I am working hard on some watercolor paintings for an upcoming Halloween art show at the OT Circus Art Gallery here in Albuquerque. I am so excited to be part of this show and here is a peak at 3 of the 5 pieces that I might be taking to this show. You can get more information on the event here:
www.facebook.com/events/1195738470526264/
0 Comments
This has been a rather hard week for me, especially on the creative side of life. I have been struggling with some health issues. My depression and anxiety have been pretty bad. I have also been suffering from some crippling self doubt when it comes to art and writing of late. Monday I seriously thought that I was having a complete breakdown. I doubted if I should continue art and writing. Maybe it is time to give up all these creative dreams and just get a full time job and be done with everything.
I think that all creative people go through these times of self doubt. As an author I have contemplated giving up before. It is sometimes hard to have the thick skin needed to be in this business. Rejection slips, bad reviews (and sometimes just plain mean reviews. I know that not every book is for everyone and I feel that constructive criticism is something one can learn from, but some reviewers get too personal and are just mean spirited. Not liking a book is not a reason to say terrible things about an author you have never met.), trolls who will bad mouth you for not giving them a free book or for not being who they think you should be, stalkers (yes I have had two), constant pressure to be on social media and more. It's a hard life sometimes, especially when it seems fewer and fewer people are reading nowadays. I have even given up writing before for short amounts of time, but I think that writing is in my blood and I keep coming back. I am still doubting myself right now, but I am back to blogging and editing and writing won't be far behind. I am fighting my self doubt the best way that I can. Now when it comes to doubting my art, well that is harder to overcome sometimes. I am not very confident in my artistic skills. Art for me is usually a form of stress relief, yet I still want to be better at it. A few years ago I tried to take a class at my local community college, to work on improving myself and my art. The teacher instead of focusing on whether I had improved from day one, kept comparing me to someone whom we both knew, someone who had a bachelor's degree in art. I was not competing with an art graduate, I wanted to be better than I had been, but this teacher crushed me and left me feeling less than confident. I still feel that crushing of talent even though I continue to practice art on my own almost every day. Sure, I have even sold some art, but I always feel like that teacher was basically telling me that I will never be a good artist and that I should just give up. That is where I am at right now art wise, thinking I should give up art or at the very least never show anyone my art ever again. I'm hoping that talking about this helps get me out of my funk. That some self confidence slowly starts to seep back into my being. Until then I guess I need to fake it until I make it? A week from today I will be signing books at the BMG Fan Fest here in Albuquerque! I will also be selling art and jewelry! Come out and support local artists of all genres, cosplay, and just have some fun! Hope to see you there! More info on the event here at their fb page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1914942332119340/
So just a couple months ago my big dog Charlie needed to have some skin cancer removed along with a dental procedure. Now it seems to be my little dog Eowyn's turn. She needs to go in for a dental procedure later this month, so that means I need to earn some extra money to help pay for her procedure. So that means I am selling lots off art and jewelry at discount prices! If you see anything that you like, please let me know. I also do commissions for both art and jewelry. Below are some of the items that I have available. Just message me about anything that you like! I need to raise at least $350 for the procedure, so every dollar helps! As some of you that read this blog on a regular basis, I am trying to focus a little more time on my art. What better way to do that than to agree to take part in a group art show at a local gallery? So that is what I did. This October I will be part of a Halloween themed show. I need to get 5 pieces painted before then. Eek! A gallery show? It almost makes me feel like a real artist! Right now I am just in the sketching and ideas phase, but here are a couple quick sketches that I hope to turn into watercolor paintings later this month. Still thinking on the other three ideas. Shout out in the comments on what kind of Halloween paintings you would love to see. These are very rough sketches, I will take a lot more time for the actual paintings!
Though life and health keep getting in my way, I keep trying to make time for art in my life. Here are the latest watercolor paintings that I have completed. The one is of my twin nieces from a photo of them, in my own cutesy style of course. The other is from one of my favorite video games of all time, Little Nightmares. Both were so much fun and I am happy to say my sister in law loves the painting of her girls and is going to hang it in their room! And as an added bonus the girls actually recognized themselves in the painting! I hope to get some more painting time in this month, it is such a stress reliever for me and I certainly need that in my life.
So I started out this month wanting to focus more on art. I have not been able to keep up with my sketch schedule, but I am making more time to paint! I may not be painting every day, but I am getting some stuff done and it feels good! I will be getting a table at Fan Fest here in Albuquerque in August, so I am working on some fun paintings to sell there along with my books. Here are just a couple of things that I did for fun! Mega Man and Wonder Woman aren't quite finished, but they look cute to me!
I have really been neglecting my art lately, so this month I am participating in a sketch challenge, that way I at least sketch a little each day. I hope to get some painting in this month as well. Stay tuned for more art posts!
I am so happy to have finally be making some more time for art in my life. Here are a few pieces that I have been working on this week, as you can see I have been on an Egyptian mythology kick. I feel so much better when I have time for art, it just soothes my soul in a time when I certainly need some calming activities. As always, my art is for sale, so if you see something that you like send me a message! My prices are super reasonable! And keep an eye out for more mythological art coming soon! I do take requests and commissions!
So this year with the day job and the writing job taking up a lot of my time has meant that art has taken a backseat. Then recently I got an email from a charity that I support asking for t-shirt designs and I figured what the heck! So I entered this cute little design for Heifer International. I doubt I get picked, but hey at least I did some art and took a chance. You can learn more information and support Heifer International here: https://www.heifer.org/
|
AuthorAuthor, artist, jewelry maker and all around creative person. I write in many genres and have a lot of fun doing so. Please take a look around and enjoy! Archives
January 2022
|