Thursday, January 8, 2015

Hoeptner Year 2014 in Review

My favorite painting from 2014:  "Tangy," sold.
2014 was a good year for my art.  Cat Art Show L.A. happened! "Freesia Fran" made into The Artist's Magazine.  My Coco-kitteh was featured in Carol Marine's book Daily Painting and then Huffpost Arts & Culture. "I Have Cat!" made me cat woman for a day.  I feel incredibly lucky to have become part of Gallery + here in Cleveland.  I also want to thank the hard working staff at Lord Nelson's Gallery in PA.  

A little more about 2014:  I've been procrastinating writing this post.  Never sure how much to "share."  You see, 2014 was very much about a personal, non-art (gasp?!) goal.

It's been about ten years-- and one goal in particular (the one tucked in between "paint better and "paint bigger") showed up every dang year.  ...and every year, I failed. "Lose 30 pounds." 2014 was the year I decided if losing weight was the only thing I did, it would be ok. As a multi-tasker who relishes goals (plural!) the idea was revolutionary.  (I had to reassure myself that art would keep getting made and in fact the earth would not stop spinning.) 

Planning meals, grocery shopping took on a new epic importance. Pasta got replaced by spahgetti squash. Icecream by strawberries etc...  (Here's my stash of recipes on Pinterest.)

The weight came off.  Not as fast as I had hoped, sometimes 1 or 2 pounds a month, 27 pounds to date. Slow and steady aint bad.  I'm feeling really good about it. I hemmed and hawed over whether project lose-thunder-thighs was blog worthy. This is an art blog, but I figured if I could do it anybody can. So, there's my year in review, the art highlights and my personal SCORE!  Telling it all to you makes it that much more real to me and I thank you for that.  Thank you for reading, commenting and subscribing, Happy New Year!

14 comments:

  1. Dear Diane, Thank you for sharing all your successes! You are an inspiration to so many people in more than just your art. Hearing how you lost 27 pounds (close enough to 30 I would say!) is inspiring! And you did it without missing a step, while having one of your best art-accomplishment years ever, if not THE best year! Congratulations dear friend!! xoxo

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  2. Diane thanks for opening a window into 2014. Congrats on your amazing accomplishments and those 27 pounds. Your work is breathtaking and you truly are an inspiration. I always look forward to your posts. Happy New Year.

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  3. OMG! Accomplished artist AND successful dieter....some people just have it all :-) Congratulations!!!!

    Linda O.

    (And a redhead to boot. Everything I ever wanted!!!)

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  4. You rock. Self discipline for creative folk can be a huge, slippery creature from the black lagoon, and you so clearly have tackled and wrestled it to the floor in your artistic output, and personal goals. Hat tip to you! Bravo!

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  5. Congratulations on each and every success, Diane. Your work is so great and you do such a great job of getting it out for us to enjoy. A total thumbs way up!!!

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  6. Oh that's so great Diane and thanks for sharing. Gosh you must be feeling so happy. I'm happy for you. Hopefully all of us will have a wonderful 2015

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  7. Congratulation Diane!!! You are an inspiration! Love seeing your posts. Happy New Year!!! :)

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  8. Holy cow, YEAH!!! That's awesome! You & I have had similar goals... (paint bigger & better....and lose 18lbs. that have now settled around my middle -heart attack zone). Oy. Rather than the slew of biggies that I wanted to paint, just a handful happened last year...I seemed to be mentally locked in to certain sizes. And the pounds, they just keep creeping on every winter. I'm determining this will be the year they start coming off. I've joined the Y & started swimming again....AND I'm def. gonna be checking out your pinterest board recipes! And I AM glad you shared this news...as I know how hard it is to avoid the kitchen when I need that afternoon studio break to get away from the (not-so-big) canvas. You rock Diane! (and to think, I was just gonna comment on how much I loved this kitty, too!!) . Best wishes for an awesome year 2015!

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  9. Loved this blog entry...it is good for your art fans to hear a bit about your personal triumphs. It is also good encouragement to stay with the healthy food choices. Congratulations. I hope 2015 is as great (or better) than the fabulous 2014. On another note, my daughter's cat Punim continues to hang in there. Sylvia is taking good care of her...hand feeding, heating pad to lounge/sleep on. The vet is amazed she hasn't lost her will to live (the cat, not my daughter). But Punim is fading and is very thin. Your Punim portrait hangs in their house as a reminder of the glory days! Thanks again. Linda

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  10. Bravo to you!!! It can be so dang hard to balance it all. The sacrifice you made to eat healthier will pay off for your art. You will be healthier, feel better, and have more energy to crank out paintings year after year! All the best to you in 2015.

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  11. Congratulations!!! Thanks for the inspirational success stories!

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  12. :) Thank you!! Linda, I'm glad to hear Punim is hanging in there, she's a fighter!! Roxanne, dang you go! Funny how the same goals show up every year, some to be expected, but some just a pain. Good luck. Belinda: Um, yeah, LOL, I'm not out of the lagoon yet... I think in some ways it's easier to lose weight than maintain the loss... But we'll see how 2015 goes. Thank you all so much for commenting, I really appreciate it.

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  13. YES to sharing such an achievement to honour your commitment, character-proving and health-respecting, Di!! Besides, it is inspiring to the rest of us to hear how you can apply your creative chops in a way so many of us seek to do.
    Thanks for this.

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  14. Congrats for your success ! Indeed an inspiration !

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