Returning to the rest of the story

I have artist friends who create wonderful art and write enchanting blogs. Even after a show or an event, they continue in creative mode as if no event had taken place.

I think I am jealous!

I returned home late on the 11th after leaving a week of shows behind and after meeting a client outside of Clifton, VA. And although I would love to just walk into my studio the following day and begin to create, an actual ART business just isn't run that way (alas!)

Tuesday morning comes early and with it a sorting through the piles of mail. Bills here, Taxes there, checks over here, online bills, phone calls to return, the list to go over. Appointments, who to arrange a meeting? Who to send an image to, sorting through who handles the camping at the next show and what prints to ship to clients.....and that is before lunch! Physically there are drives to the bank, the Post Office, the grocery store, unloading the car...Steve is at the Keswick shows with the van and camper.

It is good to know that nothing extreme happened while I was gone :-) so one must always, while noting what did not get done, note what DID get done and balance it out.
My point being, when I paint, I paint! When I work, I work. Dispersed between painting sessions is the constant marketing, the constant emails and phone calls, the whole panorama of running a business....and I would not have it any other way!

Yes, I am still, at times, jealous of those artists who seem to have not a financial care in the world, whose only thoughts lie far removed from business.....but then I remember my art history and easily relate to those artists through the centuries, who, like me, needed to make a living and were fortunate enough to be able to blend and train their skills and talents into a profession that has endured for centuries!

OK. Adding to my blog can be crossed off my list!

A morning snack

A client asked me to post this image of a pastel that I created because she "liked the mood." She said that it reminded her of her own daughter. That's what is nice about creating an image that causes a response in a person. I think that many times, despite what art critics think, the average person wants something on the wall they CAN relate to. Something that stirs a response, a memory, a feeling.

A statement? If a memory or a scene "speaks" to you, it IS making a statement :-).

I'm in Upperville, VA at the moment, listening to much needed rain on the roof of the camper. It took us two hours to set up yesterday evening and we watched the clouds roll in from tropical storm Barry. I understand that further east it is really coming down.

No one wants a hurricane but it IS and always has been, Nature's way of replenishing the water supply!

OK. I will be working on a client's oil tomorrow (if it is not raining) and will try to take some photos of a work in progress!