Musings

Two of the things I am continually contemplating are how to gain better exposure for my artwork, and what direction I want to take my art. Much of my approach is dictated by a combination of financial constraints and mood, the latter of which periodically leaves me at a loss for art production and severely inhibits my ability to force myself to get out there and talk to people. I have a bit of the social anxiety, and although I am far better at talking to people than I used to be, when I am depressed the effects can be crippling. For example, I utterly failed to keep contact with people in the Del Paso area after my art hanging last Feb.

I am utterly in love with the oil painting, and thus far it has been unique among my 2-D artistic endeavors in that I can paint even when depressed. That's wonderful for me, because it helps to keep my spirits up a bit even when life has me down, allowing me to be more productive in all aspects of my life. At an absolute minimum, I am taking time to paint once a week, just for my sanity.

In an ideal world, I would be painting every day, but I know that this time of year that is not going to happen. I've heard over and over that it helps a lot, both with skill and professional reputation, if an artist produces at least one finished work every day. I know that not all professional artists do that, but a great many do, and I have felt for years that I SHOULD do the same. I've tried to force myself at various times, but that obviously has not happened.

My enjoyment of oil paints has had me once more contemplating the possibility of producing daily art works, but I was less than satisfied with the one-sitting ACEOs I painted a couple weeks ago, and feel they would have greatly benefited from another layer or two of paint each. I've decided that daily art is not worth while if the art produced is not of a quality I can truly be proud of. However, I still think the idea of daily art is a very valuable one. So, my conundrum has been that I want to produce daily art, but I'm not confident I can produce a worthwhile finished piece every day.

Thus, I am compromising with myself. I am going to spend time painting or drawing every day I can find time, with a goal of working on art every day by next October. Since everyone here seems to enjoy seeing the WIPs, I will post whatever progress has been made on a daily basis, barring time away from a computer (which happens often on weekends). Thus, I will be creating art every day and sharing it, even if that art is not a finished piece in and of itself. That way I can create art daily without posting finished pieces I'm less than proud of.

As an added bonus, if I'm working on art daily, I might finally get around to more crafty applications of my art that have been sitting on the back burner for years, such as scrimshaw, wood burning, and bone painting. I will also hopefully get around to those "Potential" projects that have been listed on the right for some time now, and finishing all the "Personal" pieces. I'm not counting the sewing as part of daily art, because while I enjoy it, it does not feed my soul like the other art.

Yours Truly,
Sid

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