Self-honesty

I was just looking at a few blogs by professional artists. What talent. How does one achieve that level of skill? I have been fortunate enough to find people who buy my work and I am grateful that people think enough of it to purchase it for their homes. But I am not in the same league as some artists out there. What makes an artist develop their work to such a degree of perfection? Is it natural talent? Is it lots and lots of hard work? Is it possible to achieve a great talent by hard work alone? How does one sit down at the table or easel and just practice until one one gets proficient? Where does one find the motivation?

This is the first self-portrait I have done in a while. It shows. Anyway you look at it I'm working. I so enjoy self-portraits. The drawing is pretty bad. Portraiture has never been a strong suit. It is a wonder that I still try to create, but I like it. I really do.

Snowed-in

This snow is keeping me from framing work, my frames have not arrived and with this newest accumulation it will probably be a few more days.

The thing that bothers me is not the snow though, this is just an inconvenience. How do artists manage to develop the skills necessary to keep pushing during times of low or no interest? How does one keep plugging away? Art school pushes one to keep going, there are teachers who affirm you every day and this builds confidence. What happens when you are all alone in the studio and no one is sitting on your shoulder telling you to work? I wish I had the answer....

Snow

Today is a great day to create. The snow has been coming down for the last twenty-four hours here in south central Pa. There is probably a foot of snow plus another two feet from last Friday. We are not used to this kind of weather. I am going to get the camera out and take some snow scenes for posterity.
I did some self-portraits. Another blogger did a self-portrait for every day of the year. It inspired me to do a few of my own.

Digital Camera

I just acquired a digital camera and I am learning how it works. Sometimes I paint from photos but mostly I find the practice to be tedious. I used to love to do still-lifes in pencil and the photo here seemed as if might have potential....

New Work

I haven't been creating lately, I really have no desire to. Sometimes I think that I would like to see how others see my work. Maybe it is best I don't know, my self-esteem is kind of fragile. Anyway the point is moot since no one visits the site as far as I know. There has been some success in other areas, I have had my work in juried shows. But the work has been abstract, not at all like what I currently do. One area of frustration is the inability to draw anymore. Once this was not a problem, lately it is a source of some irritation. How does one develop the skills to draw? Actually it is not the ability so much as the desire. A watercolor course that I took some time ago showed that my drawing skills were still intact. A little rusty perhaps, but still there.
How does one get their blog noticed? What does it take to get the work out there?

New Work

There is an artist whose work I follow and I am always amazed at his productivity. He is able to complete a work in little more than a day. Sometimes I can start and finish a work in a day but it is a rarity. It takes a couple of hours to mat and frame it. I have a little Logan matcutter and it can be a little tricky to get a totally straight cut. Sometimes two attempts are needed. I went down to see an old friend at her frameshop today and she was working away. I learned how to frame from her and she is a very special friend. I ordered some glass from her and paid a ridiculously low price for it. At times I regret that I worked such a short time with her, she has a lifetime of experience to share. I noticed that she was using a framing square to make her lines and I thought that is really a smart way to do it. When your livelihood is nothing but framing you must learn a lot in twenty-six years.
I have no ideas right now. There is an art show coming up in June and the deadline for entries is Feb. 22nd. I have never entered a show where you have to send slides. Local shows that I entered required me to carry the work to the site where the show was being held. Then you had to wait a week before you were told whether or not you had been accepted. It has been a long time since I have been in a juried show. It is time to move into the next phase of my growth as an artist. A juried show where one submits slides or digital prints is next.