Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously

Today I had a normal morning out which includes coffee at a local coffee shop and a brisk walk through town. Now I am back home and absolutely nothing on the agenda for the afternoon. That means I have a free afternoon that can be dedicated to painting. That's my kind of day. No pressure to produce anything but an afternoon to play around and paint. Some artists are way too serious. I want to keep the element of fun in my work. I definitely do not take myself nor my work too seriously.

What Do You Do When The Economy Is Bad?

What do you do when the economy is bad? Well, my answer is to continue to do the things which make you happy. In my case, that would be to paint. No one is even looking at what I have painted, so I have to forget that I sometimes make some money from my painting and just do it because I love to do it. Painting is a passion. It is a mood lifter. In bad economic times I can think of nothing better to do than paint.

Decision Made

I have in my head the next painting project. Thank you inspiration for helping me make a decision. I have always enjoyed painting lavender fields and also trees in the fall which are full of color. I have numerous lavender field paintings. I have only a few autumn tree paintings. I think it is settled. I am going to do some loose, fun, impressionist paintings of trees in the fall. I have a couple of paintings that are on a large scale. So, I think I will do some fun autumn tree paintings on a smaller scale, 8 x 10 or smaller. Now that I have my next few projects in mind, I can better focus on the painting I am doing now. I'm glad that decision is made!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions! What To Paint Next?!!!

Sometimes when I am painting I have in my head the next two or three painting projects. Even though I've been looking around at galleries and attended an arts and crafts fair, I am still undecided about what to paint next. The options are limitless. Do I paint more of what I seem to paint best or do I strive to do something different? Do I think about what the art market may want or do I paint strictly to make me happy? I am considering painting something seasonal. I always enjoyed painting fall tree scenes. I also am considering painting some dramatic cloud paintings of sunsets. I also enjoy painting animals. I may take time the next several days and look through my photos and ideas in my journal and try to come up with the next painting. Meanwhile, I am still working on the wide 12 x 36 inch lavender field painting. I still have to add some light lavender in the foreground to contrast with the very dark purple. Then I will put my attention toward the distant background and adding a few farmhouses. Reworking an old project is not as exciting as doing something new. Hopefully by the weekend my mind will be settled upon what the next project should be.

Making A Nice Landscape Painting Better

Back in November I painted a long horizontal painting (12 x 36 inches) of lavender fields. It is a nice painting, very pleasant to the eyes. I have decided to make the nice painting better. The painting needs a little more contrast in the foreground and a few farmhouse and buildings in the background. I think these few improvements will make the painting much more interesting. So, for the next several days I will be working on enhancing this painting. The original painting is seen below.

Ideas Galore!

The last few days have been wonderful for gathering ideas for new projects. I am now overwhelmed with ideas. I am currently working on a painting but need time to organize my thoughts. I will spend time today listing ideas in my journal as well as going through my work area and reorganizing. It's not a pleasant task, but a necessary one.

Arts And Crafts Fairs

Today is a fun diversion for me. There is the annual Fiesta de Artes (arts and crafts fair) in town. There are all sorts of artists and artisans showing and selling their creations. It is always fun to see what others are doing. Yesterday I went to a local home furnishing store and looked at art. So this whole weekend has been filled with lots and lots of inspiration. I did start working on a painting yesterday, so not only have I been inspired but I am following through and painting.