If This be Perfectionism, Let's Make the Most of It!

I've been working on the drawing of the background of the newest "spider" painting (currently my avatar on my FaceBook profile). I had hand-drawn the windowsill (taken from a photo I took years ago) and I felt that, although they were "okay", they weren't good enough.

So, I took the painting out to the driveway this morning, and using a thread tied to a screw eye in a block of wood (clamped securely in a heavy vise), I redrew all the perspective lines, "correctly" (meaning, they now all intersect at the same point.

I'm still hoping to finish the windowsill drawing, and start work on the painting part of this painting, later this week.

As sod this moment, I have no idea what the view through the windows should be...

Another Solo Show!!

I've been asked to be the Artist Guest of Honour at a local science fiction convention in February. I'm not only the main artist in the show; I AM the art show.

I'm actually looking forward to this show, for several reasons. First, it's cool to have a show scheduled, to have a goal--a deadline. I have several new paintings in progress, and I am going to finish them before the end of the year.

Plus, in addition to showing off the new work (and seeing how the new pieces are received), it's a chance to show off some of the (few) older pieces I still own--as well as trying to sell some prints.

But, primarily, I'm hoping to take the work from this convention show as the "core" of my next gallery show. It'll be easier to focus on finishing a small number of pieces to finish out a gallery show, if the main pieces for that show are already completed--which they will be.

Anyway, I think it's going to be cool.

Now, to work!

The Remainder of the Year...

It's so very easy to focus on what hasn't gotten done.

So easy, and so pointless.

My tube of Gamblin's Torrit Gray arrived yesterday, and it brought back to mind that I had (re) started work on "The Presentation of Spiders" in June of last year, hoping to have the Grisaille ready in time to submit it for last year's Torrit Gray Contest, deadline October.

And, my mind immediately started listing all of the projects I'd hoped to do this year, but haven't accomplished, yet.

Stop that. Stop it this instant!

Part of the reason I moved away from journaling in The Artist's Way's (TAW) recommended style was that I was tired (exhausted, actually) of surrounding myself with negativity. By writing down all of the negative thoughts every morning, TAW hopes you can get all the negative thoughts out of one's head, so you can focus on positive stuff the rest of the day.

I, however, learn best through writing. If I want to remember something, I only need to write it down.

I found that all the negative thoughts I was supposed to be "exorcising" through my daily "morning journal pages", stayed with me even more, since having written them, I remembered them all the better!

So, instead of focusing on all the unfinished projects of 2013, I'm instead going to focus on moving forward with those projects, and more, over the rest of this year, and into 2014.

No, "The Presentation if Spiders" isn't finished. But, it is well along--and (even more fantastic) its looking pretty good! I have been drawing much more regularly, and I have a couple new paintings in progress that I think are going to be really excellent. I have one of the bookshelves Ive wanted to build in my studio (literally) for years, done--and I've started on the next two! My woodworking skills are improving, my studio is better organized, and I feel like I have more (and better) ideas now, than I have since graduation in 2008.

We were in Detroit last weekend, and that is our last (scheduled) trip for the year. I am going to make the most of the last five months of this year, to create.

And, I'm not going to set many (any?) goals.

I am feeling the need to follow some of these ideas, wherever they take me--and if I end up putting some of the current projects aside for a while, whether I end up with a certain number of completely new paintings, or the same number of completed "older" pieces, really makes no difference; the end result is the same (with the exception that the new pieces move me forward in a way that slavishly completing older projects, may not).

Thanks for reading!