Good Morning!

Well hello! Yes, I'm here. I miss blogging dearly. I'm turned right off by the IG rat race and diligently working on typing this with one space between sentences. (I momentarily imagine laughter and a roaring applause.)

I'm back to blogging because I love to put my thoughts into words. I find that I can share my ideas with greater flow and ease this way. Filming myself and editing an entertaining video with great showwoman ship, perfecting hair, makeup, sound, lighting, text, background music, blah, blah blah... just for more followers. Excuse me, but, fuck that. Admin and sales is not where I want to pour my energy and the pressure to show and dance is making me miserable. As a women and a housewife and a mother of a few and the sole breadwinner and a creative and a dog owner and a gardner... I just have one head to balance all those hats. 

I take care of a lot of people in my life. I realize that in my business, what's more important is a) my mental health. I need to feel good to make beautiful art. That's just how it works. If you ask for a commission from me, and I'm grieving or completely falling apart, I will not spend time on it. I won't put that energy into your special piece. That might sound flaky to some, but trust me, you want the art made by the woman who creates with joy in her heart. You'll get a much better piece.

The second most important thing I realize is b) quality of relationships, not quantity. I'm talking about you, the customers / the clients. I know this. Everyone should. 10,000 followers doesn't mean much, unless you are mass producing or looking for sponsors and subscriptions I suppose. I could some day. Aside from a few prints, supplies, and greeting cards, I make original art. 50 thousand followers won't impact my work when it only takes one person to fall in love with the piece.

Back to blogging vs IG reels. I could jump around and put the camera up my nose and make you notice me. (Ok, I DO enjoy reels. I watch other people daily. Some of you all are FANTASTIC xo.) Blogging is important because with MY work, I have stories to tell. I love telling the stories. Each piece of art, from inception to completion, has stories that are integral to their creation. The story gives flavour to my work. I love to share that with the written word. It holds identity, like a name. And then you learn the meaning of the name. You know how that opens up a whole new layer to associate with the visual of someone or something? That association settles well into the memory, I find. It often gives more substance and purpose to what you are looking at.

This isn't appropriate for all art. In fact, it's rather taboo for some. However, for my landscapes as with commissioned landscapes, they do start with a place. Placees hold many tales. The original image I work from is a capture of a specific moment in time. Sometimes I have amusing or wonderous stories about just GETTING TO that spot. Sometimes I have stories of wildlife, or meet ups with stray individuals. I might have noticed something in the image after I took the photo, and that makes the story. I remember all of them with great detail, and I feel the need to share them is part of my art.

You end up missing thoughts and little bits of personal connection on IG. I miss the thoughts and personal connection.

So here I am. August 2022. Are you still here?

p.s. if you cannot comment here on the blog for whatever reason, please email me any time to say hi.  Messages can go through the comment page of my website, and if you don't already, you can sign up for announcements at the bottom of any page on my website. My Sweet Prairie

I look forward to telling more stories!