New year, new work

Happy 2020! First of all, thank you to everyone who purchased art from me this year - I am always so happy and grateful that people enjoy my work enough to fork over hard earned $$ for it :) This year I have some big plans - an online course, new conceptual pieces, and a new approach to my traditional work inspired by my various experiments this past year. As I type this I am thinking”When, how will I fit this all in?’… But I will find a way(she tells herself using self help-y fake it ‘til you make it attitude)…. Haha - well … you can be the judge, I’ll keep you posted as I get this new stuff rolling.

In my new “new work” tab on this site you’ll see paintings I created this year using a different approach. I splattered paint all over the canvas, hoping to create a dynamic texture that would bring energy and movement to the finished pieces. I think it did that - but my biggest challenge is deciding what finished looks like in these pieces. I think a % of “unfinish” makes them feel alive… but too much and they look just, undone. So I’ll revisit them and try not to destroy them with tweaks and updates.

As far as conceptual pieces… I’ve had visions of a series of images that pair the natural beauty of Gloucester with the dreaming/thinking/trying of the people who live here. There is something about how we all drive around, staring endlessly at the ocean, loving how gorgeous and hypnotic it is, and almost cursing the magnetic power of that beauty and everything that comes with it (or more simply, the pluses and minuses of living on an island)….

The online course is the farthest stretch, but also the most exciting, in that it will bring a whole new world to play in. I can imagine what I learn crossing over into my work at Cape Ann Art Haven, which could be really cool.

So, thanks for listening - by writing all of this & hitting psot I have committed to my new projects. Wish me luck - what are you up to this year?

Out with the Old

Since I am focusing on creating a batch of new art is need to clean house & get some of my older creations out into the world. Please check out my site - I am offering serious discounts on every category.

Finding the balance

I just re-read my posts and bio expecting to cringe after not looking at my website for oh, 5 months(ugh!).

But I didn’t cringe - I was happily surprised - I liked what I’d written. For me, any time I share anything personal at all, I worry that it’s too much - over sharing, egotistical, “does anyone care about this?”.. But, it felt ok… & then just after that lovely moment of realization, I immediately started the “why haven’t you done more?” ( exhausting isn’t it?)

Fair question, especially given the amount of of focus I put on social media in my day to day life.

I do a lot of reading and talking about social media. In my day job it is my responsibility to communicate Cape Ann Art Haven’s mission of art education for everyone, regardless of income, skill level or background. We are constantly trying new ideas - mini videos, interviews, stories, daily posting, 3x a day posting, quotes, instruction - you name it. It is fun and creative, and effective. You see engagement instantly. For my own art business, I have devoted far less time, been less focused and certainly less experimental.

Probably the biggest reason for this is that (embarassingly) still battle feelings of “who I am to have all of these opinions and show off my art?”. If I were talking to a friend or student I would say,”you have nothing to lose, you make work, you show it, someone may love it, may buy it or be inspired by it - if it sits in your closet none of that is a possibility.” Yay me, good advice - if you listen to it :)

To add to my awesome but often unheeded by me advice, is that what happens is actually worse than nothing. Those un-shown pieces of art sit there, and you see them piling up… Some days you say, “hey awesome, I am building a body of work.” But on so many other days, you feel like a loser because that pile hasn’t gotten any smaller, and you have no plan to change it, or your plan isn’t working, or you think your plan is crazy.. And then it begins, “well they probably aren’t that good anyway, I don’t have the money to frame them properly, and how do I price this anyway?… blah blah blah.

Or is that just me :)

So back to social media…One of my favorite distractions and inspirations is Gary Veynerchuck, who says rather than getting all freaked out about “creating content”, he suggests you simply document what you are doing. It’s a brilliant concept - much easier - and more revealing :) While I am intimidated by really going for it myself, I love this idea, not simply because it makes sense, but because it’s what I search for in other artists… I love seeing process, and how they solve technical “art” issues, as well as all of the personal stuff around it.

So let’s see how it goes…

Why commission a painting?

I am always so excited to work on commissions. yes there is added pressure because someone has asked you for something specific - vs. just making what you want. But - some asked you for this, so they want it, they have already imbued your painting with meaning and value.. To me it is a very cool collaboration.

