2011 in review
2011 was a massive mix of highs and lows for me. I don’t want to dwell on the lows, 2012 is about moving forward and building on my successes of the past year. I hope, wherever you are, that you will take a moment to farewell the bad points of 2011 and happily remember the good. I hope no matter what 2011 was like for you, 2012 will be better! I am proud of the accomplishments I made this year, and the people I met. The milestones I saw others reach and the achievements of everyone around me. This is a list of the things I am proudest about from 2011.
- I painted and painted and painted some more, my skills were increased and I know that I made some of my best work this year.
- my studio is a sanctuary. It is incomplete, but it’s going well and is a constant source of joy.
- I participated in lots of exhibitions. I unleashed my inner geek.
- I saw opportunities and I found shows in unlikely locations.
- two students interviewed me for their assignments on artists and inspirational art
- I did a public interview with Phantomimic
- I was invited to speak on a panel in Sydney and overcame my fear of public speaking to speak about a subject very close to my heart. I am intensely proud of this
- I saw Bill Henson speak twice, I asked him a question in front of thousands of people and cameras
- I filled my life with art and watched how that influenced my toddler to start creating.
- I made contacts with some really lovely people.
- I became more confident in talking to others and marketing face to face
- I made good sales even in this economy. Not as good as some years but still enough to be proud of.
- my affiliate marketing started paying real dividends, rather than just supporting my online costs. it provided a steady stream of income to supplement my art income.
- I watched a wonderful artist recover and survive a terrible beating with the health stick and come back fighting and ready to take his art career to the next level.
- I learned to ask for what I want, and make more of every opportunity
- I was one of 32 artists selected to be a finalist in the Art Revolution Taipei international art competition. Over 2500 artists entered!
- I got a new imac, it’s awesome. it picked up my rendering times no end.
- I started physics based rendering, I’m still really new at it.
- I watched Erica start to walk, and talk more, watched her love of books and drawing grow and watched her develop in so many ways. I’m very lucky to work from home so I can still share in these special moments!
- I overcame my fear of cameras a bit and started posing again. I intend to conquer my fear more and get some new profile pictures soon!
- I completed my 505050 project, despite paper shortages and uploading problems. Not all the works are up yet but I completed them in time. this is a pretty big effort!
- I redid my website, new back end, new design and all new traffic! it looks pretty sweet. I have more to do but I’m very happy with how it is going.
- People told me I was their hero. You can’t get cooler than that!
Inspiration, shiny syndrome and the search for a penseive
Many artists say that to be a professional you need to rid yourself of the notion of inspiration. that you have to create all the time regardless of feeling inspired or motivated or artistic. That you should always create. And I agree, to a certain extent, we should always create, it is part of what makes us artists, and business people. The more you create, the more you want to create. The easier art comes. The better your technique, the better you can produce what you see in your mind’s eye. The more you practice the better you get. It’s that way with everything, writing, music, stock trading, the more you do it, the better you get, the more you enjoy it and the more people respond. But, I also believe that if you are open to inspiration, if you are always on the lookout, then inspiration can strike anywhere, anytime. My problem is that I have too much inspiration, so I am always excited about what I am working on… All 5 or 10 projects! I get overwhelmed by having too much that excites and interests me. And when that happens I go into overload mode and can’t create enough. That becomes a self feeding loop. But if I put a project on the back burner, then it is no longer shiny when I go to pick it up and the way has been blocked by another bunch of shinys.
Shiny Syndrome is a terrible curse to bear at times, but it is also wonderful for constantly finding new sources of inspiration. at any given time, in my mind, I will be working on 2 blog series, 3 blog posts, 2 new blog ideas, a newsletter (that I probably won’t send), a bunch of tweets, 2 exhibition concepts, 3 full sized paintings, 2 renders, 5 sketches and about 10 unformed concepts. And a partridge in a pear tree. And that’s just work stuff. So sometimes my brain wants to explode!
