2017

I begin the new year, 2017. My goal is to see what creating and selling art will accomplish in three years and 2017 will be my 2nd year. I plan to do the Placer Arts open studio tour again in the November 2017, which is the only time I focus on selling my original paintings. Although I can be contacted regarding any of the originals at anytime of the year, I'm just narrowing down a public showing to once a year. I just don't see myself buying a 10' X 10' tent and portable shelving, then lugging my art around for some outdoor sale at a show or fair. There are many many artists that do that and it's a tough way to survive. By the time you figure in the transportation costs and time sitting around hoping for a sales, they probably barely make minimum wage. A sad story, not that I mean to start 2017 that way. It's just a reality that affects my creation of art or eventual demise. I was very lucky in 2016 that I had support from friends and recoup some of my material costs and to be able to continue for another year.

My art plans for this year will be more focused on experimentation and less on quantity. I'm not shooting for a painting every week in 2017 like I did in 2016. They happen when they happen. I over did it last year and it put a strain on my right shoulder area. I will make changes to how I paint, meaning taking more breaks often to avoid repetitive motion injury. I'll try not to sit as long as well. That seems to be the new push for health for non-art tasks like even sitting too long at a computer.

The experimental part of the art is to be more bold in trying different in techniques, subjects, and materials. It's not like I have that all figured out yet what I'm going to do. I'm just being more open to creating in a new way. If I see something that interests me I'll try it. I think that's that might be a path to learning and improvement. A way to keep the art interesting and alive. It is an unknown direction I'm headed. Let's see where 2017 takes me.