On Trying New Things and Experiments

Routine...
 As an artist, one can fall into the trap of making the same kind of work over and over again where it becomes formulaic and expected; especially when one has had some success in sales. There's a natural pull to repeat what did well in order to achieve “predictable” sales results.

 Welp… NOTHING in the world of art sales is predictable. What is hot one day is not hot the next, and so forth. It is NEVER a good idea to change (or NOT change) the work to potentially please a market. I've learned this the hard way during dips of confidence. The work that is successful is work that is authentic, interesting, and unique in some way. The artist must be happy and energized in its making.

Ideas flow through my head daily and it's my job to curate them and decide what has value toward where I want to take my work and what does not. This also means I need to experiment with new materials, mediums, and techniques to achieve the visions I have in my own head. I must be comfortable with taking risks and making messes. Relying on what I know or what I've already seen means I might miss pushing the work to the more interesting unique places it could potentially go, thus uncovering a wonderful new thing.

 When I wasn't working on custom commissions this past spring and summer, I was busy experimenting with ideas (many of which I won't share because they are terrible, ha!). I was thinking a lot about nature and found myself constantly drawn to images of water on shores; like the sea, ponds, lakes, and streams. I would stare into the milky shallow water at the rocks, plants, and life below the surface. I loved the soft greens of the milky cloudy water and wondered if I could capture that wax-like cloudy effect with my paint. 

 I Googled, You-Tubed, asked questions in forums, and inquired on websites until I finally figured out what might work best. I brought home the materials and spent a few weeks trying different mediums and formulas to achieve the look I was going for and one day it finally happened, much to my delight and relief.

Milky water effects using many layers of fluid matte medium mixed with white acrylic ink.

 This required time, effort/planning, money, and the willingness to fail. Was it worth it? I would say yes! I've learned a lot of valuable things I can apply to my work going forward. These are ways I can add the values of interest and originality.

 It can feel scary and intimidating to go out of our depths and do something new. But, you will ALWAYS learn from it and you will never regret TRYING. If you feel stuck or bored in ANY aspect of your life, consider how you may go beyond your depths a bit in a way that will shake things up and energize you toward new ideas and new confidence in your abilities. We are never finished growing, so keep experimenting!