Simplicity
Now for the subject of simplicity. This is where I have been heading with my life for a long, long time...the simpler the better. I'm now focusing my attention on enjoying each day as much as I possibly can, and in order for me to do that I need SIMPLICTY.
Having just finished a good portion of my spring cleaning, I can feel a tremendous difference in my living space. I did a major dekludge of 'neccessary' items and gave them away by the box load. There is more empty space here now and that's just about as simple as you can get!
Some of my artwork is also extremely simple, as you can see from the above example. That painting is 2 foot by 2 foot and it's so simple in its design that I find it very soothing.
Simple things in life are so very entertaining for me these days. I used to think that I had to have people around me all the time, music had to be blaring constantly, and things had to be happening...otherwise I might get bored. Wow, what a horrible thing to have happen...a little boredom. But I avoided it at all costs and nearly sacrificed my life at one point because I didn't want to be bored, believe it or not. When I was a young lass, I would be thoroughly entertained by spending time alone in my room writing or drawing. For some odd reason when I got into my 20's and 30's, I was unable to enjoy that simplicity anymore and moved to the other end of the spectrum. Now I am right back to where I started....more centered than ever before. What a relief!
776 Postcards
Whew! I finished that project that I started the first week of this year, and I actually did it in way less time than I thought I would. The next thing will be to make a video or two featuring some of my favorite postcards from that bunch. As usual, there are only a few that are really special to me.
This was quite an undertaking and I still don't know exactly WHY I began the whole thing. I accomplished those things that I set out to do, however, and that was the main focus. I reduced my collage pile drastically and now no longer have a huge bag of 'save these for later' papers in it. People on my snail mail list who haven't heard from me for 2 years, finally got some communication. More folks showed up at my new website, which is linked directly to my eBay store. I learned a lot more about design, contrast, composition, etc. My snail mail list has been updated and cleaned out with new addresses. AND I got two magazine submissions compiled and submitted on my Postcard Project.
Since I sent those submissions in over a month ago, I haven't heard anything from either magazine, but I'm not too terribly disappointed about that. The thing to do is to continue submitting materials until I finally get myself published. I have another project in mind......
I'm feeling pretty satisfied today after completing the Postcard Project. I never thought I could do it when I first started out on it, so I'm proud of the fact that I was able to follow thru on it.
Mediocrity
This week's blogging topic has been Mediocrity and my fellow VIMsters (one of my art groups) have posted some unique, interesing and hilarious posts in their blog this week. I just love artists and that wild, creative imagination that each one has!!!
I'm not feeling particularly inspired by much of anything right now, so Mediocrity seems like a comfy place to park for the moment. A new subject has appeared in our discussions now...professionalism. Perhaps this was spurred into being by the Mediocity subject. I've passed the 700 mark on my Postcard Project, so I'm in the final stretch on that one. The 2 images above are from my latest batch and I simply printed out some of my OLD scribbles and drawings onto some cardstock to use for the postcard background before adding the color images or newer works. A new project has begun the initial stages and this is one of asking for group participation on a video to place into YouTube. This group is called KATS, and it's mainly for cat painters, cat people, and people who are owned by cats. The stunning array of cat paintings available on eBay is remarkable indeed. I am expecting this video to become something really beautiful. IF I can get enough participation. I am waiting to hear from artists that would like to submit an image to add to the video. Then I can compile the whole thing and download it and give the KATS group a link to the video to follow. Hopefully, this will instill further excitement from other artists, as well, as I am pushing to get YouTube to give Art it's very own category. Currently, we have nothing and basically put our videos in wherever we think our videos will get viewed. Getting all of this to happen is a bit like pushing a huge boulder uphill, but tenacity is my middle name.
650 Postcards
As I am nearing the end of this Postcard Project, I find myself trying to speed things up and get the process completed. This, of course, leads to mediocrity. At points in time during this process, I created a complete batch of decent little postcards that I was proud of and there wasn't a bad one in the batch.
Those are the good days!! Other times I have had an assembly line set up and cranked out postcards by the dozens and only had a few of them that truly pleased me. I don't allow this to bother me much, because I have viewed thousands of paintings by other artists. Even the great Masters had some works that were mediocre at best, but that was from my viewpoint only. Some of their works were stunning to me and I couldn't take my eyes off of the finished products. While others... But I am not an art critic, thank god. Art and mediocrity are likewise in the eye of the beholder.
