Goals

Trying to get back to painting more often and posting more too.  Seems like the most important thing (painting) gets put on the back burner more than anything else. Feels good to get up earlier to paint, and get back to better habits than watching tv or oversleeping!

Have to stay with it this time, and not give up.  Hard to be inspired these days.  Most of the time I am teaching art classes or creating frames, so I am really tired, and certainly not motivated.  So I have to make my painting time come first.  Then the rest of the day can fall into place.

Having said all that, now I must make it a personal challenge, and find ways to stay inspired. Paintings that have a deeper meaning, or that have things hiding in them seem to hold my interest the most.  But if they do not come together right off the bat, then I tend to put them aside and resolve them later.

 I need to plan ahead better, and stick with it.  Also, I need to not start the new ones until I finish current paintings.  When I enter some art shows I tend to get excited and finish up a few more too.

My problem is that I don't see  results very often.  A sale now and then, A commission.  A ribbon or an award here and there; it is all encouraging, but hard to make enough to make a living.  So I teach more classes, or take in more framing jobs. Then I don't have the time to paint.....not a good cycle.

I am open to hearing ideas on how you get inspired or what helps you stay on track.

Christ- Mass

It was called a mass for Christ.  Yet we focus on all the rush and business of this time of year.  Me included.  Just breath.  Slow down.  It isn't going to all be perfect, it isn't going to make every one happy, and I am not able to make it all as I think it should be!  So take a step back, laugh at all the stress and expectations and set them aside.

If I don't send the cards out on time, oh well.  If I don't get a certain gift for a certain child, oh well.  We have the whole year to give and bless and love each other!!!!  Why do we wait for one day out the year?

There, now I feel better.  Enjoy the beauty of the season, pray a lot, and ask God to show us how we can do something to help those in need, all year.

Merry Christmas!

gifts

Just read a great book called One Thousand Gifts,  by Voskamp.  Hard to get through it.  So challenging on every level.

My paintings have always been a way of thanking the Good Lord for the wonders of nature.  But now I am thanking him for the not so beautiful and wonderful things in life too.  

I have this deep ugly scar on my stomach, from my belly button down.  It has been 6 months since the surgery, and still it is tender and itchy.  When my appendix ruptured, and I didn't know it for a couple of weeks, it messed up my female organs.   It encapsulated on my ovary, and everything became a gooey sticky mess. (Which actually saved my life by containing the poisons.) They took it all out, a complete hysterectomy and an appendectomy.

Instant menopause has been quite difficult.  More difficult than I could have imagined.  

This book of gifts has helped me see it all in a new way.  I was honestly thankful for another chance at life, but this is different.  Now I see my scar as beautiful.  I no longer cringe at the sight of it.  And now I laugh (instead of crying) at my new weird personality changes. I am a full spectrum, like a teenager with raging hormones, and not usually the good ones. My poor husband doesn't know which side of me will burst out next!  But he is patient, and I have found that his love is enduring.  

On a deeper level, my deep scars of child abuse and foster homes are also a beautiful thing.  The healing is going to another level.  Not just being ok with it all, but being able to thank the Almighty for all of it.

Just needed to put that out there.  

I want to start a new challenge: to paint a thousand gifts.  Not sure what form it will take yet.  Don't feel that I can do one every day again, but I do want to set something in motion. I want it to be paintings of things in a new point of view:  unexpected or maybe several gifts all in one painting, even if they don't really go together. Some will be of things that aren't so beautiful, yet they will have significance.   I think it will be like a poem with images.  

Don't have time, really.  Summer art programs to create, and a gallery to run.  But I believe this is something I will lose sleep over if I don't do it! So it will be a new series, and a wonderful challenge, and I am excited to see where it takes me.

Daily Paintings

I am struggling with my daily routine. I have always gotten up early to steal a few hours for myself. Even as a teenager. I love my prayer time, then exercise or take a walk, then do a painting........ But lately I choose to sleep! It is a good relaxed, stress free sleep too. Never have enjoyed it before. I tell myself "I am just a peace," and "it is good to rest," but I wonder if it isn't just laziness too.

So I am trying to only sleep in for an hour or so, and still get up at least an hour early, but that hasn't been working, I just don't want to get up! Then I never get the chance to have my quite time and I get grumpy through the day.

I think what I miss the most is my Daily Paintings. They are suffering! I am not doing the quality or amount of work I did so regularly. But I am doing commissions, which I love! If I post my work consistently at DailyPainters.com, I gain such a great following, and when I don't post often, then I lose many of those who had been following my progress.

I love all the new features at DP too. (http://www.dailypainters.com) You can change the preferences to a mosaic layout, which enlarges many of the smaller paintings. You can also change the background to black or white.

So I have to get myself back into shape and see where it takes me. No promises, but I do think I am more aware of it all, so some changes are certainly on the way!

A New Challenge

2,000 Paintings in 30 Days – the Daily Painting Challenge at DailyPainters.com Online art gallery members to produce 2,000 original paintings in 30 days, from June 15 – July 15

Erie, CO May 23, 2007 -- The artists of the Daily Painters Gallery have been busy. Since September 2006, they've posted over 10,000 original paintings to their online gallery at DailyPainters.com. From June 15 to July 15, 2007, they will be attempting a new group record: 2,000 paintings in 30 days. The members of DailyPainters.com represent a growing movement in the art world, known as 'daily painting' or 'painting-a-day'. These artists strive to produce one small painting every day, or nearly so, and post them for sale on their online gallery. Even with all of their other commitments -- art fairs, gallery commitments, commission paintings, full-time jobs, and other demands of everyday life, these artists love their daily painting routine. It's a great way to stay fresh and stay focused, and it's fun, even if it is a lot of hard work. And, art collectors can't get enough of it.

The Daily Painters Gallery is a great place for art collectors, decorators, and homeowners to find affordable original art and discover new painters. Visitors can browse the latest paintings, browse by artist, search by category, and visit the artists' blogs. And, visitors can subscribe to daily email updates to get the latest art in their inbox every morning. Because the paintings are sold directly by the artists, prices are more affordable than your local gallery, with many paintings starting under $100. With over 10,000 paintings in one easy to use website, finding that one-of-a-kind piece for your home has never been so fun.

DailyPainters.com was founded in 2006 by artist Micah Condon and has since grown to include over 120 artists. DailyPainters.com artists have been featured in The New York Times, USA Weekend Magazine, The Boston Globe, Art Business News, Domino Magazine, The Washington Express, Wired Magazine, and more.

http://www.dailypainters.com/