Back in the day painters painted because we didn’t have photography, and creating images in paint was the only way to preserve those memories.

Now, we have amazing options to create images, to save them, create books, wall art - its dizzying really, and a lot of fun. So why select and image you love, and have an artist interpret it in their medium?

Well - to me, its a celebration. These days we all keep so many images on our phone, unprinted and largely unviewed. The random photos we print become our memories - sometimes what makes the cut for the magnet gallery of the refrigerator isn’t our favorite memory, just what happened to get printed.

Ordering a painting is purposeful - you plan that project. You imagine the spot it will hold in your home, and how you will feel looking at it, talking about it, sharing it with friends and family.

One of my clients made me tear up talking about how my painting was now a prt of his family legacy, and that he imagined his great grandkids looking at it, and getting a sense of who his Dad was… That is powerful stuff.

So to me, ordering a commission is about highlighting what you really care about, and what you want to think about every day. Take the example I show here… This is a fun image - and the story attached to it is fun, funny - and empowering. Every day when my client sees it she’ll remember the moment she surprised everyone by landing that huge fish. She’ll also remember that she appreciated that sense of accomplishment and excitement enough to have a painting made for herself. It’s like a canvas full of joyous mojo :)

I've been Inspired

When this painting by Emanuel De Sousa popped up in my instagram, I swear, I was changed immediately. I literally gasped - recognizing elements I adore presented in a wholly original way…The finished & unfinished, that beautifully painted balloon, the dripping paint… And then the cool appraising look of the subject - and a yellow suit? Little roses and weird tile floor - What? LOVELOVELOVE!!!

Suddenly i needed to paint differently. I simply couldn’t go back to “the usual” . It sounds crazy and dramatic - and blindsided me completely. But it happened - I guess I just saw what I needed to see when I needed to see it. Soon there was paint splattering everywhere, and it was the most fun painting I’ve done in a long time.

I even messaged the artist, who generously messaged back with thoughtful, unexpected feedback.

8 paintings later and I am still finding my way - but it is so exciting(and scary) to be shoved off your beaten path and find a new approach. Once you know you were in a rut, you can’t just climb back into it!

Let's Get Serious Here

As you can see from the disparate timelines of these posts, I have not been consistent with blogging(to say the least). I have been digging into Instagram, and Pinterest - but if I am honest, I just haven’t taken my own “build traci’s art biz” plans seriously. From all of the reading I have done, all of the “girl you can do it”, and business how tos, I feel like I could run my own seminar - in the abstract, I know what to do, And then, because I have so many things to on my list(like everyone, I know!), it slides… And I do just enough to not totally feel awful - however, not nearly enough to go where I know I can. Using myself as an example, I know it doesn’t have to be that way. I was “too busy” to work out consistently and eat well - and here I am a year and a half into a new fitness program, down 15 lbs and sporting a bunch of new muscles… I can do it - I jhave the powah :) I just need to be brave enough to really really try at the thing that really really matters to me. Making my art… work. Work for me, work as a business, get beyond hobbyland… So here goes

New Collection

I just posted the first few of an ongoing collection - mini watercolors!  I started these to make sure I fit some art making into my days.  The tiny scale, and simple medium allow these little guys to fit into the spaces between workouts, child wrangling, work, etc...  Whenever you create in multiples it is fun to see everything together.  I play with the mini paintings like a deck of cards...

New England Boat Show 2018

Come visit me at the Boat Show next week 2/10 - 2/18!  http://www.newenglandboatshow.com/  I will be at booth 480, sharing space with the amazing Jay Jigs custom gaffs.  I'll be painting live, and showing a new collection called Above & Below, sea life in and around the ocean.  The show is really fun, huge beautiful boats and the feeling of summer in the air(despite the frost on the windows :).

Castafari, Newton, MA 2017

First show I've done with a whole branded set up.  It's exciting to see it all come together. Working on one painting at a time you get so into the details vs. considering how it looks as a collection.  Feedback has been very good - we'll see how sales do & go from there!

New Collection

I am trying to push myself to try new things - new subjects, new techniques, so I am always learning & making my work better.  This new collection of fish offers challenges on every front. I am working with brightly colored under painting, new mediums for bold paint flow, and layered mediums - paint + oil pastel + ink...  It's fun, and I hope brings something new to the world of "fish art"