Carlyle And Some Cool Happenings

This is a little “everything but the kitchen sink.” I could have split it up, but I’m hoping to have much more content coming soon.

After Vandalia, I went to the very popular Starved Rock state park in Illinois for my birthday. Now I’m in one of the prettiest parks I have ever been to.

Who would have thought I grew up 15 minutes away? Eldon Hazlet park is so lovely. The hosts are really nice, although the newest ones were using power tools at 7:30 am their second day.

If you love Halloween and other people who love Halloween, you need to be here. They do it right.

*Personal side note, feel free to skip if you don’t care:

My Grandma was in the hospital for a while before my birthday. She kept telling me she was getting discharged the next day or day after so I didn’t go back. However, she had a turn for the worst so I went home and took care of her for a few weeks. Of course family drama ensued. It is really a shame when people let jealousy and greed blind them to what is really important in life. Luckily, even though they lied under oath, they were not allowed to succeed. Small miracles being what they are.

/personal side note

On the bright side, even with all the personal issues, I have been more productive than ever before in my art career. I have finished six paintings and I am on my 7th. I have also added artwork to Society 6 to sell prints and Etsy for originals. I’m pretty excited about it. I’m offering free shipping during the holidays on my originals.

Last year I wanted to do a painting a day, and had even purchased diamond painting kits, but I stopped after 2 finished paintings and 2 incomplete paintings.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided I was going to do 2 a day. Seems a bit of a stretch since I stopped doing one a day. I have yet to do 2 paintings a day, but I’ve finished more than I have for the rest of the year combined.

My reasoning for 2 paintings a day:

If I only allow 4 hours per painting, I have a definite stopping point. If I hate the painting, I can stop after 4 hours.If I love it, I want to make sure I finish it instead of running out of time. I have to stop after 4 hours.It relieves the panic/anxiety that has come with painting since I graduated college:If I’m afraid of having a bad painting and spending a lot of time on one painting, just to hate it, doesn’t it make sense to do smaller/faster paintings and get the bad ones out of the way? Not that I think these are bad, I really like what I’m doing right now. It just allows me to paint a bad painting without beating myself up.
Even if I don’t do 2 a day, I still have way more paintings. Seriously. Way more.I can build m confidence and my inventory.
I can experiment and enjoy painting because if it goes wrong, I move on. See above on the anxiety.This is really important because a lot of the time, I feel like I have nothing to say, but keeping my skill level up is important. With smaller, faster paintings I can build my skill without worrying about saying anything at all. I can wait until I have something to say and I will have the skill to say it.
My attention does not stray nearly as much.
I want to learn how to paint faster. A time limit should help with that.

The only trouble I am having is limiting the 4 hours to that day. I’m being kind to myself with that, for now, because I’m just pleased I’m painting so much and without anxiety.

You want more good news, you say?

Well, lucky for you I’ve got it.

I finally taught myself to do speed painting videos.

My very first attempt:

My latest:

So, in conclusion, I now have an online store for my originals and prints, I have fun videos, and I have a lot more paintings. I also changed my palette to a much brighter trio. Cadmium orange, Manganese blue hue, Cobalt violet. Such fun, much excitement.

I will leave you with a few of my latest paintings:

It does amaze me that 2 weeks ago, none of these paintings existed.

Artwork and Blog

Artwork and Blog

Carlyle And Some Cool Happenings