Monday, December 17, 2018

Laments of the Easily Distracted

"In The Deep Mid-Winter", 18x18" mixed media on wood panel. That cool grey is actually silver... so of course, this looks better IRL. The metallic gives it a glimmer when the sun hits it. I'm counting this as one of my 100 Squares, because it's square, and I really wanted to hit the 50 mark by the end of the year. By going larger, I got distracted....

Sometimes I feel like i have the attention span of a gnat. I totally admit it... show me something shiny and I will immediately forget about what I'm doing. It's getting worse as I get older. Sometimes I will start 3 or 4 different projects over the course of a day, and not actually get anything finished. It's quite annoying.

Another problem I have is that I get bored easily. I think that's why I have embraced abstract art the way I have. My figurative work was interesting for a time, but then it became almost formulaic for me, and ceased to be a challenge. And once I'm bored of something, that's it, I can't do it anymore.

Abstract work is different. Every painting presents a new challenge. I think my process suits this aspect of my personality... I start by making random marks, and then I have to make that into something that works visually. The more I do the faster things go.... it's almost like playing chess; I'm improving, but I can't yet see a few moves ahead and figure out in advance if something is going to work or not.

Sometimes things go very slowly. I will do something I have never done before, like try a new medium (I've mixed moulding paste in with my paint on this one to hold my brush marks) or something I'm not sure will work (like this piece, where I stuck peeled off bits of dried paint onto my board before I started). Then have to figure out how to make it work. A future experiment is to give a panel and some mark making tools to my nephew's 3 year old daughter, and then work with what happens there. That should be fun.

The advantage of working small is that even though these experiments can take longer than usual, nothing really takes all that long with you're working on a 10x10" panel. 2018 has been all about the small. But I do think it's time for me to move into the world of larger pieces, so while I still have half my 100 Square Project to finish (this is #50 guys! I hit the half way point!!), I will be starting to work a bit bigger. I've got some 20x20 panels, some 24x30s, and a few 30x40". I've also been toying with the idea of doing another large diptych... even though I'm not sure where I'll put it when I'm done. There are not too many walls in my wee house that can manage a 40x60" painting.

I have some other plans for 2019. Right now I'm working on a schedule of sorts, so my followers can catch what they're interested in. In the world of magazines (where I worked at the beginning of my career) it is an "editorial calendar". I figure this will make it easier for me to create regular, predictable content instead of the haphazard way I've been doing it for the past few years. It'd be good for me not to be sitting down on a Sunday night wondering what I'm going to write about on Mondays blog post. This happens with alarming regularity.

I'll also be migrating my new art releases over to my proper website... because that's really where they should be if I'm going to be serious about selling these things. I'm trying to think like a business owner instead of a flaky creative, being distracted by every shiny new thing that comes along. I've managed to find a focus for my work, and now I need to focus everything else. I'll be adjusting as I go along and see what resonates with my followers... so please, if there is something you'd like to see, let me know and I will do my best to accommodate.

I'm taking a couple weeks off the blog to catch up on other stuff. Maybe even do some social outings and get in touch with friends I haven't seen in a while. I know I need to do some Christmas baking, since I've been asked if the usual cookies are going to make an appearance this year (I totally slacked off last year, and only made one batch of each. Not enough for sharing. My work friends were disappointed).

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, with time enough to do the things you really want to do, not just the obligatory stuff. I'll see you back here the first Monday in 2019.

Peace and Light,
Marianne


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