Making progress

It's been an amazing amount of work to progress on the road of promotion. I have felt that there is so much to be taken care of: it can be overwhelming as it takes a lot of time, away from painting, particularly. I wrote previously about being organized, and that implies having a plan in order to have a map to follow and move forward.

At this point, it's important to establish priorities. It appears that one that is pressing is simply to get framed the artwork that needs it (pieces painted on wood boards as they look so great with that dark floating frame). Once that is done, I will be able to open my shop online. But before I get my artwork framed, I need to varnish them all, with 2 coats each. So, working backwards to find what's most important is a great way to progress, as odd as it may seem.

I don't forget to paint, either, as this is what I live for, after all. So... I have almost finished the painting above, but I am not satisfied yet, I have to push it further. It lacks spice!

Floral Dream

Acrylics on board - 10 x 10 in.

Patterns and shapes, endlessly witnessed around me. Nature is a poem that begs to be translated, and to do so, I must let myself see beyond what is there. The sky is the limit. Just look at clouds and how varied they can be: wispy, ominous, puffy, frayed, dense, bright, translucent, massive, should I go on? Then it's just a matter of letting the hand do its work. I may not always be the one driving the bus, here.

Bamboozled

Acrylic on board, 10x10

Art for me is full of surprised as far as the creative process goes. One can fully structure what they will come up with, and I will do that at times, although never fully. I like keeping some margin for surprises. I also work from nothing, spontaneously, and this is where I have no idea what will come out in the end. This very free process keeps me on edge, forces me to keep looking at the piece, finding the way to push it further, until I consider it done. This particular one took me many hours and you can see below what it was like at its early stage.
I can see surrealism in this. I enjoy the odd shapes, how I relate to the quizzical look of the...face ? It is very layered work, and I had my moment of indecision with it. It took stepping away from it regularly for a couple of days, but I trust that I will always come up with a solution.
This is one of the reasons I paint and create art. I like the mystery of it all, the piece that is not yet created and waiting to come to life. So, another one down!

Floral dream - Acrylic over encaustic on board, 10x10

This painting is built on a previous one. The warm layer underneath is from encaustic work, and I saved the parts I like best. Painted with acrylic over that waxy part, I like the depth it gives to the work. A friend of mine mentioned it looked surrealist, and I see her point. I like the looseness of it all: from usually working in a fairly detailed way, I'm learning to be playful and let things happen as they want to.