A Little Overwhelmed

Finished this oil pastel today.... Too bad it was dark out by the time I finished it or you'd see a better pic (maybe).

I've only got one more show for the year and always look forward to the time when the shows don't come as fast and furious. It is a time I relish as I get to go out to the studio and try some new things, test some ideas, and recharge my art batteries. So, I pulled out the oils that had been languishing in their box and started working with them. But, as with most things in life, painting gets easier with practice. And I, simply, have not spent enough time painting. I draw, with my oil pastels, a lot. But paint brushes and mediums and paint squeezed out on a palette are still a sort of foreign thing for me. Things take more time. And they are more frustrating. But, I do think working in media that aren't your forte is a way to inform and improve your art. So, I'm going to
continue working with the oils over the new few months.

But, I've got some other ideas I want to pursue--fresco and venetian plaster. I've got a gazillion things to do around the house, and at the other house. And, I've got to create some new work for a temporary gallery in Seattle, I've got to replenish my own inventory so when I go to my last show I actually have enough panels--since there are about 30 hanging in the Angel Fire Visitors Center through December. Then, there is the issue of show applications. There are some upcoming deadlines for some spring shows and I should probably work on getting some new pieces complete for some of those. But do I want to create an entire new body of work? OR continue my "landscapes"? Or, should I just not worry about it?

I read on some blog the other day that one of the things about having too many things on your to-do list (sorry, I can't recall the blog--), even if you get some of it done, you don't tend to take the time to enjoy your accomplishments. So, maybe I won;t make such a long to-do list in my head. And then maybe it won't seem so overwhelming. Maybe.