It’s a new year and I’m thinking about making it a good one. The last few have been difficult. Everyone has struggled since covid hit, but even beyond that, I’d put the last few years as the most difficult in my life thus far. My art has been the saving grace. We all need something to go right when everything else is wrong, and for me, that has been my art.

It’s different now, though. It’s not just something I do because I feel like it, or it’s relaxing, or I want to see what I can do. I have a website and in effect I’m running a business. That puts a different spin on things. I never want to phone it in though. When I paint, I want it to always be authentic and real. I want to feel the joy or to not do it. I don’t think I’m the only artist to feel that way.

But it’s hard to go between being a marketer and being a creator. Forget that. It’s hard going between being a mom, and an operations manager, and a bookkeeper, and a wife, and a friend, and an animal caregiver, and of course my regular full-time job, which, I might add, sucks the creativity right out of my head.

For now, I will paint. I will paint because I spent part of November and most of December building and promoting a website, to the neglect of creating new art. I will paint because it defines me and brings me joy. I will paint because when I have a few pieces, I’ll put them on my site and the whole thing will go around and around.

So please, while I’m painting, feel free to look around. Find something you love. Or maybe the painting you love is being created right now in my studio. You’ll know it when you see it.

To all, thanks for visiting. Thanks for listening. And happy new year!