It’s been a crazy couple of weeks. We have been in California getting our mountain house ready to sell. Unfortunately, I had no time to create new art projects or work on my current stuff.
It was nonstop cleaning, moving, painting, and dump runs. But, we were able to get everything done we had planned plus some extra stuff we didn’t plan on. The house goes on the market tomorrow and we are a little sad. We loved the quiet stillness of sitting on our deck with our morning coffee—nothing but trees and fresh air. We will miss it a lot, but living so far away, we just weren’t using it enough to justify the cost.
We are back in Kona and I must admit, I’m a little, ok, let’s be real, VERY terrified. This morning I am dropping off two of my turtle paintings for my first in-person art contest. Posting my stuff online to the faceless crowd I may never see is one thing. And with the Meta algorithms, how many people see my stuff? Not many. But a live crowd? That’s a different story. I have to face my audience for the first time. When I signed up for the contest online it was no big deal. But now that it’s hours away, the stomach flutters are nonstop. The contest runs through this Saturday and the results are up to the attendees of the art fair hosting the contest. I’ll let you know how it goes. 😬
While I was gone, I did discover a new artist I’m following. He’s written three books on the realities of being an artist. As a working artist, he has given me real expectations of putting myself and my art out into the world. Everything he has said has been spot on with my experiences so far. The best part is he has given me some ideas for creating my art. I’m planning on testing out some of these ideas this coming week. I’m super excited! I love experimenting with my art.
Randy