Art Plans for 2008

I am not much into new year resolutions, but I do find value in having a good plan. During this time people traditionally think about losing weight, building or ending relationships and various career changes. These thoughts are also in my mind, but I make no promises in this regard. Still, this is the first time in a long time that I entered the new year with thoughts of planning for my art for the year. Nevertheless, the question arose in a certain art group regarding plans for art in the coming year. Part of my reply is as follows and is in no particular order (altered slightly):

1. Paint & draw like crazy (the sketches in my sketchbook out number my finished paintings of those ideas, and I have not completed a full drawing since 2006)
2. Get rid of my 'small' canvasses (I prefer to work large so I think it time to be truer to my creative desires. Working smaller is sometimes hard on my eyes.
3. Complete at least one sculpture series (it has been hard to work life-sized with the space we have, but I am moving to a bigger studio/room in the house--still rearranging and planning on a new table saw and casting supplies)
4. Complete a self-portrait (I haven't done one in almost 20 years)
5. Get my work shown in an exhibit or two
6. Publish more art videos (I have enjoyed the technology process of putting together speed paintings of my work, which I then upload to YouTube under the user name Art4SakeOfArt). I would also love to produce a safety art video for my class, but that may be a goal for next year.
7. Add a painting or drawing to each main room of my home (after more than 7 years in this house and still no art on the walls--I purpose not to hang the art of others in main areas of my home, but I have been considering a room of influence where I would hang the art of my inspiration...we shall see).

Length of time to complete a work

This posting was stirred from a question on an art group that I subscribe to. The question arose about how long it takes to complete a work of art. Well, a lot of it depends on size, medium and time available for creating, but in general I could not believe some of the responses. The answer that shocked me was that one artist had waited 5 years for the right inspired moment to finish a painting and that she was in the process of working on 2 paintings that were 2 yrs old.

Years on a painting...WOW!!! That would have to be one HUGE painting (mural). Such a project would become so boring to me. I need newness. I have too many ideas to stay focused on any one project for that long. I could not imagine taking more than a week on a painting or drawing (two weeks or more on a sculpture because of the size that I like to work). I am waaay too anal ... I mean impatient for such long projects. Once the images of a project enter my head and I begin the process of creating for a finished work I must follow through until it is done. It almost becomes a narrow-minded obsession. If I stop for more than a day or two my mind and energies become focused elsewhere. I am solely dedicated to one project at a time. maybe that is why I switched to acrylics and left the oils behind (I hated the waiting process). Still, I am very good at multitasking in all other areas of my life. I guess when it comes to my art I purpose to slow down and give it my undivided attention, but it needs to be done in the constant now.

In summary, anything other than a sculpture usually takes me less than two weeks to complete. The closer to two weeks it takes me, the more my mind has begun to consider other things and it begins to feel more like work than the passion of my heart.

More about me: My rebirth as an artist

In the Spring of 2001 a basement flood ruined much of my previous work. Paintings, drawings, sculptures...oh the tragedy. I mourned appropriately and decided to start fresh. I bought a new sketchbook and began to record the things around me, but still no real move toward the dreams of my heart in relation to art. My work was halted yet again, but tis time for medical reasons. I was diagnosed with macular degeneration in both eyes, and I was nowhere near the age of retirement. Some vision was lost, my spirit was wounded, and I began to lose hope. I wondered if I would be able to 'see' art the same (in that unique way that gives an artist his/her identity). After several years (circumstances what they were), a few discomforting eye surgeries, and a whole lot of prayer, I was faced with the feeling of now or never.

For more than a decade, before these dramatic life changing events, I created for local patrons (general greater Chicago area). My work focused on graphic designs (t-shirts, banners, posters, flyers, business cards, & logos) and murals. The only other work that I had the time or space to do was for personal display. Still, this was not fulfilling enough...and so, in the hopes of walking boldly and intently in the vocation that I am called, I am creating whatever flows from my hands. I have a new determination to succeed as a visual artist, and a wisdom about preserving and documenting my art.