All Nighters Art Everyday Month Day 19

Fridays are a long day for me,  I generally work until 6:30 or 7:00 at night with a full day of craziness to end the week but it's a day and evening I look forward to all week long. Why?  Because it's the day that I stay up and work on projects full force for as long as my eyes will stay open.  Sometimes that's 12:00 am, but most of the time I'll work until maybe 3:00 in the morning or later. I've pulled all nighters on occasion if my art schedule demanded it. And I love every minute of this uninterrupted creative time

I have a routine that I kinda varied from this evening because I got out a little later than normal from my day job (bankers actually work past 5 o'clock...way past 5 in our company.lol) ...I love to go and get a hot cup of coffee at the shop which carries a good portion of my work in Southern Pines (Swank Handmade Market and Coffee Shoppe), then I come home and just go to town with my painting projects. I hate to stop because I might not be able to get another few hours in until late on Saturday.  So I work until I can no longer anymore.  Creating while the rest of the world is asleep. I suspect there are a lot of us out there that like to work until the wee hours on whatever project it is that is calling our name.

 

I like to multitask and have my journal out by my side while painting to put xs paint on or test out stamps. I work in it while pieces are drying or if I need a distraction for a few minutes while I figure out my next steps.

This evening I'm grateful for the few hours of quiet time to reflect and play with my projects, the week has been long and stressful with lots of things pulling me in directions I'm not sure what way I want to go in and I still don't know what to do or which way to turn.  I do know though that I'm feeling better than I've felt all week because I was able to immerse myself in color and play a bit.  I say play because it hardly feels like work when I paint or market my creative business..can one actually have a job that feels like that??  I am working tonight though....creating lots of things this week that will be going to special homes (secret projects that I can't show because they are Christmas gifts for a few special orders),  class projects for upcoming workshops, and working on a new article I'm sending out (after taking a break from writing for a few months while I caught up with everything)....work?  Hardly.  Fun...absolutely. 

Fridays are the best days of the week :)

Saturdays are great too....they just don't rank as high because I have to put my paint brushes down and mop the floors and actually clean the palace..haha. :)  Reality.  

Oh..and this weekend I suppose I better go and get some food for Thanksgiving!  How did that sneek up so quickly on us???   It'll all work out even if it feels like a lot to get done between my real every day world and my extra fun world  of my creative business.  Focus.  One step at a time, smiling all the while doing the things I love.  If you let stress overcome you while you prepare for the things you love, it takes the joy out of doing them in the first place. I'm determined not to stress out this holiday season juggling my two worlds.

Breathe.

Relax

Enjoy

Have a great weekend. I hope you find a few hours of relaxation time to put the stress of your everyday world behind you so you can enjoy the upcoming season in all the ways you want to. Life's too short to not enjoy these moments :)

Winter In New York--WIP (and good news!!)

I didn't know where I was going until I arrived at my destination.

So much of the creative process is the willingness to let the canvas
speak to you as it evolves and takes on a life of it's own.
You can start with a sketch, formulate an idea, have a notion of what it is you want to communicate--and then be okay if the fork in the road tells you it is time to turn towards a new destination. Those that fight that direction to turn usually end up frustrated, standing still or worse yet--turn back. It's okay to pause and reflect, but move on you must.

I fully intended to make this new set of canvases in the same vein of the many other collections I've been creating as of lately, but this grouping seemed to speak to me in a different way. I loved the backgrounds that had evolved, they are in many ways when examined close up, deep, reflective and hauntingly peaceful. Perhaps it's the color combination, perhaps it's the many layers-whatever the case is, I decided to understate my little houses and show just shadows of others in a winter like scene.

Winter In New York
I wanted to show you a sample of where I'm at today. I haven't posted in the last several days because I've been extremely busy trying to complete several works in progress for a couple of different venues. I'm at the point right now where I just need to add some final details in the shading and then varnish and sign the pieces. What a relief. That will be done today for these pieces and I'll be halfway done with my projects. At some point today, I need to write an Artist Biography. Has anyone compiled one of their own? I've written a statement but a biography is different. I am trying to think of what right I have to even say I have a biography let alone one that someone would want to read--but I must try to put into 100 words or less what it is that I do, where I come from, and what is it that inspires me. That's a daunting task.
I've been so many places, emotionally and physically. I do many different things but am leaning towards focusing on just a few. Inspire surrounds me where ever I turn, but I suppose some things speak to me now more so than others. Where do I want to go? Forward. It's pretty simple. By revisiting the past through my memories and laying them down on a canvas, I'm hoping to move forward in my career as a full time artist (which by the way I'm only at the point where I can pay for a weeks groceries and my art supplies with what I make, but that's a starting point, right??). I'm no where near where I need to be to do this full time.

But good things are coming....and I need to allocate my time wisely, be productive, and be business like in what I do to keep my work flowing, profitable, and meaningful. And still make time for my family and my day job that pays the bills.

For those of you who are subscribers of Cloth, Paper, Scissors--perhaps you've seen my article, "Finding My Way Home"---it's finally published!!!! What a journey!!! I have only seen the PDF file sent to me for final approval as my artist copies have not arrived but a few little birdies sang out that they had seen it and it looked really nice. It's scary to think so many will be seeing up close and personal what I created, even scarier for me to think that so many will be reading what I wrote. Both make you so vulnerable, but at the same time, it's exhilarating and tremendously exciting!! I hope to have another article out in the Spring--some things are tentative now, so stay tuned for that, for now--please let me know what you think if you've seen it, and if you think this an avenue I should continue to pursue.

Next week--I'll let you know where the collection "Winter in New York" will find her home. Wait to you hear how this came about....it's funny how little things can open doors. :)

Till next time,
Don't be afraid to turn if the sign tells you that this is the right way to go. Life is an adventure, be ready to roll with it!