Monday, April 21, 2008

some days are just kind of rambling days ....

oh heavens!
sometimes it is hard to keep this an art blog!!  
particularly when the art is not easily forthcoming!!!
particularly when the weather is so pretty that you just want to play outside ..... and not be in a windowless basement art studio ..... (if this weren't an art blog, i would tell you about the brisk, cool, long dog walk this morning, the two and a half hours of tennis in perfect sunshine, the two mile procrastination walk through the neighborhood, or the one mile evening walk/scooter
 with my kids ..... but it's an art blog, not an exercise blog)
particularly when i have announced to the world that i'm working on a big ole' orange canvas .... and the orange is completely not working for me .... (art blog, not a complaining blog)
particularly when ..... well ... groceries, laundry, weekend detritus spread in a layer throughout the house .... (say it with me, art blog, not housekeeping blog)

but .... on to the business at hand .... i have the artist's equivalent of writer's block .... which means the whole painty thing just isn't happening ....
what do i do when the painty things aren't jiving? 
-sort buttons
-clean icky brushes in alcohol to try and revive them
-paint papers
-sort papers
-do five minute intervals on the treadmill between art chores
-play with the dog
-rummage through boxes of groovy collage ephemera (i've done NO chunky art lately ....)
-work on backgrounds
-write out to do lists
-write out art supply shopping lists (need golden's fluid acrylic raw umber and big soft brushes)
-organize paint bins
-dither and diddle on my computer
 
the good new is, that my new year's resolution of 100 canvases this year is well under way and on target ..... i have no doubt i'll do more than 100 canvases this year .... so feeling a bit like a staller for the last couple days is ok ..... but i'm still puttering along .... the three photos on this post are of backgrounds that i worked on today ... all minimally worked on ... but ... worked on is worked on .... 

the better news is, that the owners of savannah art works, SAW gallery in savannah came by my house on  saturday!! and they liked my art .... they bought a batch of my prints to put in their gallery .... and they took six canvases on commission .... so cross your fingers that i will have a long and happy relationship with SAW ... yippee ..... 
oh ... and can i just say a little bit more about that? it is SOOOOOOO so so so scary to try and get into a gallery ... the ever present, what if they don't like me? is horrifying ..... my pal, al, gave me the contact .... and when i emailed her to say the meeting had been successful, she said :yippee, you are so brave .... smile .... she thinks i'm brave ... she gets it .... i think being an artist is frightening .... my art is really bearing my soul to the world ... ack, what if the world doesn't like the glimpses of my soul????or wonders why my soul is full of bingo cards and dictionary pages? (please don't wonder that!) eep! really, it is just too too too much to psycho analyze much .... i am not very introspective ... i'm pretty much what you see is what you get .... so when i am introspective it sure does make me squirm! ..... anyhoo..... they like me .... and i thought i was proud and happy ... but allison gave me the word i needed ...i'm brave .... 

we also had an interesting talk about confidence .... how can i be so full of confidence in some parts of my life and so full of self doubt in other bits? life sure is tricky, huh? 

so.... brave .... yet momentarily uninspired artistically .... but reveling in spring .... 
how are you?

6 comments:

shrink on the couch said...

I had a tennis morning too -- we were supposed to start at 9:30 but it started drizzling at 9:15. I do believe it rained nowhere else in the whole city but right above our courts. So we pitched a change, moved to our home courts 2 miles away where it wasn't raining, and played the match (won, too!)

Its always a good day when tennis is involved, no matter how much procrastination goes on!

Oh, and, I wore my artsy birks today in honor of your blog. My dau said, "oh look at those cute little toesies"

: D

Heidi said...

let me remind you...this is your blog and you can whine if you want!

cool deal for your prints and art to get into the savannah art gallery!

lynn said...

so true, BRAVE. so very true! i was just telling my husband how i was never really able to persue my artistic inclinations because NONE of my peers were of the artistic persuasion. and for goodness sakes, i have ALWAY been a follower, not a leader. be brave!

thanks for thAT!!!

Darla said...

I checked the link to the gallery and it looks just like your kind of place. I'm sure you are delighted.

Darla

Jeannie said...

wow a new gallery for you! YEAH
What is that now 3 or 4!!
YOU are such an ARTIST!

and man I hope there are not to many strict blogging rules -- or I am doomed

Jennifer said...

Beautiful entry. I like the mix of art and life so thanks for the orange parts! Congrats on being liked. It is an act of bravery to approach galleries and yeah...what if the world doesn't like my soul...that is really what we contend with. Thanks for your sharing poetic style of reflection :-)