Monday, September 18, 2017

Counting the Days

The paintings are finally done, the framing is all complete. Everything is labeled and priced and packed. My first solo show is just weeks away and I am excited, apprehensive and relieved all at once. 
 
This has been an interesting journey for me, bigger than any project I've ever taken on. I have had to work harder at painting than I've ever done in the past in order to have enough pieces to put in the show. I've had to be extremely organized and dedicated so I could reach my goal. I have had to paint most days and have had to plan the next painting while still focusing on the one I was working on. Early on in the process I often asked myself, "what in the world were you thinking when you said yes to this??" Because I have primarily worked on commissions I had very few pieces in inventory which meant I had to work that much harder to meet the number of paintings needed. But, I did it!
The photo shows my progress from a few months ago. Almost all of these are new paintings so you can gauge just how much work was involved here. This is about two-thirds of what I completed for the show. 
 
Me and one of my favorite paintings
 Now that I have the work behind me I can take a deep breath, maybe have a glass of wine and figure out what happens next. Perhaps now I will concentrate on more challenging individual pieces that I can really take my time on or maybe I will focus on entering more duck stamp contests. The next steps on the path have not been revealed yet, but I'm hopeful they will be soon. In the meantime, I'll be anxiously awaiting the opening of this show and hopefully getting to visit with many of you there!