Monday, September 5, 2011

Mull it Over Monday: Part II, Daily Painting Art Blog Evolves, keepin' it real, yo

Some visitors may remember the many acrylic stencil paintings I did
a while back.  This is one of a two part suite called Dragonfly Zinnias. 
Blogging is good.  Last week I talked about that...  The asocial artist benefits from sharing online--shocking, right?  (:  But as time marches on--I've had to re-assess what is important. Truth be told posting a painting a day has become a lesser focus.  It started when I upped my daily painting size from 6x6 to 8x8.  Painting an 8x8 every day is not a cake walk and some of you may have noticed my post rate went down a bit...  But it was a necessary change. Entering juried shows then motivated me to paint a wider variety of subjects.  It also brought home the realization that 8x8 is still quite small.  More change, doh!?  Reconciling my attachment to daily painting and my desire to do more is ongoing. A few modest inroads towards licensing my art have been made.   I'm not just "learning how to paint again" (that will never end!) but also stumbling towards and fighting to see my paintings become coveted and useful items in the world.  Lastly, despite asocial tendencies I have the desire to pass on some of what I've learned.  I may be a little slow on the uptake, but it occured to me that blogging might be good for that...  Keeping my content relevant and correspondent to my growth as an artist is really important.   Daily paintings will always be a part of it, but I want to share other aspects of the journey too.  
ch-ch-ch-changes!
I see other artists doing this already: Kim Rempel does  "Art Love" posts regularly.  One of my favorite bloggers, Jala Pfaff does triple-good posts:  paintings, pictures of her cats and of her travels to India.  Talented Joan Breckwoldt posted how she paints on unstretched canvas.  Mull it Over Mondays are one change here and I suspect there will be more to follow.  Fellow daily painters, has your daily painting blog changed with you as you changed?  If so, how?  Please comment!

12 comments:

  1. SusanSeptember 5, 2011 at 9:19 AM

    With the work I do, it is hard to blog as my paintings take about 16 hours so I try to post some of the 700+ older ones I have and keep to blogging twice a week hoping I will finish 2 paintings in that time...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maria Kovalenko LeysensSeptember 5, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    Yes, daily painting and blogging was a goal when I started. Reality set in since I teach at my studio and much of my painting time was used to prepared for classes... I also am lucky enough to have commission work so the daily painting blog became some of everything. I post mostly my class demonstration work, sketches, some portrait sessions, some commission (not all...) and rarely art that I do for me. So my blog has become kind of disjointed, with different quality of work but it is still an important part of my story so I keep going. I hope to get focused this year (or maybe the next...)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Roxanne SteedSeptember 5, 2011 at 1:57 PM

    Glad to hear you talking about painting bigger, that's what I've been up to as well this summer. And I've found that the bigger works cut into the time I used to be blogging, etc. I just finished a 24"x36" plein air piece, (over several days). I'm declaring it finished, and preparing for a painting trip this week down to VA. I know I will always keep some of the small works in my repetoire (sp?), but these bigger pieces have provided just the challenges I was looking for!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jala PfaffSeptember 5, 2011 at 3:39 PM

    Thanks for the shout-out, Diane. A pleasure.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousSeptember 6, 2011 at 8:45 AM

    Beautiful painting, Diane! I love everything about it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Linda PoppleSeptember 6, 2011 at 11:39 AM

    I am really loving your blog more and more, Diane! Monday's post hits the spot and gives me something to think about (which has been in the back of my mind for some time). Now is the time to really pour over my thoughts and start making some notes. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Carrie Waller WatercolorsSeptember 7, 2011 at 11:06 AM

    Hi Diane, I love "Mull it over Mondays". Since I've started my blog less than 2 yrs ago I was introduced into the daily painting world. The way I paint it just isn't possible to do a daily painting unless I compromised my point of view. I do try to crank out some 6x6's but certainly not one a day. I try to balance it all with larger paintings for exhibits and smaller ones for sale. I have increased my blogging from once a week to 3 times, I don't have 3 paintings a week but I post about my wips and other news. Our blogs just like our lives are ever evolving:) Your post is great, as usual, and I love your 8x8 format:)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Diane HoeptnerSeptember 9, 2011 at 9:19 AM

    Thank you so much all for commenting. I find the many different approaches to art blogging fascinating. I'm so influenced by the painting a day thing- which has been wonderful. Susan: 700+ older works, wow!! Maria: Yes, the the "disjointed" thing happens here too for sure!! It's great that you are getting the regular commissions though!! Roxanne: I do too much thinking about painting big, haha and not enough painting big. LOVE the new piece!!! Linda: Thank you so much for the kind words, your encouragement is VERY appreciated. Carrie: I too am gonna "crank out" some 6x6's for the holiday season!! Never say never!! Also, LOVE your WIP pics, so informative to see your process!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Crystal CookSeptember 9, 2011 at 8:13 PM

    I guess I fell into the daily painting thing a little backwardly (that's a word right?;). My blog's emphasis from the beginning has always been more about living the artistic life, digging yourself out of the trenches when you hit the despair that inevitably comes when you're rejected (which IS a pretty big part of the artist's life) and passing on the joy that reminds us why we started painting in the beginning.

    Anywho. . . Did not mean to just ramble on and on about my own blog. I think your idea is a GREAT one. I for one will be looking forward to more posts just like this.

    And your work is so beautiful. I love the old world, romantic feel to it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Diane HoeptnerSeptember 9, 2011 at 9:01 PM

    Crystal, ramble away! I love that you started with such a clear idea of what your blog was about. (I hear ya about the rejections, I have a stack of 'em!) Mine was like a mandatory (daily) experiment in painting/posting the painting for record keeping... Just the painting and not a lot of anything else. So, I really enjoy hearing the different angles at which other artists approach blogging!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Connie ChadwellSeptember 10, 2011 at 11:23 PM

    Hi Diane - first, I was attracted to the painting - love everything about it - the line, the background and design; then the post just stopped me in my tracks and made me realize how much there is to do that I'm not doing. A valuable lesson and beautiful painting and I hope to take it to heart. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Seo JackOctober 18, 2011 at 6:15 AM

    Amazing Painting. Thanks for sharing.

    Regards,
    Jack
    SEO Analyst
    SEO Services Chennai| SEO Chennai

    ReplyDelete

Diane Hoeptner Art Blog: Oh yay! A comment from YOU!!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)