Blogging- part one

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So, I haven’t written much on here, I know.  Part of that is quite simple- this is a blog devoted to artwork (mostly my artwork) and the day to day struggles of being a painter and creating art- and I’ve been on a self imposed hiatus for the past few weeks.  The main reason most of us get into art in the first place is because it is something we enjoy, and I just wasn’t enjoying myself.  Between mailing out prints to customers (thank you!), organizing upcoming show deadlines and entries, and creating an excel spreadsheet with all inventory, prints, originals, sales, prices, etc- I was just wiped out.  I finished a painting, worked my a$$ off to get it done, and then decided, out of respect for my already precarious sanity, that I needed to take a break.

Well, I’ve been thinking about art.  Haven’t actually DONE any- yet- but I’ve been thinking about it.  My husband is also a professional artist (animator) and he stays very busy, so there’s always art making going on in our house anyway- it’s impossible to get away from.  But over the past week I’ve been getting little flashes of inspiration, moments where I think of a work in progress or one that I’ve wanted to start and go “aha!”.  Then I remind myself that I am on a BREAK… and it goes away, kind of.  A lot of it has been sitting in my head- the way I would depict a photo I took the other day- how it would look in graphite- how I would do it, etc.
So, all in all, I take that as a good thing.  Art making is hard- no doubt about it.  Making a living with it is even harder.  And there is always the debate over commercialism vs art for art’s sake- something a potential customer may want vs what you are trying to say from the deepest pit of your heart and soul.  Problem is, not a whole lot of people want your pain and anguish hanging above their couch.  I paint what I love- what interests me, what I know, what strikes me as important to convey- and I’ve been pretty lucky in that I have an audience.  Niche market, maybe, but a good one.
But I’m not quite ready to pick up the brush just yet.  The fact that my mindset is changing though- from last month’s exhaustion borne”I never want to create a piece of art again” to “hmmm- that might be a really cool painting” gives me hope.  Heck, maybe in another two weeks I’ll even pick up a pencil again.  Maybe.