Pondering . . .

It's "Boo" Season! It's also time for fall art shows!

Shrimp Festival is coming up October 8-11 in Gulf Shores. Grand Festival is the following weekend in Fairhope. Hope to see ya'll there.

I'm looking forward to the fall/winter months after these shows are over to not only prepare for the holidays but to ponder which direction to go with my art-venture. I need to focus on one medium: watercolor, acrylics or oil. I love watercolor. It's the most relaxing of all for me to work with. I love the bright colors of acrylics and the beauty of oils too. But I feel like I'm all over the place. I equally sell each medium but some are more time consuming and cumbersome than others. Watercolors require framing, matting, glass and caution while loading/unloading for shows. Oils take forever to dry and acrylics and oils are both messy mediums and end up on my clothes and everywhere else during the painting process. I'm also considering limiting the outsources I work with. It is exhausting going all over town changing out work and keeping up with the paperwork records of where everything is located. I know I need to become more involved with the art associations I'm affiliated with but for now, my time is not my own. I made the decision two years ago not to allow the art aspect to push aside "life" and not to over schedule myself as long as my daughter was still in high school. I also have a new grand baby to spoil. I hear all the time "if you aren't visible, people forget about you." I watch fellow artist friends stretching themselves thin and well, if it made me "thin" I'd be beating the pavement! Wouldn't we all! Seriously, I remind myself that I didn't begin doing the shows for recognition and fame, but as an outlet to sell and pass along paintings that were lining the walls. The hobby turned into a business and the shows became back to back and the race was suddenly on. Then my mom became ill and I lost my momentum. And the art world kept revolving all around me. Because of lack of time to paint, I've found myself throwing together pieces that don't bring me as much joy to reveal and, knowing I am my worse critic, feels substandard because I know what I am capable of doing. It's only with the acrylics that I feel that way. Maybe because I feel fine detail is expected of/from me because of my watercolors. Hmmmmmm... Have I solved my dilemma by having a conversation with the keyboard? Perhaps. I can focus on watercolors and do the occasional acrylic or oil when inspiration for a fun, fabulous piece tickles my fancy. We'll see what the future brings. I need to build a cohesive body of work for next year. My biggest job, and the most rewarding, is still being a mom and a wife and keeping a peaceful home. During the often frantic pace of being an artist, I miss keeping house, cooking, working in the garden and just being me. The peacefulness is what I miss the most because preparing for art shows causes chaos all over my home because my studio is too small to do it all simultaneously. First things first....clean my studio so I can focus. Time is on my side this season.....I hope.