What kind of an artist am I? Moody, mostly.. my production which could have easily increased during the COVID-19 quarantine, has not gone in that direction. I just haven’t felt the urge to paint or sculpt. I should.. I have a huge exhibit at Crosstown Arts in Memphis in the Fall to create pieces for, but.. the drive escapes me right now.
It’s strange because while my drive to create physical art went down, suddenly an obsessive drive to create websites again hit me like a train! I retired from commercial art in 2007, and didn’t see myself ever venturing into those waters again. I had a major MS attack in 2007, which is when I was diagnosed, and at that time I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to see without double vision, have any balance or walk a straight line ever again.
Because all those physical abilities are important in producing websites, I had to close my well established web firm, and transfer my clients to a colleague. The addictive high stress from that world was probably what caused me to have a major MS attack in the first place… but boy did I grieve the loss of my business. For more than ten years, I woke up EVERY day and created or worked on a website.. or a logo.. or a layout. It was super fulfilling, even though I couldn’t put it out of my mind. All waking hours were tied up with thoughts of web design/development and that space between consciousness and sleep was filled with the nagging thoughts of a pixel out of place or a piece of code that could be cleaned up.
I worked hard to regain my vision and balance back and after a couple of years, it returned.. but far too late for my web business.
My husband, Kenny, was not happy with my decision to reopen a web firm.. he remembers well, that chaos it brought to our lives. But I promised him I would keep it to limited clients, so he reluctantly jumped on board.
And I am trying to keep it from becoming that all-consuming monster, but I have to admit, that I have spent the last three months submerged in web development and I LOVE it. To have that feeling again everyday of wanting to get started on my projects right away… I denied it for too long.
Anyway.. this was about what kind of an artist am I? I still don’t know the answer to that, other than CRAZY. I knew pretty much immediately that I didn’t want to be a painter of landscapes, still life, or portraits.
..Although, here is a portrait I did of our grandson, Gabe.. that I never finished painting in his arm.. (from eight years ago!).. and my painting from 2008, I call Fishlips Joker. The myspace ducklips selfie craze apparently even influenced my work! :smize:
I do like simplifying images of my muse, Moosh, down to shapes that work well in printmaking, but I’m not going to be painting the All American Family or anything like that.. it just doesn’t excite me. And even when making prints of Moosh, I get sidetracked on recurring shapes, like the ginkgo leaf shape on her head.
I don’t have anything against those forms of art.. I just like the visions in my head, far better than painting something in a field, from a photo, or on a table. I can’t make that style of art tap into my creative vein.
Most of my inspiration has been found in mixed media pieces where I can dabble in different disciplines: inserting a raku or metal sculpture, or parts of a monoprint into a painting. I’m predictably excited by including the repetition of a discovered shape in all my work.. hmmm.. sounds a little like coding to me.
Maybe I know who I am after all.
In the meantime, if you need a website, visit me at https://jadedartist.com