Do you remember the pensieve in the Harry Potter books? I think most artists would give an ear for something like that!
When I get overwhelmed I tend to hide away. this doesn’t do me, or my art, any favors. I need to learn to mitigate my Shiny Syndrome and put it to work for me, instead of against me.
What do you do to sort out all the ideas in your head? Do you have a pensieve system?
Too rude? Speech part 3: nude models and artistic merit.
Part one and part two have already been published. This is the third and final part of my 10 minute speech for Sydney University’s Tuesday Talks program. Frequent readers may recognize some passages here, I couldn’t improve on them!
When I initially wrote about the Bill Henson scandal a number of people told me that I would feel differently once I was a parent. As if that would change who I am. I am proud to say that i am now the mother of a little girl and my views have not changed. I believe, as I did then, that if she were approached by an artist to be a model I would support her. That isn’t to say that I wouldn’t do my due diligence on the artist to ensure they were on the level, and I would be there with her. But the decision is not mine, it would be hers.
One thing that struck me about the model known as N, the adolescent in the image seen on the invitations that caused much of the furor, is that when interviewed she discussed all the considerations she made before modeling. She considered how she felt about her body, how she may feel about school mates seeing her in the nude and how she might feel about it years later.
The most important thing to realize is that what you take away from viewing an artwork is not just what the artist puts in, it’s what you bring to it as well.
Your past affects it as much or even more than the artist’s intentions.
Everyone sees art differently which is why it is difficult to judge, and why it should never be stifled.
artistic merit should not become a goto excuse for pornographers, that harms us artists more than anyone – but it must be allowed. we cannot create under a blanket of censorship and we cannot be the artists we need to be without freedom to create. art has the power to challenge our views, to make us think and and to change the world. I believe that the arts are one of the most powerful forces of humanity and should never be denied.
There is a difference, too, between sexual and sensual. There are as many shades of gray as there are stages of undress. Art can be arousing. It should be arousing. It should inspire passion. Not just sexually, but in all things. Arousal and passion are not just the pervue of sexuality, but of life. And art is life
Too rude? Speech part two – adolescent nudity in art
Part one is here..
These days the nude appears to have become more controversial as the line between nudity and sexuality has been blurred. The prevalence of porn and sexualized images In the media have led to an automatic association between nudity and sex. A belief that nudity is dirty, wrong, and disgraceful. All of this has led to nude art being pushed to the back corner, far from being the classic and honored subject of artists everywhere.
There is no image of vulnerability more powerful than that of a naked child. Take for example the iconic Vietnam Napalm photograph. Would this picture have as much impact if she was an adult? If she was clothed? The image of her running down the street, naked and screaming, is real, it’s powerful and it’s become a symbol for the horrors of war everywhere. This photograph won the Pulitzer and world press photo of the year.
A nude child is the image of vulnerability, of change. It automatically triggers protective instincts. Good art has the power to move us. It inspires emotion.
Would Bill Henson’s works be as emotive if the children were clothed? if they were small breasted adults? His works capture a moment in time. A fragile period in a teen’s life. These works make us empathize with the subject, I have heard abuse sufferers consider them both triggering works and uplifting and encouraging. Other see a coming of age, loss of innocence. fragile, strong. Whatever you see in this work you cannot deny that it has an emotional impact and that is the purpose of art.
The scandal with Brook Shields and the Gary Gross/Richard prince photographs is another good example. Gary Gross took photographs of a pre-teen Brook Shields for a magazine. These works were highly sexualized, with brook painted with oil and makeup. They were exceptionally adult, and in very poor taste. Brook shields did not get a say in modeling for these works, nor how they were used later on. Many years later Richard Prince took a photograph of the original Gary Gross, then changed it. The final work was seedier and turned the original on it’s ear. Where the first seemed to celebrate child pornography, the Prince version used the same image to condemn it. It still uses a sexualized image of an adolescent, but by using that image to make the viewers uncomfortable it made an excellent point about not turning a blind eye to child pornography.
