Sunday, June 3, 2012

Warm Waters

It's been a while since my last blog post, Springtime usually means more show opportunities and now that I have received notifications from all of my applications I feel like I can assess where I am at and how I am feeling about my art, my self, and my future.

Bottom line, I am going to embrace being a big fish in a little sea - my show acceptances have all been closer to home in local venues rather than national shows and it always seems the rejections are a bigger deal than the acceptances. I need to work on changing my attitude.

I am participating in a summer show at Gallery Della-Piana, a new venue for me in the town of Wenham, MA. I also received word that one of my encaustic paintings received Best of Show in the mixed media exhibit at the Marblehead Festival of Arts. I was included in the Marblehead Art Association New England Open Show in April, and participated in the local Swampscott Art Association Spring Show. For me, my accomplishments never feel as big as the rejections. There were two spring shows I did not get accepted into. And I find myself asking, is the cup half full or half empty?
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Vacations usually refresh me and until this weekend I did not feel inspired to paint how it felt to snorkel in the magnificent coral reefs of Jamaica. I may continue exploring this combination of sumi-e ink and watercolor but mostly it was fun to finally play with my spray bottle and paints.

Coral Reef, 24" x 18"



Black Coral, 8" x 20"



13 comments:

  1. Four acceptances (one award-winning) and two rejections; I believe your cup is three-quarters full! You are a BIG fish.

    These coral paintings are really beautiful

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  2. My math was bad in my previous comment. Your glass is TWO-THIRDS full--that's even better.

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    1. After reading comments to my post this morning, I realize I sound greedy. It would be healthier if I could stop weighing and measuring my cups! Oink!!

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  3. Beautiful pieces both of them, Robin. I simply spare myself rejection by not even entering shows. I don't handle rejection well. LOL Congratulations on all your show acceptances!

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    1. Handling rejection well builds character, Sherry. The key is to remember to step away at times and simply embrace the process (...trying to listen to myself as I type this).

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  4. This is absolutely gorgeous! Those blended colors are wonderful together! They create such a reflective, relaxed feeling. I love it!

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    1. It was fun experimenting with water in a spray bottle in order to create interesting textures, colors, and details. I tried for recreate how it felt when I was snorkeling and the way you are describing these paintings is exactly how it felt when I was in the moment.

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  5. I love the textures and the way colors flow in to each other in these lovely works Robin, congrats on your shows! I think a rejection is just a"no" for now and not for ever, which will turn in to a "yes" at the right time.It is important to be around to receive the yes when it comes, by celebrating your present accomplishments and feeling big and making them lead you to more "yes"s!

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    1. Your comment is perfect, padmaja. I agree 100% with everything you typed and usually I am the one to point that out for others. Thank you for the gentle reminder.

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  6. You've created a feeling of water and freedom in these two paintings Robin. Congratulations on your "best of show" and acceptance into the local shows. As disheartening as it is to get those rejection notices it makes the acceptances that much sweeter. We artists have to keep a positive attitude as our skin thickens. The rejections do get easier.....We just have to keep in mind that acceptance into these shows is always a flip of the coin.

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  7. I actually agree that the rejections get easier on one level, but on the other side of the coin there is a point when a national juried show validates an artist's level of skill and creativity in the professional world, maybe moreso than the smaller local shows do, just my personal opinion. It's nice to be able to commiserate with fellow artists, Nancy, another reason I enjoy blogging.

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  8. Oh my! These coral paintings are wonderful! I think you're onto something special here. It's a beautiful tie-in between your encaustic work and your watercolor work.

    -Don

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  9. Thanks, Don... current inspiration is ocean/shells/coral, at some point I really do want to combine wax with watercolor but for now I am sticking to water based media.

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