Hi all! I hope you enjoy this new batch of throwback posts from my social media accounts! It’s a little hard to stay super consistent with these posts but I always love putting them together when I can!
Same artist different decade! This is a bit of a wild throwback for me considering that the 2011 photo was from my very first art show in my senior year of high school and the 2021 photo was for my first art show with a gallery as a professional artist. At this time in high school I thought I wanted to be an art teacher because I figured there was no way I could make it as a professional artist and I did enjoyed teaching so why not just compromise. But at the same time I was starting to develop a real and personal passion for art beyond the normal positive reinforcement one gets when they make a pretty picture. I was beginning to experiment and self motivate because I was excited for what I could create. And in the ensuing years I would start to see my art as a skill that I could practice and develop with hard worth and passion.
Honestly I feel like I have changed a lot in the last 10 years and I feel so fortunate to have people in my life that have supported my personal and professional growth with unwavering love. Success is not a race, we all find our own definition of success at our own time and I feel that something this important should not be rushed. Everyday I try to find a balance between patiences and persistence so that I can appreciate this exact moment but also find the motivation to work towards a future that I define for myself.
Thank you for reading!
This is going to be a fun throwback Thursday post! Because believe it or not I’ve been using the same easel for almost 8 years now for many of my major projects and it’s time for a change! In the 2013 photo you will see that this easel came from Katy’s parents garage and they graciously set up a small painting space for me in said garage so that I could continue to develop my skills as an early art major in college. This gave me a space where I could be creative and work on some of my very first commissions and professional projects. Over the years this children’s easel became my primary working easel simply because it was familiar and served it purpose well at the time. This easel has been used in every studio and work space I have ever been in as well as a display easel for most of my festivals over the years. But as I have developed my technique and become more of a detailed painter it has become more difficult to use this easel because of its lack of adjustability and stability. And as you can see in the photo that I recreated in 2021 I’ve always had to hunch and lean in order to obtain those fine details that I love to create.
So it’s safe to say that it’s about time that I get a new easel! You can peep the next photo to see my brand new Richeson Dulce in all of its glory! Thank you @artisansantafe for special ordering this for me and being so communicative during this process. I’ve used this easel for almost a week now and I can’t tell you how nice it has been to adjust and customize it in order to make my painting experience more comfortable and enjoyable! I have no doubt that this will help my posture while painting for hours on end everyday haha! And overall I hope that this story can show that creators will always find a way to create, we don’t need the best tools or materials in order to do what we love, just give us time and encouragement! Thanks for reading!
My Brand New Easel!
For this throwback post I wanted to address a topic that I struggle with and I’m sure many other artists struggle with as well. This topic being our very judgmental minds overly criticizing a piece of artwork too early in the process. This concept of this post may seem simple but trust me when I say that I have to remind myself at the start of every painting to turn off my critical mind and just work. If you start to be too critical of a piece before it even has time to grow you end up restricting yourself and cluttering your mind with unnecessary negative thoughts. Your art will evolve at it’s own pace and its up to you to be kind to yourself and nurture the piece as best as you can. Every piece of art you create will inevitably have an awkward phase and that’s just part of the creation process. Be kind to yourself and trust the process.