Too rude? Speech part one – my work
As I edited my speech from last week for posting, I realized it was way too long for a single post! This is the first part, about my work. I was introduced beautifully so I only needed to discuss my work itself. Some of these phrases will form part of my new artist statement.
“My artwork explores the nude figure. I find the human body to be a marvel, not just of engineering and design, but also of poetry and emotion. I am endlessly fascinated by what lies beneath, beneath clothes, beneath the layers of pain and beneath the masks we wear.
Nude Art is our history. It is our expression and our drive. It shows our growth as human beings and our evolution emotionally.
I mostly paint women. Strong, elegant and emotional, I capture different aspects of what it is to be a woman. I have been drawn to a difficult arena as censorship grows and fear over the nude body reaches fever pitch.
That is why I have dedicated myself to debunking myths about nude art. I want to show the world the beauty I see in the human body and share my firm belief that nudity is not threatening, it is not always sexual and it is here to stay.”
Why being obsessive produces better art
The more I get absorbed in this complex steampunk series the more I wonder about my obsessive tendencies and artists in general.
Recently, I’ve been having a hard time painting, something was gnawing at the back of my mind. Like a face I couldn’t put a name to it was elusive and irritating.
Something was Not Quite Right in my last painting. The geometry of the gear was off. I didn’t like the model I chose to begin with and have since gotten some better gears, so I decided to redo from start. Or at least, redo the gear.
Just the act of making this decision was galvanizing. suddenly I wanted to be in the studio all the time again! On a roll, i also decided to revisit the gold embellishments on the bustle, to bring them into the shadows better and connect the shapes more. I painted furiously, and it has paid off. A little obsessive prod that was poking me has subsided. The itch stopping me from continuing to the next painting, that was thawing doubt up in the way has passed and I am fired up and ready to continue.
Sometimes obsessiveness can harm a piece, it can lead to overworking and losing a sense of motion, spontaneity and immediacy that draws people in.
Bad things come in groups- farewell to some modern masters
This has been the year for losing iconic artists. These things come in threes, and I hope we have done our dash. M.F.Husain, Cy Twombly and now Lucien Freud. Two of these artists I have discussed on this blog, one at length. That doesn’t mean I don’t admire Twombly’s work, just that it didn’t fit into my niche. Edit: I started this post last week, since then we have also lost Margaret Olley. I guess the rule of threes leaves something to be desired.
These artists have taught us all about solidarity, about production and about being a truly great artist. Here is what I have learned from these greats:
1. Paint, paint and paint some more.
All three artists were extremely prolific. They did not get to the level of success they had without painting constantly and diligently.
2. Paint what you want to paint.
Each one received ridicule and derision at some point for their works, technique or subject matter. They rose above it. Nothing was more important than the art.
3. if you don’t like your situation, change it.
Move, change your allegiance, don’t wait for change to happen- be the catalyst for change.
4. Respect your peers.
Respect other artists, pose for them, inspire them as they inspire you and don’t fear giving back.
5. Know the rules- then break them.
Once you know the rules, you know what you should, and should not do. You know how to bend them and even how to break them. If you don’t know the rules, you risk breaking them in the wrong way. There’s so wrong it’s right and so wrong it’s wrong- the difference is knowing the rules.
These work for all careers, not just for artists. The art world is lesser for these losses.
To thine own self be true.. Nude art and sensuality
One of the reasons i’ve had a hard time writing in this blog lately (apart from being insanely busy) is that i’ve been afraid that i’ve said everything there is to say on the subject of non sexual nudes. I’ve waxed lyrical and vehemently about the difficulties nude art faces because people cannot distinguish nudity from sex. As a nudist and an artist specializing in nudes this speaks very closely to my heart.