More Florida painting updates
The remaining Florida paintings that I have in stock currently are being updated. If they were bright and colorful, I am muting the colors, as in the top photo. Several of my geometric Florida abstracts are now taking on this new look. The gold paint is actually iridescent and in this photo it looks like a matte finish. The bottom image was muted before, and I was changing the colors on it, when an 'accident' occured in my color mixing process, so I decided to leave it the way that it was just to see what responses I might get with the bright palette on it. By repainting these Florida paintings, other artists are verbally responding more to them when they see them. Much more so than before. So I am hopeful that I am moving in the right direction with these. I continue to change my mind all the time about my past finished works. It's always better when they sell immediately and are removed from my clutches...otherwise they will be changed repeatedly.
Importances
What seems to happen to most of us artists is that we have difficulty deciding which things are the most important to accomplish. Trying to create artwork is basically a full-time occupation as it is, but then keeping the admin/books and handling the marketing is also part of the self-employment game.
I wish that I could say I am on top of all this, but the truth is that I am usually running behind. Not only do the ideas appear faster than I can create them, but sometimes I simply run out of steam and can't create anything for a bit. Then after doing a pile of marketing and bookkeeping or nothing at all...the old creative juices are in full resurgence again and I complete a pile of paintings all at once.
For years now I have attempted to regulate my schedule more and follow a routine, but this never seems to become part of the normal. I know plenty of people that can work that way, but so far I haven't become one of them.
Above are a couple new ones that I listed today. I finished a few others, too, but have to wait until I have some daylight in order to photograph them properly.
Winding Up
Our VIM art group of bloggers is blogging about 'winding up' this week and for once I am following the topic. The first thing that comes to mind for me is to 'wind up' my Postcard Project that I began in early January. So far I have completed 585 postcards since I began and I still have a couple hundred more before I have finished my entire snail mail list. I don't that it is going to be accomplished this week. Thus far, I have been working on it in spurts and sometimes complete 50-75 one week and only a few the next. Many, many changes have been occuring for me while working on this self-imposed project. The biggest realization has been that 95% of my artwork has been too colorful for most people's home decor. And probably too 'edgy' for most people, as well. If I lived in Mexico or Italy and sold my work there, I think I would be fine. But here in the US people are into NEUTRALS and muted color palettes for their homes. I'm someone who purchases my home decor at the local thrift store and I will match pink swivel chairs from the 60's with hand-painted purple end tables. And then when I move...it all goes out to the curb for pick-up and I start all over again in my new abode with a new colored palette. Apparently, I never passed beyond the hippie phase when it comes to interior decorating. I watch the decorating shows on HGTV with interest and love the sophisticated, clean look of people like Candice Olsen on Divine Design. She is just the cutest person and I adore the guys that she has working with her on the show. It's peppy and perky and she pulls together designs to die for. My artwork would NEVER work in one of her designs...well, maybe a piece here and there. But for the most part, I see very few rooms that would suit my style. About 100 of my recent postcards showcased interior designs for different rooms that I had cut from a magazine and I had a difficult time finding any of my artwork that would fit with the decor! This was a very interesting exercise for me to do and it opened my eyes to what buyers want more than ever before. In my own home, paintings can hang from floor to ceiling on every single wall. I might put the various series together in one area, but that's really the only thought that I give to placement. I'm definately not trying to match a color scheme....and forget sophistication and simplicity! I look at empty, bare walls in finished rooms with dismay and chagrin. I want to write to the people at HGTV and ask them "What are you thinking?" But that is what people seem to prefer in most cases. Look in the design magazines. You would never find a room that had floor to ceiling paintings unless you were in a castle in Europe somewhere. This is the US...it's very different. Another factor that has completely changed my outlook on my artwork is the oil painting class that I have been taking for the past 2 months. The emphasis has been on shapes and values and for the first time ever, I have begun to SEE what the instructors are talking about. I watch them paint and I see these images appear from the end of their brushes that are predominantly neutral colors of greys and browns, but because of the shapes and values they painted first...the work is absolutely wonderful. Sometimes I am so in love with an underpainting that another artist has done that I want to grab the paintings and run from the building before they ruin it by adding more. I've been going thru my art inventory in recent weeks and changing the colors and designs bit by bit. Paintings that were brightly colored only a few weeks ago are now grey and muted. I know this new phase of creativity will pass in time, just like the Black & White phase that I went thru a couple years back. Everything that I made was Black & White and I even gave that name to that whole series. It was fun and I enjoyed doing it, just as I am currently enjoying this current evolution.
|
|
Doodles 124
6:30 am on a Sunday??
Black & White image
Florida 59
Viacom vs Google
Tour de Chaos
Pet Video Contest #10
Klimt revisited
A lot to be grateful for....
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
July 2008
|
