Tag: Keeping busy

Inspiration to keep you busy.

My year in review

My Artist Website

My year in review

My year in review is not really a year, it is more like 6 months since I have started my website. I have had an online presence on various social media sites and others like Redbubble and zazzle. therefore it will be interesting to look at this post in another 6 months. Maybe I should do a review every 6 months instead.

I continue to learn and experience new things at every corner, never getting bored. Making new friends in the art circle is absolutely essential to me and this helps a lot to avoid feeling alone. Sometimes being an artist can be isolating. It is great to have the help of peers to review my work. Old friends and new always seem to come up with great ideas and suggestions. Of course trying to get and keep a thick skin can be tough sometimes, but true friends help. They don’t tear me down, but bring me up, elevating my work in the process. Friends help teach me and I hope to discover more friends continuously.

I am happy with my progress although I wish it was faster and further along. Some progress is better than none. I certainly look forward to the future. This is partly due to the constant instant gratification we get from perusing the internet, but it is also due in part to the amount of finished pieces I have. In the future I wish to actually finish more of my pieces.

Organization

I did start the year being fairly organized and still make progress organizing more. I am hoping to make my online presence more noticeable, get more followers and learn how to wield that weapon. Making more posts on the various social platforms makes me realize I need to have more material to post.

My year in review causes me to post a picture here of an old transistor cabinet remade into an organizational tool for my tubes of paint and other odds and ends. It was exciting to be able to do this and I think it will be very useful. I can find out at a glance where each color is and what I may need to replace.

Going forward, I hope to have a larger online presence and maybe travel more. I do think travel is very good for an artist.

What am I currently working on?

My Artist Website

What am I Currently Working on?

Okay, well, I am always busy. I am working on promoting my art, through social media, selling on several sites like Redbubble, Society6, and Zazzle. I spend time getting on sites like Instagram and Reddit to expose my art because I like to get feedback and constructive criticism. Watching tons of videos about art and artists helps me to learn new techniques. I get inspired by other artists and find their passion contagious.

Lately I’ve been really doing a lot of digital art and manipulation because the weather here in Connecticut has not been very good. My Goldfish was an original pastel painting that I experimented with. I use a lot of different software and find this a great outlet for my creativity.

It has been very rainy and humid, and while this does give some opportunity for some great pictures, it isn’t the best situation for en plein air painting. Although a lot of these pictures seem dull and gray, I may just play around with them because I think they are pretty..

Painting in Progress

At my studio I need to work on this painting that was done en plein air at my sister in law’s farm up in New Hampshire. I would love to add more color to this also. Just wondering how I want to proceed with that, so it’s cooking in my brain.

Be Socially Involved

I seek the company of other artists both in real life and online. Going to art shows, museums and events are something I do on a regular basis. I also volunteer in a myriad of ways like setting up art shows, judging, advertising, serving on commissions, and fundraising. I get to meet a lot of people this way. There is always something for me to do.

To purchase my art on a variety of cool things visit my other art stores.

Redbubble

Society6

Zazzle

Inspiration

My Artist Website

Inspiration

Where to find inspiration and keep it.

I find inspiration everywhere.  Inspiration comes from just noticing and looking around myself through what I like to call an artist’s eyes, looking differently at all things. Looking beyond. Taking the time to notice. The sky, ocean, reading a book, visiting museums, seasonal changes, friends, hiking, weather, any trip and even my own back yard offer opportunities. Combining different objects and views offer me an almost unlimited and rich tapestry to chose from.

Choosing my Art

I find it helpful to chose what will motivate me and things that I love. The art is an expression of what I like and how I feel about a specific topic. It is very personal, and in this way it compels me to create. Almost as if i’ve been struck by lightening that travels down my arm and into my hands, it is something that must be done.

Balance

I think I am addicted to both the known results of a piece and the unknown surprises. It’s predictability lends itself to a certain comfort and it is unpredictable in pleasant and sometimes unpleasant ways at the same time. There is a certain balance. Creating is also experimentation to some extent and there is an unlimited amount of ways to experiment. It’s about capturing a moment in time.

I think art almost all the time, it is a distraction and yet is a very powerful way to communicate. Art is everywhere, it is essential.

CYN