Habits are just as hard to start

Goldfish001web

I have a problem that I just don't understand. I see a disparity between what I am creating and what I am sharing with the world. Now, many of us are on a search for authenticity and I am certainly not being authentic with my portrayal of my art, if much/most of what I am creating isn't shown. Perhaps it is because the newer, more personal stuff, the stuff that doesn't fit a mould or fad, feels more personal, makes me feel more vulnerable. Perhaps it is because I am playing with my Lomo LCA+ which shoots film, so it takes longer to get prints to you. Perhaps I am just to lazy to scan stuff in. Hmmm. I will sleep on it and maybe have a scanning session tomorrow. I am working on two artist books for my class on Tuesday, so I will share the WIP.

Meanwhile, I haven't shown you this fishy that I did just for fun and gave to my Mum. It was inspired by 'scales' at Illustration Friday, but inspiration doesn't always follow the calendar!

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Reading deprivation? Are you mad?

Too too funny. I am currently doing The Artist's Way as you may know. I quite like the morning pages, although I do miss them out occasionally and moan a LOT about doing them sometimes. Also I find that they are getting slower to do and I expected them to get faster! I miss them when I don't do them and I am prepared to get up earlier to do them, and if you know me in person, I don't get up earlier for ANYTHING.

I just finished week 3, so apparently I have recovered a sense of safety, a sense of identity and a sense of integrity. Nope, make that a sense of power. You would think that I would remember something like a sense of power, wouldn't you? It's this week that I am supposed to recover a sense of integrity. But. But. BUT! As part of that, we are supposed to experience reading deprivation for a week. I read that last night, all set to start this morning, "yeah I thought, no problem" there might be one or two little unavoidable things for work, but nothing over 5 minutes. I am such a liar! I didn't realise how much I read during the day, and I don't mean steadily working through an amazing book (I do that too of course) but randomly picking up bits of the Sunday paper, compulsively checking email, and I couldn't stay away from my blog reader, I had to catch up after being away all last week. And the postman brought an Amazon order. So. Well. Can I start tomorrow?

I do think following the Artist's Way is already having a benefit though. I am making more art this month then I usually would in a month, excluding obvious things like books in my artist book class.  I finally opened my Etsy store, which I have been whinging about doing for about 6 months! There may only be 3 things in it, but it's a start! So we shall see. I'd love to hear from anyone following The Artist's Way at the moment, or veterans. I had a look at their community, but I don't really have the mental energy for another community, ya know?

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Look at me selling on Etsy!

I have been wanting to open an Etsy store for awhile and when it kept turning up in my morning pages I knew I had to take the plunge. I will write more about this tomorrow, but it is very late and my poor husband has stayed up to hold my hand while I set everything up.
Go see the pretty at my shop.
Buttoned_bracken_bloom

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