The start of a new year and new adventures is always an exciting time and I always look forward to what direction this next chapter in our lives will take. It has been a while since my last blog and I have no excuses except for the fact that “life” gets in the way. I am still creating art, and still doing all the other things that take up space in my day but have neglected this piece, the time spent that allows me to touch base with my outside community. My only new year’s resolution is to try and spend more time on my communication with others.
The past year has been full of all the things that I love to do, including spending time in my studio. I have been so busy with commissioned paintings along with gifts for weddings, birthdays and Christmas but over the past month or so, I have been painting for the sheer enjoyment of putting brush to canvas and creating something I love. I must admit, these pieces are probably some of my better works, and I need to make sure that I paint more often just for the love of painting, rather than just for a purpose.
I have just completed one of these “just for fun” paintings (shown in this blog) and it combined my love of painting with my love of gardening. I plant quite a number of bulbs every year, but this year chose some that I haven’t tried before and was rewarded with some incredible colours. Once they bloomed, I knew that I was going to have to put brush to canvas to create a permanent keepsake of many of them. I am looking forward to capturing them on canvas over the next few months and will share them on my site as I complete them.
In closing, I thought I would mention some moments this week that has helped bring a local art club I belong to, closer together as a group. We decided to change up the agenda for our monthly get together, to not only discuss the business of the club, but also to share our work, discuss our challenges and triumphs, and then take the time to sit down together and just draw something! It has been so rewarding, not only because most of us don’t take the time to just sit down and draw but because it has brought the fun back into our group, and it has brought us closer together as artists, realizing, as we were chatting, that no matter what level you are in your art, every artist has moments of self-doubt, and being part of a group helps you to realize that you’re not alone. I will leave this with a suggestion for my readers – take the time to sit down with like minded friends and enjoy doing something creative together while talking about your struggles with your craft, your joys and your aspirations! Enjoy until next time!