What Day is it?

“Help I’m alive, my heart keeps beating like a hammer.“ - lyrics from “Help I’m Alive” by Metric

It’s 2020 and over a year since I last posted. Despite lack of updates, I’m proud to say I did do 52 Paintings in 2019, one a week, for better or worse. All while this was going on though, what happened in 2019 that kept me from doing more updates aside from just forgetting and procrastinating?

• Got a new position at work

• Got pregnant

• Grandmother fell ill

• Parents moved

• Early labor

In one way or another, these all inspired a painting in some way. My project did impact other paintings, but with my project I was still able to explore new ideas and textures. At the start of this year, I had my baby and grandma passed away. It’s been one hell of a month.

How am I able to now post? For one thing, I’ve learned how to baby wrap, and also getting the hang of motherhood. I’m hoping with this I’ll be able to go back to creating. I already have a few ideas, some inspired by joy and others by sadness. Things will be slow, but things will come together. I’m still and always will be an artist.

Let’s get this show back on track, but on a new track.

Thoughtful Tuesday: 52 Paintings - #1

One of my more challenging, more difficult goals for this year is to do 52 paintings, a week so to speak. Art Con inspired the idea. Before Artist Day, I did a small quick study on canvas of my idea just to test my composition. After Art Con, I revisited the rough sketch, tweaked it here and there, and produced the below image. It got my wheels turning….. I spent maybe less than an hour total on the piece, what if I did this more often?

And thus…. 52 paintings idea was born. While my goal is to do 52 complete mini paintings, no bigger than 12” x 12”, I still hope to leave some imperfections. Sometimes an artist can overthink and make something too finish, when it just needs some rawness. That’s what I’m hoping for this goal - just do it, just paint. I’ve also finding how inspired I’ve been lately, with music and my own work. Thus, my first mini painting of the year is inspired by a poem I’m working on. This first piece currently untitled, I’ll have a more formal title soon. In the mean time, here is painting 1:

Better pictures coming soon……crappy lighting is…crappy….

I’ll likely start a new page somewhere here with a link to all the paintings and making other updates here. Yay goals!!

Currently Listening: Unleashed Memories - Lacuna Coil (oh feeling the inspiration)

Studio Sunday: First Artistic Weekend of 2019

It’s a New Year, and that really doesn’t matter, but I like beginnings and ends. Thus, below is my list of artistic goals for 2019, copied from a social media post.

- 52 mini paintings, one a week basically, no bigger than 12in x 12in
- Clean out studio space/sell/give away paintings
- Consider/research/actually try to get prints of my paintings done so they are more accessible to ship/sale.
- Revisit/revise a short story I wrote and submit it somewhere.
- Complete the novel I started/worked on in my workshop.

Six days in, how is it going so far?

- 1st mini painting complete (more on that Tuesday, hopefully)
- Cleaned studio up a bit and shared a painting on my Facebook to see if anyone is interested.

Not a bad start. Before New Years I focused on my novel and reread my short story. This weekend, I wanted to get back into painting. Saturday not enough time (lots of napping, really exhausted), but Sunday, I was able to listen to good music (Swallow the Sun, Ison, Below the Sun, Varathon) and get lost and focus. Here’s a sneak peek of a work in progress with not great lighting (excluding the mini painting):

Work in Progress

Currently Listening: Swallow the Sun (particularly latest songs Upon the Water and Lumina Aurea)
Currently Reading: Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Currently Watching: Vikings (catching up on weekends)

Thoughtful Tuesday (posted on a Saturday): November Reflection

Procrastinators will unite…..tomorrow….considering this is a much belated reflection (and I wrote this on Tuesday, but forgot to publish, oy).

Back in October before traveling to visit friends, I found out I had been accepted for the first time into Art Con, a nonprofit event that raises funds for a local arts related group/nonprofit. Essentially you apply and artists are selected as a raffle, then those selected go to Art Day where every artist is given the same size board to create art onsite. The following Saturday is Art Con, and the pieces are auctioned off. I’ve tried on and off for years to get in, and it’s always my birthday weekend, so I was shocked to find out I was finally lucky enough to be part of it. My piece went for $160. Achievement unlocked! It was also fun to run into people I haven’t seen in a while and to be with a friend for Art Day (check out @wrathbunny on Instagram!).

While I had every intention to stick around and try to be extroverted, October was filled with unfortunate family news. As a result, I couldn’t stay too late due to things needed to be done the next day. Family first is important. Nonetheless, I’m really glad I had the opportunity and hope I can be in it again someday. It was very challenging to make a piece of art onsite, especially when I’m experimenting (haven’t painted on board in a while). I have a few pics below from creation and onsite/at the event. If it’s one thing that this experience taught me, it’s that I can really create work without distraction and pure focus. That said, I’m thinking of challenging myself next year when it comes to my art - more to come on that.

The beginning, the middle (with safety glasses for stapling!), and the end on artist day.

Currently Reading: Anything for a Peaceville Life by Paul Hammy Halmshaw

Currently Watching: The Haunting of Hill House