Hidden Gems

8x8" oil on panel - Sold

Unlike riding a bicycle, painting is not something you never forget. When not used daily, creative "muscles" do atrophy. It feels much longer than three-and-a-half weeks since I last painted, and getting back to work is a real struggle. When not painting, ideas and inspiration dissipate, and the mere act of starting feels overwhelming. Part of it is not knowing exactly where I'm going and the irrational fear of failling, wasting time and supplies. To help overcome this, I fell back on another version of a previously successful subject I enjoyed and ended up happier with it than I anticipated.

It's not as if I've been watching TV and eating bon-bons. Among other things, since September 1, I have: moved a kid from home to a college apartment (love building that IKEA furniture), cleaned and re-organized his vacated room, painted and re-built a 15-ft closet in which all of the 25-yr-old shelving unexpectedly collapsed, spent two weekends helping clean out my MIL's vacated apartment, done three week's worth of the visiting kid's laundry, reorganized and singlehandedly moved a lot of furniture in my two main rooms, and, though barely computer literate, made a website (still under construction) for my spring studio tour group. I now realize it's time to spruce up my own blog/site...eventually.

I'm sure the struggle to build and maintain momentum will continue, as it seems there is always "something" vying for my attention these days. I'm ending the starting-below-half-price auctions for now, in order to build up enough inventory for the open studio only six months away.