What's Your Art Attitude?

What are the beginning days like for a gap year student? (after the initial rush of sending out job applications)

Well, for this one, it consists of having breakfast and coffee, painting, looking through photos for inspiration, stalking Indeed and Careerbuilders for new job postings, and having my phone glued to my personal space in case of any important phone calls. I paint some more, take breaks, read a little, then keep working. Usually it's one or two job applications a day -- I've vowed not to commit to just any job.

Meanwhile, though, I've been wanting to do some great work. My art has turned into a greater priority for me, so I've been working on staying committed to revive my little art studio. It's going to take a lot, so I've only been applying for part-time jobs. Once I realized I needed to make this commitment work, I  toughened my attitude to make it more serious.

Here's what I realized:

A "professional" artist, versus an amateur. . . 

1. An amateur waits for inspiration, for the right mood to strike, whereas a professional will paint every day, despite lack of inspiration. 

I'm actually often guilty of this -- Italy became my inspiration, but I'm realizing that this is about work ethic. It's about being okay with every painting not turning out to be a musem-worthy miracle, and going after your art like it's worth it. Practice makes perfect.

2. An amateur doesn't have a work schedule, whereas a professional stays organized. 

Although we have a stereotypical, reckless artist who has a hippie viewpoint for just about everything in life, it's important to set a general schedule and goals. When starting out, I set a goal for how many paintings I wanted to have by the end of the week. I exceeded the goal, and although it was difficult at first -- to where I would have migraines in the afternoon, and my eyes felt like they would burn off from soreness -- I think I've been rewarded with a routine.

3. An amateur struggles with finishing artwork, whereas a professional is productive and continues to create new pieces. 

I can relate. Before Italy, I could stop painting whenever. If the struggle became too great, if it just didn't look right, I had the freedom to stop. It wasn't for a class, it wasn't going into a gallery, and if it wasn't a gift or commission for somebody, nobody cared -- including me. When I would finish a piece, it felt like I could constantly work on it to make it better. The truth is, art is a process, and nothing will be perfect. Usually, the goal is not to have one particular masterpiece, but to develop skills to use for the next piece -- since the aim is to simply keep creating.

The results? All these paintings you see on this post were painted within the last week.

By "professional", I don't necessarily mean making a living as an artist, doing this for a career, or living on ramen. In my purposes, I'm referring to a change in attitude -- which is essential for me to accomplish this artistic growth in my gap year, and to be taken more seriously.

I'm inadvertently learning (from these job recruiters and interviews) that people will only take your art as seriously as you do -- or less, but never more. It's been instinct for years to say, "Oh, I just paint. On the side. I sell them online." But now, I'm trying to get into the habit of responding with, "I have an art studio, and I sell my work." The facts are the same, but I think it makes a difference.

Hope you enjoy browsing and getting a glimpse of Italy. I should have my Etsy shop up and running soon, so if I owe you a painting, please bear with me. When I hit a certain number of paintings, you can choose from them or have your piece customized as you'll have a better idea of my painting style.

Gift for my host family

So something I've been procrastinating is obtaining a gift for my "host family." I put that in quotes because none of it seems real. I don't have any details on who, when, where, or how -- except that she or them is/are in Florence within 30 minutes. I say she or them because it could be a couple or it could be an elderly lady.. only time will tell.

It actually really makes you think - what could represent where you're from? That wouldn't be completely tacky or useless? I was pretty hesitant about bringing buckeyes or some Ohio State themed gift.

And then, my friend suggested something like this off Pinterest, but I wasn't sure about the weight and practicality of bring you know, wood and nails onto an airplane. After a copious amount of brainstorming and numerous options, this is what I ended up doing -- and fell in LOVE with the idea!

It's an 8x8 canvas, for $4 from a craft store. I picked this scene because I felt the perspective of the landscape draws you, and it's saying, Here's a glimpse of Ohio! Come in and see!

I wanted to give some close ups, so you can really see the texture!

I will admit that I struggled slightly with taking photos of a painting from different angles. It's like combining my 2 love

Things I struggled with:

- figuring out a background color

- the texture for the background. I used acrylics, and decided to experiment with impasto, which is really fun stuff, but not really retractable. That's what gives that older, historical feel to it.

- I realized afterward that purple is the mourning/death color for Italians… so hopefully it'll be okay!

I love this idea so much and wanted to keep it for myself! I'm really thinking about doing one for each state I've lived in, or start a series, and do different seasons, or something! It's small, manageable, and functionally cute. 

A great DIY painting project.

Simple, artsy, and functional

I am in love with this method.

 I stumbled upon this Pinterest photo a while ago, and this lady used ribbon on a wall and clothespins to put up mini-paintings. I can't remember if it was hers, or her children's paintings, or just pictures. The point is, it can be anything you want that is classified as "interchangeable" in your mind.

Such an ingenious way of hanging stuff up to admire. I have had these postcard-sized notecards and postcards from a book of the marvelous works of Edward Hopper, and this is a great way to display because 1) it's cheap, 2) it looks great, 3) they don't fit into any standard sized frames.

So I didn't have any clothespins handy, so I found some paper clips and discovered they worked just as well. I also pinned the ribbon "between" walls", but they'd probably look just as great flat on a wall. I just didn't have the space.

And that's a glimpse of this beautiful little method that I actually, you know, did. (Rather than just fawning over the idea, pinning it on Pinterest, then promptly forgetting about it…)