I totally thought I'd be posting blog posts this year. I only did one. But heck, I have a little breathing time now, so here we go! And I’ve been trying to make a conscious effort to just do things because I feel like it!
Now that I have another solo show behind me in 2025, I'm starting to think about the next one in 2026. It's going to be a challenge, as I'm going to need to do more paintings because I think I need to fill up the whole gallery this time. That's at least twice as many as I usually do! As daunting as it seems, I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and work it all out. I do group shows all throughout the year, so I'm constantly working and painting and coming up with new ideas, but there's something distinctly different about having to come up with a body of work for a show. In the effort to not do the same thing over and over again, I think about a balance of what I could do, and of course, always striving to up my own ante and explore new ways of depicting my imaginative world.
There's a time in the beginning like now, where (although I am working on other group shows and commissions) I get excited to be coming up with lots of drawings and ideas, writing down notes, looking at things I'd like to improve, or details I'd like to get better at. It's kind of a sweet secret time when there's a lot going on in my head that I can't wait to get down on paper in some way. Sometimes I just make written notes in words, other times I do quick thumbnails just to get the hint of the idea down where no one but me would know what the heck it is.
It reminds me of a time in my life right after college, where I'd spend time at my drawing table working on different things and thinking about my future. My favorite thing was to stay home on the weekends and work into the night with the TV playing British sitcoms. I'd lie to people and say I was going out like a twenty something should be. But I'd sneakily stay in. Back then it was sometimes hard for me to get myself at my desk. Fear of failure, a tendency to want to just watch TV and nap, often brought about procrastination. But after a while I figured out that if I literally just made an effort to sit in my chair, soon enough I'd get the urge to start working. All these years later, it's harder to get me to just sit anywhere else and just relax!
Anyway, there's something special about thinking about a new collection of work that needs to come about. And I'm super excited that half of my week next week will be dedicated just to that! Woot! Here’s something rough I’m workin’ on…
