Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Style

"Almost Winter"
Oil on Panel
24 x 18"
2010


Fellow Colorado painter Dan Schultz posted a thoughtful blog today about developing one's style, and it got me thinking about my own style. I've only been painting landscapes for about six years now, so I've seen my style evolve pretty significantly as I improved my skills. Recently, I feel like my paintings have been getting more refined as I spend more time trying to get things right. I used to be all about thick paint everywhere and bold color. Now I'm more interested in the contrast between hard and soft edges, thick and thin paint, and the use of greys to make the important color notes pop.

Yet however my style has evolved, I feel as though my paintings still look like mine - they still have a bit of my own signature style. I guess it's a bit like handwriting, in that I can't really pinpoint the elusive quality that makes my paintings mine, and I don't spend much time thinking about it. It just IS.

What do you think about style? Do you think a lot about your personal style, or do you let it be?

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

2009 In Review

"Bandit"
Oil on Panel
18x14"
2009

Well, it's a new year and I'm not even going to begin to attempt to status my 2009 goals to see how I did. That train derailed quickly when I got pregnant, and there's no point in beating myself up about what I didn't get done this year!

Instead, I figured I might as well make a short list of some of the things I DID manage to do this year, just to make myself feel a little bit better (even though I'll still be internally beating myself up). So, here are some of the things I'm proud to have accomplished this year:

  • Had a painting accepted into the Salon International show
  • Participated in the Colorado Governor's Invitational
  • Survived 5 months of all-day "morning" sickness
  • Managed to keep my art business afloat despite aformentioned morning sickness
  • Got invited to join a great new gallery
  • Had a successful two-person show in August
  • Moved into the gorgeous new house my husband built
  • Started working in my roomy new studio
  • Gave birth to a beautiful baby boy (sans drugs!)
  • Sold more paintings than I painted
  • Had my work featured in and on the cover of the local tourist magazine
  • Had my studio featured in the American Artist "Studios" magazine
  • Awarded "Best of Show" in the November FineArtViews Contest

Overall, 2009 was a tough year for me, mainly because I had a rough pregnancy and couldn't physically do a lot of things I wanted to do. It was totally worth it though, and I know I can get things back on track with my art this year. I'm thankful for my kids and my health, and thankful that I get to do what I love for a living, so in the end it's all good.