Artist's Block Lifted! New Plans and Projects for 2016!

Last weekend, after a hiatus of several years, I decided it was time to start painting again.

And the stars aligned, or so it seems. I picked up my easel from storage and discovered a half-off sale on canvases on the same day. A few days later, I got a solo show booked for fall. All new work...which I haven't even begun yet...omg...

I selected a lovely corner of my den to place my easel. A bit unconventional, maybe, but the den is where we spend most of our time. It's the hub of the house. And I think an easel occupying a prominent space in the home send a clear, concise message to the world...

Yup, that's pretty much the message I'm talking about!

My artist self has been through a lot the past few years and she's wavered, faltered, and a few times fallen, but she is still here, and thank heavens for that! Losing one's identity and sense of self is a scary thing. Not being able to find it, to connect with and embrace it again, well I don't even want to think of how that would be, but I imagine it's akin to sleepwalking through a life that isn't really one's own. I like to think my hiatus is similar to the time in Georgia O'Keefe's life, when she destroyed all of her work at age 27. Though I didn't take it that far, I think Georgia and I might have been having some similar moments!

When you can't make art, live life as art!

So while I am pleased to announce I'll be sharing more and more of my new work on my Facebook page, Pan Pan Studios, and here on the blog, I also want to remind readers of my other page, Art is for Everyone. This is a page where I've been sharing a lot of older works that are available, largely in part to a lack of marketing these pieces on my part, or a failure of the piece to reach the right audience when it was marketed...in...eek...the days before we used the internet to promote our work (yes, some of these pieces are that old!)

Hi. I'm twenty-two years old, and I can jazz up your 
black and white art collection...

 A lot of my older pieces have found their forever homes through this page as people make fair offers based on what they can afford. Van Gogh believed that art should be for the people, not just the wealthy elite, and I agree!

She finally has a forever home!

I'm also excited to announce that I am involved in a book project that should be completed by the year's end. I am on board as illustrator! So it's a thrillingly creative time in the life of this artist! And to celebrate all things creative, artists, artsy people, artsy living, and so on, I hope you'll check out some of my older pieces that are still up for grabs, such as Desert Mother and the last print of Trepidation.

Do you have a place for me?

So tempted to keep this one for myself...

Many are experimental pieces, meaning I never did another in this style, and some were done for classes or specific shows, but I'd love to have them all out in the world! So if you are a lover of original art and want to support your local artists, visit Art is for Everyone and see if there is anything there that suits your taste! Stay tuned to the blog for all the new pieces, show details, and book information coming in 2016, and be sure to follow me on Facebook!!!

Hard Life Lessons from (or for?) an Elder Artist, pt. 2

***In order to protect the privacy of V the artist, no photos will be used in this series of blog posts***

In Hard Life Lessons from (or for?) an Elder Artist, pt.1, I introduced my readers to V the artist and her difficult situation.

It hasn't changed. The more I speak with V, the more I question the motives she uses in order to, in the catch phrase of our era, achieve her dream. Recently, she told me the story of receiving a phone call from a mega-celebrity after tracking down his mother in a California nursing home. He was polite, but not amused at this invasion of privacy and also not interested in taking ownership of V's artwork, which had been her primary focus...finding a celebrity who would take ownership of she and her late husband's life's work, create an exhibition space/gallery for it, and also fund the publication of a memoir book and possible movie/documentary about their lives.

Dispersing the work is not an option, nor is selling it. V wants her moment in the spotlight, the accolades she feels she deserves for spending a lifetime in front of a canvas, brush in hand. She's completely unwilling to yield here. I was initially so concerned about her quality of life and how to help her that I didn't see the truth behind the reason she contacted me.

She didn't want friendship, companionship, or someone to help her sort out things and find a better living situation. She wanted someone to help her track down private addresses of the rich and famous in hopes that she could achieve fame and wealth by grabbing onto their coattails. If they took an interest in the art, in other words, they would promote it, and her. And this was not a new idea. V and her late husband had been doing this for years; she has celebrity addresses going back at least a decade. 

As much as I want to help V, I can't get on board with this particular plan. Most artists I know accomplish what they work for by working for it - showing art at every opportunity, promoting themselves, doing whatever it takes to get their work visible to others, usually all while raising families and/or working part-time/full-time jobs. They are certainly not trying to skip all of the above steps and achieve greatness through a celebrity's name. And let's not forget the 5-figure price tags that clearly show V is not interested in common folk having her pieces; only the wealthy could afford these kind of prices for art, which has resulted in a lifetime of paintings and drawings stored in file cabinets and closets.

I have come to believe that art stored in closets and file cabinets because high price tags aren't being met is somehow wrong. Art is for everyone. Every home should contain pieces of original artwork. Art should be a part of everyday life, not something persons can only see in museums, high-ticket items available for purchase only to a select, elite few. 

In V's world, artists are a small, distinct group, placed high on pedestals, celebrated for their vision and interpretations of the world around us. But I don't live in that world, not anymore. I was headed there at one time, but then I realized it was a fast track to making my art less accessible to the people who really seemed to love it, who would value it in their homes and lives. It would result in my art being stored in file cabinets and closets, which is not what I want.

And so, from years of growing as an artist and a person, and my recent re-connection with V, Art is for Everyone was born. This Facebook page serves to promote the art of myself, and hopefully in time, others, not to make us famous or wealthy but to get our creations out of the studio and into the world. I'm very excited about seeing what happens, and hope you'll follow along!

And stay tuned for updates on V. She has now shifted her focus from celebrities to the top 200 American Art Collectors. I have more hope that this might bear fruit, though she recently told me she would die with all of her paintings before she'd split the collection up. I'm not sure even the most enthusiastic collector wants 50 paintings by the same artists. So we'll see how it goes...