Lately, however, i’ve found myself a little trapped. I haven’t been able to explore all the work I would like for fear of being seen as a hypocrite. Because i’ve only presented one side. Nudity does not have to be sexual, you all know my stance on that, but it can also be sensual, and there is nothing wrong with that. As long as it doesn’t break any taboos. (I say taboos because I live in a country that has a new crazy law every week and nothing to protect free expression).
There is a difference, too, between sexual and sensual. There are as many shades of gray as there are stages of undress. Art can be arousing. It should be arousing. It should inspire passion. Not just sexually, but in all things. Arousal and passion are not just the pervue of sexuality, but of life. And art is life.
Friday nude quotes
For someone to think that the body is solely a pornographic entity when naked, then, that’s a sad world that we’re going in to. I think the opposite of nudity is someone totally clothed until you can’t see them anymore. I like a world where people are free to make art nude
Where do you find your muse?
I’ve been having interesting discussions lately on the topic of muses and how different artists access their own personal muses.
In Greek mythology, inspiration for all the different arts were represented by the muses. Demi gods and goddesses who would descend on artists and grant them inspiration.
These days we refer to our muses as fleeting anthropomorphisms of our inspiration and drive to create.
I find my own personal muse in several ways. Sometimes she will just call upon me, and those are brilliant times, but other times I must seek her out.
I call my muse by sketching, looking at art books, watching my favorite movies ad listening to my favorite painting music. Anything that triggers that side of the brain for me really. The things that work for me may not work for others, for example, I find watching Hellboy II or V for Vendetta to be massively inspiring. The visuals and use of light just flick a switch inside.
Other times I will load one of my quick start Daz scenes and just play with posing my model like a doll until I get something that works. Sometimes I will sit with my iPad or even an analogue sketchbook and just draw. My favorite music currently to paint to is by Ayreon and will often send me straight to thinking about creating.
Knowing how to access your muse is key to getting into the studio every day and working with purpose and inspiration. It’s a key component of being an artist.
How do you find your muse?
Friday nude quotes
I posed nude to show my parents they couldn’t dictate to me any more – that I control my life.
You can’t force artists to classify their art
There is talk in Australia, once again, of limiting artists rights. I am likely to offend people with these statements and I don’t care. Ratings classifications don’t belong in the arts. Frankly they barely belong in movies. Most people fail to notice them with regards to tv and movies and still they complain.
Bill Henson is once again exhibiting. This time in Melbourne. I was waiting to discuss the exhibition until after I had seen it In Person but this latest wave of protests have brought me out of my studio and indignant once more about the treatment of artists in this country.
After the press tried and failed to get people riled up about the latest exhibition the right wing nut jobs have taken a stand saying that thhe only thing that will protect the fair and delicate citizenry of Australia from the tyranny of artists is to force artists to undergo the same classifications procedures that movies and tv shows do. Here are some of the reasons this won’t work.
1. Classifications are expensive. Production houses can afford it, individual artists can’t.
2. When the classifications board reviewed henson’s work and came back with a PG rating the protesters were enraged. Even though this was something they requested. They won’t be happy regardless.
3. The ratings system in Australia is fundamentally flawed. Ask any gamer. It isn’t flexible enough to cover art.
4. How do you classify something as subjective as art any way?
5. By increasing the costs for artists you will be raising the price of art for all. In this economy this will probably drive the market further down and for ce more galleries to close.
6. This will fundamentally shift the way australian artists create. It will engender self censorship, make artists less likely to create for fear of the process, the costs and the issues. They may not create their best work, stick to safe things and in the end this may hurt the arts industry more.
I am not unreasonable. By all means make the classification board accessible to all artists to help in disputes, or even to prevent them for the artists that can afford it. But making it compulsory for all artists is irresponsible and despotic to say the least. In the States a bill like this would never reach the floor, here, well I only hope more sensible heads prevail.
Nude of the week – aviatrix
Aviatrix – 20×30″ oils on canvas
$1000
http://www.bit.ly/jraviatrix
Here she is! The completed Aviatrix. I have to admit i am thrilled with the way these pieces have come together. As usual, the more I paint the more inspired I get and this series is pushing me to improve and tackle new things. No sooner do I start on one than I get inspiration for another!
