A mixed bag of metaphors this week, too many balls in the air, too much on the proverbial plate. First off, big news from the UK. Ebb Tide, my photo above, has been selected by The SIDE Gallery in Newcastle for an online show titled Local Color and will be shortlisted for a future physical show that hasn’t been announced yet. They are highly respected and known for their photography archives - here’s a link to their website. https://sidegallery.co.uk/ In other news, the build up for my show at The Commons, which I’m hanging next week, is going well although I’m on the fence about framing one more piece. Here’s a link to my page on their website’s calendar of events. https://www.provincetowncommons.org/commons-events/2026/4/29/works-on-paper-the-charcoals-by-maureen-mccarron. Also the press releases I sent out got responses from both Provincetown publications, and the Independent has asked for more images so they can feature me on their Indie’s Choice art section of the paper the week of the opening.

In the meantime, the art advisor who has a number of smaller paintings on hold for her building interior project will be here Friday to make her decisions. I have added a few to her selections as suggestions because they work so nicely with what she has already picked out. A couple of them needed a bit of retouching, and this led to some more serious reworking. Calliope, the black cockatoo above, is one of them. I wanted to see if that which worked with the charcoals would work with paint, and I have to say I don’t hate it. There’s another one that’s not done but now has a hot metallic background because Regina, below, one of the art advisor’s picks that needed a little retouching, has one as well. I’d forgotten how much I love a gold background - the way the color changes with the light or when the viewer moves, the contrast of the shiny surface with the matte satin of the bird’s colors. I may be doing more of them as a result soon. OK, on with the day - let’s go.

No photos of New York this week, there’s been too much going on. First is the press release I put together for my upcoming show at The Commons. And BIG NEWS! I signed a contract with the Ali Gray Gallery here in Provincetown. I’ll be included in a group show at the end of May, and a show of my own in August where I’ll share the space with a sculptor who creates what she calls spirit birds, it will be a good fit. Here’s the link to my page on the gallery website - https://aligraygallery.com/artist/maureen-mccarron.

Also signed this week was a new lease on my apartment since I’m unable to move to the UK at the end of May, as I mentioned last week. I can leave with a month’s notice if the opportunity avails itself, but since airfares are now more than double what I paid for my trips there at this time of the year, it may be a while before that happens. In the meantime, I met online with the art advisory consultant who I thought was interested in my doing a mural. In fact, she wants a group of smaller paintings for an office interior she’s working on. Luckily she likes the older work, and this motivated me to bring out some of the earlier birds to show her. One of them, Ichabod above, got repainted this week with a much warmer palette. He’ll certainly look good with the ones she’s selected so far, as would LeRoi, below, which is the oldest piece I still have on hand and was my first bird chosen for a juried show.

Anyway, the galley contract - check, the new lease - check, the press release - check and the art advisory consultant meeting - check, what else happened this week? Ah, right my old lady foot which my GP said needed surgery but the podiatrist he referred me to said it’s a bone spur and surgery wasn’t necessary. Maybe cortisone down the road, but I’m not in chronic pain so why mess with it. Interesting, the gallery owner, the art advisory consultant and the podiatrist are all women. Sensible ones, flexible ones. No bullying or bombast, I like it.

As promised, I’m continuing my NYC photos theme from last week. One can not do a Manhattan spread without water towers, so here are four favorites. Next time, it could be construction sites, because I love them. In the meantime, Facebook has reminded me that it’s been two years since I bought my first tickets to visit Paul in Newcastle. It was a stressful experience. Hitting that final Pay button and dealing with visas and such should’ve been the worst of it, but, no. Getting from Provincetown to Logan in Boston takes almost four hours regardless of how many cars and or buses are involved, and on that first trip, I was halfway there on the airport shuttle when I got a text that my flight was cancelled. The driver, who was listening to my frantic phone calls, said since I had to stay on the bus until it reached Logan anyway, I might as well relax and demand British Airlines put me on another flight once we arrived.

Eventually, I ended up on KLM, which took me to Amsterdam instead of London. But even with the extra couple of flying hours, I was in Newcastle almost on time. I liked the Amsterdam airport enough that I took KLM again for the next trip. The third visit was that disastrous British Air experiment to save time and money, where everything that could go wrong without actually crashing did. Never again. On the fourth trip I went KLM again, but you may recall my being stuck in Amsterdam overnight on the way home. For the last visit, I tried Aer Lingus to Dublin which was shorter as well as cheaper, and because Logan and Dublin have a special arrangement, getting through US Customs was easier. Now that I’m this experienced traveller, that will be the way I go. If I ever get to go, that is.

When people ask why the hell I’m still here, I avoid politics and blame it on money. I just know when I was in Newcastle last October, our plan was for me to move there after my Commons show closes in mid-May. But these days I have been renewing my lease and looking for a seasonal summer job. I’ve begrudgingly accepted having to stay stateside and keep busy here for the time being. I’ve ordered new business cards and the announcement for the Commons show. A new gallery owner is coming for a studio visit later today because she wants to include me in an exhibition. I was also contacted by someone else who wants to discuss a possible mural project. Oooh, I see a giant bird head, à la the Easter Island totems, and a landscape with castle ruins on a distant hill in the background.

Yep, I’m up for that - Onward.