We Artist’s are already gearing up for our next new, outstanding piece of art which will be our next masterpiece. Many things motivate me but one is not negative politics or the news. That gets very old pretty quickly.
I have a daily warm up sketch book that I just doodle in while I am drinking my first cup of coffee. Most Artist’s I know are very disciplined when it comes to making Art. We all have our routines and rituals. I always have coffee first , then water and then I put rose or lavender hand cream on my hands to massage them before slapping them into gloves. Yes, some arthritis has begun to seep into my hands I have noticed on the cold mornings. This cream saves my skin, cuticles and nails. I already have 3 fans running in the studio. I may review what I did yesterday or the day before , that is– before I start something new. I always have more than one piece going on in the studio. I have already chosen my color pallets to use. I can adjust as I go along. I often keep charts and I keep an ongoing diary of what was made, with what, and how long it took me to make it. I also note what I like and would like to change next time . Or even how it dried. After painting 100’s of paintings you must have some sort of organizational skills by now. I rarely paint straight from the tube unless its “gold” which I use a lot of. I always have for decades.
In my downtime, I answer questions, run a blog, emails, phone calls, texts or likes on my instagram @artbytsh or social network feed. Always keeping the wheels rolling you might say. Promoting and selling your art is a full-time job. At Christmas I send thankyou’s and a gift to those who have supported my art during the year . I have not made a You Tube Channel yet as you can learn anything on there . I really want to have time to paint.
I check into my etsy account daily @artstudio222tsh to see if anything is shaking there. Which I have been testing now for over 2 months. I try not to spend more than 30 minutes total a day (social media) because this time can get out of hand, easily. So I have a tracker on my Iphone for this. In between appointments or teaching classes or in airports I may troll the instagram feed to look at what other artists are up too. I am seeing a lot more resin and numerous dirty pours, than I want too lately, sorry the feed is saturated with it. And I love resin (see above) that’s from my last art show “No ordinary world” a series that I completed in six months this show was held in Feb. of 2018. I love how resin has a glassy look and feel . But way to many ocean scenes today I counted over 50 rolling through a social feed (art, cutting boards, coasters, cups) .
However, If I see another resin pour ocean scene on a cutting board with crystals I may quince. I don’t want to put meat or fish or anything else near any pretty crystals are you kidding me? I actually cook and use a chopping board for its intended purpose. I guess the frilly ones are just for decorations or kitchen decor? BTW not all resin is food safe and that clearly should be checked out before you purchase.
We who dabble in experimental art need to always check out our products. Inks are really in now. Not all of them are safe. And yes I wear a mask , and I don’t blow on them either, I use an empty squeeze bottle that pushes out air or a hairdryer or low setting – heatgun always far away from my masked face.
I am not sure if any art product is really good for the environment and I preach about not eating while painting all the time. One needs to stay safe while creating. Bravos to the artist’s who have gimmicks and they use them well. But you will notice that can’t paint anything else or any other style. What will they do when this type of art goes out of style? Bravo to the crafter’s who have made themselves experts on giving Artistic advice . Some have even created online classes and are personal motivators. They sell prints so cheaply you can’t compete unless you give your soul away. Perhaps that is the future all learning on line and no more in person classes. Don’t get me wrong , I own a glue gun and have some modge podge. I love crafter’s and their creativity, but we can’t all be experts on everything. I still to this day prefer sitting in a classroom/workshop with a live teacher and not on a phone or computer.
So here is the dilemma. Do you join in or do you share everything and anything to anyone on social media or do you let other artists find their own way? Some experts say tell it all, the more you share your work the more followers you will get.
Personally, I always can find one thing to compliment a person on about their art. But, don’t you miss those class critiques after you have taken a workshop or class or that nervous feeling when the teacher walks around the room to admire or critique your art? I mean I have learned more from my mistakes and rejections that I did from any other artist around. I have had plenty of my own fails. Its part of the process. I have kindly, asked a question or two thru the years and usually get an answer. When I first began, I was snubbed constantly. But we are great friends now. Does their solution always work, sometimes and not always. I can’t tell you how many times I went home after a class to begin a brand new painting as I didn’t like the teacher’s do-over on my piece. I always liked mine better.
With that said, the Art World is every changing. If only I had taken an mechanical engineering class in college I might have been able to make a shredder like Banksy did (Girl with Balloon) attached to one of my frames for auction . Then we all would be famous in a moments notice. Sometimes that Is how I feel about social media and art —we all want to be famous in a moments notice. We as Artist’s need to be able to compete with it all so that we can sell Art. And yet we are not all the same and it is so easy to be sucked into that. That’s called instant gratification. Perhaps that is the lure of social media these days.
I do enjoy positive artist’s , I love looking at new, fresh work and I always try to be kind when responding. Finally, keep up the good work and those fresh ideas.
/sunny
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