Time machine, the event I created these paintings for went very well. Sadly I couldn’t attend, even though I held out hope until the last minute! The photos are outstanding. I only had the two paintings but they received such a wonderful reaction that I am inspired to continue and put together a steampunk exhibition with some other artisans.
Friday nude quotes
Maybe we should be more timeless. Maybe we should just wear a classic black suit all the time. Or just nudity? That way it’s always in style! From now on, All television spots I’d like to be nude so that I will always be timeless.
Nude of the week – pipes, steam punk burlesque nude render
Pipes – a steampunk nude Dazlstudio render
I have yet to photograph the finished aviatrix yet so here is the render of the painting I am currently working on. it’s working name is pipes, but I don’t have a title for it yet. Sorry I didn’t post this last week, I had a migraine and couldn’t move. I painted, because I paint every day, but even that was a struggle, it was painting and sleep for pretty much a week. Ah, the glamorous life of an artist!
I’ve been obsessed with inverted poses lately. This one kept ringing in my mind for ages, I have sketch after sketch as I tried to refine it and bring it to the surface. I may be doing more as I work out this latest itch! I get poses stuck in my mind like a song and the only way to fix it is to paint and paint and paint!
Products used
Figure: Victoria 4 *free*
Character: Reby Sky
Morphs: Morphs++ NGM for V4
Chair: Girl Play
7 reasons why life models are better than virtual models
Life models vs virtual models: round 2 (round 1 is here)
Last week I wrote about all my reasons why I prefer using 3D models for my painting reference over live models. This week I thought I would flip the tables and write about the limitations of 3D and why a life model can be better.
1. Speed. if I change a light in a live model situation it doesn’t take another two hours to check that the shadow is better. It’s instant feedback.
2. Brains. Mindless bots are just that. I can control every aspect of my model but I can’t just tell them to raise their arm a little more, or assume a contraposto pose, or cock their hip a little. It doesn’t work that way. A live model will just do what I tell them to do.
3. Rigging. I’m at the mercy of the rigging on my model. They try to make the most natural model they can, and they are improving, but Victoria 4 can’t bend quite as naturally as a human. It really requires a good grounding in anatomy to fill in the gaps.
4. Hair. No matter how good the hair model is it just won’t move quite like real hair.
5. Collisions and gravity. Flesh interacts with itself and moves when it touches something, It’s subject to gravity, It pushes aside and wrinkles. 3D technology is improving, with things like weight mapping and so forth, but it isn’t the same. You need a good understanding of the human body and how it moves to ensure you get realistic gravity.
6. Imperfections. Humans have them, it makes them human. 3D models don’t.
7. The learning curve. Many people don’t have the patience to learn how to get the results they want from 3D, it’s easier to hire a model, it’s hard to have to do all the thinking for your virtual model and move them how you want, it’s frustrating and slow and repetitive.
7 reasons why virtual models are better than life models.
Life models vs virtual models: round 1
Something someone said to me the other day made me think of the many reasons I choose to use 3D as reference material for my art. In my mind, 3D has so much potential for artists, in so many ways. I often laud the cost savings of using virtual models as opposed to real ones, but that is such a small part of why I use it now. I have models lining up to work with me, I spend a lot of time and money on my 3D and I frequently bang my head against the wall while working on a render. So why do I prefer it? You see, the beauty of 3D is that it is based in reality, but only limited by your imagination.
1. It’s always available. Unless you live with your model you are going to have to wait for them to get to you- losing valuable inspiration time!
2. It’s patient. Even the most professional model won’t sit in their pose while you adjust the lights, the surface textures, the colors, the room, their skin, for hours and hours. And hours and hours. Then go away for a day and come back to it and tweak it for a few more hours.
