiting to be hung at Gallery 126 for Being Between Being Between: Exploring Liminal Experiences Through Drawing and Painting    Vanessa Osmon (My portion of the Artist Statement for Group Show with Hillary Price) "Military spouses relocate every 2-3 years, often moving across cities, states, and countries. As a 20-year military spouse, I create drawings and paintings that reflect this constant state of transience or “disruption.”  Spouses, living in a continuous liminal

Small Commission for Moving Spouse I never consider myself an illustrator. I made a concious choice years ago to avoid it. Partly because I tend to feel cornered by illustrations and commisions. There are expectations to meet and the disappointment on both ends when artwork doesn't come out as expected can create a loss of time (and in the artists case, time and materials) . My work is usually large, textural, and very expressive. I tend to think of it as abstraction, r

Coffee and My Sketchbook: Spending Time Reflecting on My Work and other Things While the US was exploding this week, I laid down my brushes on It's A Precious Commodity that Keeps You on Your Feet. Tempted to paint the work "to details" (meaning to get really tight, refined, smooth, acceptable, or " good"* )- is never my intent, so I had to stop. Portraits and figurative works can be many things, expressed in many ways. There are the smooth, slick pieces that dazzle you

#milspofan #disruptedmilitaryspouseportraits Last October, I discovered a wonderful little organization called Military Spouse Fine Arts...

#sponsorslastfor #disruptedmilitaryspouseportraits The Art of Hello and Goodbye being unloaded from Tiny, Harlem, NYC On May 17, we...

I found this work challenging; of course, they are all challenging. (Ask any artist and they can list all the challenges they had for an...

#stationsareforcomingandgoing Stations are for coming and going. A repeated theme in military spouse life: PCS. (Permanent Change of...

Photo of a Photo - the Story This pastel, All Our Finery 2: Survivors of the Storm Surge, 18" x 24", is a still life loaded with personal...

It's the first time that I've (we've) lived on post. If you are in the military or married into the military, you know that means...

How it Got Started It started like this: We had been living on West Point for a year. (It was actually the first time I had lived on a...