Working Hard or Hardly Working

photo © Nicki Ault, 2016

I seem to be having a bit of a difficult time getting into a schedule at the studio, but this past week I spent some quality time there, if not quantity. Some great progress was made and I am anxious to get back and continue working on my canvas of the Kingsmere River. Hopefully this weekend. You can see my chaotic table set up with paint, brushes, palette and photo reference and little 6x6 study on the easel. The computer was there acting as a slight distraction when the WiFi was actually working (darn Facebook), but mostly adding inspiration to my work by playing a great list of music. I hold out hope that March will be my month to work hard because so far this year I feel like I have been hardly working.

Another Hint

mid-December in my studio... 

the start of the project I have been hinting at...

We have been away. To Mexico! We took the kids and went for about 10 days... ohh, what a treat! But it was a shock to the system to come home to the cold. We left temperatures of about +28 Celsius and came home to about -28 Celsius. Actually I now feel better prepared to make it through the next couple of winter months. It was a good break. 

Before we left on our trip I managed to get this mystery project done and the final image sent off. I will reveal the full story and details soon. I am super excited about it and I am so happy I didn't allow my fears and negative self talk to prevent me from participating. I have to thank my dear friend, Shauna, for a supportive eleventh hour phone call back in November before I committed to this project. She talked me down from the panic ledge and helped me see that this was an opportunity I shouldn't pass up. Her confidence in my work gave me the courage to not just think about it, but to do it! So I did!

Are you on the edge of your seats? he he...

Exciting News!

Okay, I just had to share the extremely exciting news that happened in my little world yesterday....

Storm Clouds Lifting  
20x16

acrylic on canvas 
sold

For the last few years I have been using a little corner of another artist's space which is part of a larger studio  space shared by 8 artists. She is the instructor I had for the first class I took 10 years ago through the U of S Extension Division when I decided to rediscover my artistic side, and she has been a true blessing in my life. I will write a full posting about her because she deserves more time than I can give right now. Anyway, about three years ago she saw I was a mess and very wisely decided I was desperately needing some "me time". She was about to go teach at the Emma Lake campus for the summer so she asked if I wanted to take care of her plants at the studio and use the space a bit while she was away. I did. When she got back we continued on... I was rarely using the space because the kids were so little and she and I wouldn't have been there at the same time, so the arrangement worked and it helped her out a little bit with the cost. Zoom a few years later and my little people are just a tinge older and these small pockets of time are opening up for me. This fall I have been at the studio almost every afternoon whereas even just last year I might get there one afternoon a week for just barely 2 hours. Well, yesterday when I was there working on my large reflection ( the one I posted on Oct. 11- yes, I'm tweaking it- I don't think it was done) one of the artists came in and announced that she was giving up her space. I said impulsively "I'll take it!!" and next thing I knew it was mine! I take it over on December 1st!!!! YAY!!! There is really no place in my house to set up a studio unless we converted the attic, but it is so wonderful to be in an environment with other working artists. And it is in the neighborhood.... down the street and around the corner from the school. These studio spaces rarely come up and I just felt I had to grab it because who knows when the opportunity would come around again. It will be so fun to set it up the way I want and really put down roots. I am unsure whether or not I will look for someone to share the costs with, but I can worry about that later, right?

This painting will be in the show with the "Looking Up" tree on my last post. I got word back from the curator yesterday and she thought they were "lovely" and we could work them in. So that is it. I am set! And the framer will be able to get them done in time. Woo hoo! Yesterday was a very good day.