3. It’s forgiving. I don’t want to offend my model of the day by telling them that I need to add a little more here or shave off some there, and If I change things up in the eventual piece it’s not going to create an issue. I know most models won’t care, but I always worry offending people- and worry gets in the way of art. There is no place for misunderstanding in 3D.
4. It’s flexible. I can have a model hovering in a backflip for as long as I need, I can freeze a moment in time while I tweak the lighting and the colors, the volume and the mood. I can use any angle, I can make the pose very mundane or I can take it beyond the realms of the human norm and distort and abstract things while still maintaining a sense of reality.
5. It’s quiet. I’m introverted, I need privacy in my studio and i’m very demanding. 3D allows me to do what I need to without worrying about feelings or being interrupted. I can be my own, caustic self without feeling like I have to put on a front. It also means that the only person I talk to is myself, and I talk to myself a lot! It gives me space.
6. It’s..3D.. A lot of you may be thinking that I could achieve a lot of these with photographing the live model and using the photograph for my reference. And you would be right, but photographs are a limited painting resource. The reason so many pieces taken from a photograph look flat is because they use a 2d resource. Now I can hear you thinking, ‘but isn’t that what render is?’ And yes.. But days later when i’m trying to work out what that dark blob is or where the arm went because I changed the angle of something I can virtually walk around the model and see. I can rotate it, change it up as often as I like, and everything is crystal clear. I don’t have to try to re-create it, it’s there exactly how I left it.
7. It’s a guide. The render is not the finished piece, it’s a path along the way.
It really is the best of both worlds! As long as you have the patience and understanding to make it work. It’s harder than life models in a sense, but, for me, it’s the best choice. This may be because i’m a control freak who prefers mindless bots that do my bidding, it may be because i’m a geek and it’s cool and requires no human interaction but mostly I think it’s because I can take my time and get the exact results I want, how I want. It’s my process and it works for me!
Nude of the week – Aviatrix WIP
Aviatrix – Work in Progress
A quick posting with my current work in progress. These days i’m painting in the morning which sets up my day really well. I find I have more energy and I haven’t frittered away my day online. the most important thing is to paint and by putting it first I make sure it’s my priority – before marketing and web work, before email, even before facebook!
From the ugly comes poetry
Ugly
This wonderful Poem was written on the wall for my painting Ugly on Redbubble, recently featured in their explore section. I’m always humbled when my work inspires poets and writers, thankyou Ivo!
Nude of The Week – Fanboy Vs Artboy Concept Render
This is the first of my concept renders for the upcoming exhibition I’m in at Artboy Gallery. The focus of this exhibition is games and fan art and I’m delighted to be a part of it! I will write more later, but for now this is the concept as it stands, it’s really fun to work on something so challenging and different. it will be painted in my usual style, but it’s so different from anything I’ve done!
I morphed all the characters from scratch, referencing the characters from their in-game art. I can tell you that some parts involved quite a bit of speculation! I don’t have a lot of experience with multi character pieces, but I love classic composition so I had a lot of fun, I went back to my art history roots for inspiration.
For those who don’t know, these characters are from my favorite game World of Warcraft. over the entire warcraft saga there has been a bit of a love story woven around the characters Jaina Proudmoore, Arthas Menethil and Thrall. I could write more about my feeling about these three characters, but you will probably be seeing this piece in development so for now I will focus on the render.
There were a LOT of products used in this! I spent a day morphing each character. that’s a day *per* Character!
Thrall is made with Freak 4 (FREE for a limited time!)
Michael 4 morphs++
Sol Elite Skin with custom coloring
Cuffed Tail 2
and the Beard (I was particularly proud of this as I don’t have any beards, fitting this was a challenge!)
