Rethinking things

Path to the Creek 6x6 oil, copyright 2012

It seems my New Year's resolution to better my photography skills has yet to come to fruition.  The texture of both the paint and the canvas are giving me fits and I have not figured out how to work around them.  I'm sure it as something to do with the lighting.  Hopefully further experimentation will resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, it was suggested to me by Susan Pownell that "more and better" was far too vague a resolution especially if I had no idea how much I had done to begin with, so I took a more detailed look at the year and was a bit surprised at the results.  I was in nine shows, took one workshop, had 80 blog posts, won three second place awards, and posted 64 finished pieces.  It seems I have been much busier than I thought I was, which is a good thing.

After this I've refined my goals somewhat.  I'd like to take more workshops or perhaps a class.  I don't necessarily feel the need to be in more shows but rather will try to get into more juried shows (I was one for two last year) and go beyond my usual haunts.  And while 64 finished pieces is a good number I'd rather see more better quality pieces - quality rather than quantity.  

The marketing thing has me a bit stumped though.  80 posts on the blog equals 80 posts on Facebook and Twitter.  There were a few extra postings on Facebook, but not many.  I know some artists post on Twitter daily and I have seen an increase in followers, but I'm not seeing how that is really helping me. Perhaps I just haven't figured out how to use it effectively.  I'm also wondering if I should increase my online presence by entering more online shows (I entered only one).

All things to think about and a big shout out to Susan for helping me change my mind set on this.  By the way, you should definitely check out her work, she does amazing things with pen and ink.

A bit more snow

Smokehouse with Snow 6x6 oil, copyright 2011

A Track in the Snow 6x6 oil, copyright 2011

With snow melting on the ground, I have two more of these little snow paintings left.  Today I looked at the dates on the back and realized that I had painting nine of them in a one month period.  I had a lot of fun with them, and learned a lot as well.  

I think my trees are slowly getting better, though they still need work.  And I learned that color toned down slightly works better than bright color in most instances - these two for example, are a bit too saturated, though it works better on the second one.

I think what I need to do now is concentrate on a few "finished" pieces.  In other words, take some more time and get a bit more detail, using the things I've learned from these nine pieces.  There is a 6x6 competition in California that I am considering if I get some good pieces done in time.  Thanks Bonnie for the heads up on that one!