Crunch Time: The Feeling has Hit

(Please excuse the quality of the photos--snow covering the skylight again. No foolin'.)

A little bit of panic has set in. It happens every year and every year I say I will paint harder and more in my non-show time (mostly October through February) so that this panic won't set in. And, still, it does. And I am working. Just not getting as much done as I'll need for inventory for all the shows I'd like to do.

And, still, every time I get a rejection, I piss and moan about it. And then when the acceptances are rolling in--like they were today--I wonder how I will replenish my inventory when I'm only going to have a couple or 3 days a week in between shows to paint. And some of those days will be in hobbled together studios in other people's homes--thanks Mom & Dad & Laird--where I am not likely to accomplish as much as in the convenience of my own studio. Right now, it appears that with the exception of Fathers Day weekend, and possibly the 4th of July (but cross your fingers on that one as it is Cherry Creek--one of the best festivals in the country and one I have only done once (best show ever by the way, by double!)--where I am an alternate,) I will have shows every weekend of the summer--from Chicago (maybe twice if I get off the waitlist/alternate list for Old Town) to Telluride to Minneapolis to Park City to Crested Butte to Boulder to Breckenridge to our local show here in Angel Fire. Now, I can't do them all because some of them are on the same weekend but it means we won't be home very much at all this summer.

What am I thinking? Angel Fire has dry beautiful air, never gets above the low 80s--and gets down into the 50s every night. That is the time I should be home--not when we are being inundated with snow. Still, most of the winter shows are Florida based and I'm not sure palm trees are in my future! So, I'll freak just a little, and settle in to a much more productive working mode--tomorrow. I hope. And I'll still be waiting (and hoping) for calls and emails from the shows where I'm only an alternate--knowing full well that if they call, I will say YES and I will go!