Gabriel Hair
Arthas
Michael 4 *free*
Michael 4 morphs++
Sol Elite Skin
Reby Sky Elite Hair (sorry Reby)
Jaina Proudmoore
Victoria 4 *free*
V4 Morphs++
Eve Skin
Sienna Hair
Taxpayer dollars, art and you- how it all fits
While I grant that not all public art is liked or understood by everyone, the tenor of this article at the herald-sun is that all arts funding is a waste and that the programs should be scrapped. The arts are seeing an all time high in funding at the moment and I think it is wonderful that artists are being given the funds to realize their grandiose dreams.
While it may not appeal to everyone, public art does not only benefit the rich, it beautifies cities, it gives everyone new and interesting to watch, to do, to experience.
Grants are not just there for artists to slack off and live off taxpayer dollars, but a chance to earn recognition, to create their visions and to create something to benefit everyone. Art costs money to make. Without the help of grants, residencies and funding, some projects would never get made.
Sadly, sometimes if the art is a little lacking, it isn’t the fault of the committee or a lack of funding (or too much as this article seems to suggest), it’s a lack of artists submitting their works. Grants are intimidating, they’re difficult and artists are often afraid that they will be rejected and that is enough of a reason not apply. But doing the hard work can pay off, not just in allowing you to create the work you want, but to also bring art to thousands who may never otherwise get a chance to see it.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday nude quotes
Pylons, those pillars Bare like nude, giant girls that have no secret.
-Sir Stephen Harold Spender ‘Pylons’.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The art market bubble, about to burst or merely change?
What goes up must come down. It is a law of physics, and of economy. While many are looking at the recent succeeds at Christies and Sotheby’s as the best art sales we’ve seen, others are seeing it as the beginning of the end for the arts market.
Personally, I see it as possibly the beginning of the end for some of the secondary arts market. Some art is like blue chip stock and will forever be a sound investment. But I also see it as the beginning of the rise of the primary market. More and more middle class people and baby boomers are becoming interested in collecting art, and they are on the look out for emerging artists and established living artists. They are looking for the blue chips to be, the next Picasso, the next Van Gogh. They are the new patrons and I predict that we will see further growth in the primary art market as Internet sales of art rise and the mystique surrounding art collecting fades away.
Art is no longer only for the rich, As artists work to represent themselves, connect with clients online around the world and make wonderful art, this new group of patrons will be here to build the next generation of blue chip art.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
6 years on – why I started Blogging
Redhead, 2005 (my first full ochre piece)
What made you decide to start a blog? If you’ve blogged about this before, go back and read it. Is that still the reason? What’s changed?
[From Topic: Why did you start? | The Daily Post at WordPress.com]
I started a blog because I was bored and in pain and everyone was doing it. no seriously! before I had heard about blogging as a marketing tool, before I rediscovered my art, I was in a bizarre limbo state as part of my dealing with my pain and the loss of my job and ability to work a full time desk job ever again. I oscillated between different varieties of denial and came up with a million random entrepreneurial ideas (I suffer from chronic entrepreneuritis – symptoms include glassy expression, a constant flow of business ideas, inventions, books, applications.. anything you can create a business around. I get it from my dad) and decided to write a book. my blog was a way for me to get those book ideas down, and to be emo and stuff. but I didn’t like being all emo and whingey and I really didn’t like writing a book! so I started painting again to while away the hours, and blogged about that instead. you can see the blog click over from random nothings to art and how excited I was about it all! it turns out, the more I experimented with painting and enjoyed myself, the less pain I felt. and sharing with the world enabled me to create the career I have today.
sometimes I wonder about taking down those old posts, they’re a long way from where I’ve come today, and I worry that they aren’t in keeping with my “brand” but I look back fondly on them, they’re part of my journey. this blog is the history of my career from the beginning, an online visual diary and a fun diversion. I lost some aspects of that along the way, but I’m hoping to recapture some of the best aspects again.
I’ve come a long way!
Over to you- why did you start a blog?
Loathsome I’ve become.
Acreature so undome.
Wretched and broken.
Cannot find my faith.
Any God will do.
Nothing said is new
Nothing said is true.
Fly away my hope….