The other day I was sitting in my studio and studying all of the work I had on the wall and on other surfaces. I saw landscapes, surreal collages, Victorian Pretties, cards, assemblages, watercolors, little illustrations, and some encaustic pieces.
I thought, wow, how versatile I am, but there was another little voice that said, yeah, and unfocused. You need to get focused.
When I had my first solo show about 6 years ago in a small gallery, my body of work was fairly consistent and consisted of surreal collages. I had been working hard in collage, experimenting with mixed media and came up with some wonderful pieces. Several over the past few years have sold. Several will go into my “YART” sale I am planning on having, some I will never sell unless I have to. But I worked for a few years devotedly in that medium and produced a good body of work.
Over the past two years I have dug out my paints and pen and ink and watercolors again as that is my true love. I truly desire to become more proficient in them, and the only way I will get better is by using them. Yet I still love collage, both traditional and digital.
Not only is my medium so varied, my subject matter is also all over the place: abuse, oddities, anthropomorphic animals, architectural, landscape.
I know that in order to have another show I have to focus on one or two themes and produce of body of 15-20 works that should be consistent in theme/size/presentation. I have to decide if I will do one theme and present it in one medium, or stretch the theme into whatever medium suits it.
If I only did not have to teach, nor take care of a house and a family. It is so difficult to follow the calling of artist and still have to do everything else. Some people left their families, like Gaugin. Some artists did it with families,and were successful, some famililes suffered greatly for the art of their parent/s.
But I do give myself credit for doing all that I can as often as I can, and as long as I am creating.
I am off to make a list to keep me focused. I will post that in my studio as a reminder and an inspiration. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Patti
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About Me
- Patti Gibbons
- Kingston, Hudson Valley of New York, United States
- Painter, mixed media artist/designer and teacher, I am middle aged but not middle of the road. I live life with passion, and experience it in all its joys and sorrows. I live for my art and connecting with the beauty of the landscape, the arts, and the love of the people in my life. What an incredible honor it is to make such a journey.
1 comment:
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