Painting through insecurity
Yes well Everything I was working on at the time got permanently shelved. I felt like the only rejected artist to ever exist-a statement that is overly dramatic and false but, it's how I felt. The rejection hit deep wounds.
What do you draw for your daily practise? Q & A.
Having survived the incredibly humbling experience that it was to start making art again in my 30s. Especially after quitting art for so long…it makes me want to share my story. I hope it helps other former artists, make their way back to creating art again.
I go on artist message boards across the internet and when I feel compelled to, I will share some of my experiences. Sometimes people relate, and they ask me for more details. I had some great feedback on my latest response, so I felt it's good to share here too.
Work often equals burnout often.
Artistic burnouts are inevitable. Maybe it's just part of the process sometimes. Some artists think these burnouts are career ending.
They're not.
I find that the more you take on commissions and deal with larger amounts of money in exchange for your art-the more likely burnouts will occur and you have to constantly refine your ideas to keep going.
Tattoo lines & an artist’s time.- tattoo permissions post.
If you've followed me for any amount of time, it's apparent I love tattoo culture and a lot of my designs could be easy to transfer to a tattoo.
I don't tattoo skin, yet. It's still something I'm considering one day though.
Multitasking
These markers remind me of my plans, when I start the work again. My attention span is short and my idea flow is like roaring rapids. I can only remember so much, before it gets lost in the current and something else pops up to take my interest.
First day off in two weeks
It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks. I had two paying gigs happen at the same time. So I had to split my time between both, and parent (it's summer holidays so no school) and keep the house up and cook meals and so on.
To alleviate some stress, I wrote my to-do list, and cut out the unnecessary things that could wait.
Prioritised my “spoons” and time as best as I could.
Touching grass
I mention the tough parts of being a freelancer artist, because it's not discussed enough. There's so much rejection and rebuilding to do for most of us. And if it's not discussed, then we assume that we are the only ones to face such rejection. And it becomes demoralizing and unable to produce art becomes a nasty circle of defeat.
Social Media Highs, Social Media woes.
The downsides to watching the numbers grow or fall flat on Social Media. I will forever talk about this. Being an old artist, I’ve watched and noted how much this has effected my drawing,my choices and where I go next.
I know of a time before social media. It was harder to get your art seen. On the plus side, you were left to develop your practise at your own pace and not feel unnecessary stress from numbers, or lack thereof.
Grieving portrait & artist guilt
This current commission, hits close to home. We knew Hank, he was a dachshund who came into his parents life around the same time my pupper came into mine.
Reddit, of all places
Artists need to give Reddit a chance (well, within the right groups. Some are incredibly supportive)
Art Goals 2023 ongoing discussion
I had to fail a lot to see the positives in trusting my gut, and my abilities to create the art I want to make.
The art that broke me
So I’ve been trying to expand my abilities again. This time, I’m simplifying the art. I’m not happy but I’m not unhappy. I’m just lost. All artists get lost from time to time.
The argument for deep rest
When we force ourselves to march through continuously, the burn out is inevitable. It gets hidden behind other issues that result from the snowball effect into the break down.
