Welcome to "The Uncommon Artist"!

Do you think of art and art related things all day long, no matter what you are doing or where you are? Are you nearly always scribbling, drawing, doodling, or planning your next creative endeavor? When people see your creations, whether you sell them, give them away, or keep them all, and say-"You are SO talented"! I wish I could do that!!? If so, then you are an "Uncommon Artist" and you have come to the right place! You are among friends and like-minded people here...This is a refuge from the often harsh world that we artists seek to avoid by immersing ourselves in the wondrous, ever-changing, never-ending world of our own artistic creations. One of the most wondrous things about living an artistic life is the fact that we can create our own fantasy world- whether it's on canvas, on paper, with paints or with the written word...

I very often catch myself staring off into the distance, having "visions" of the next painting,  mentally writing the next poem or planning the new creative direction I want to go in next. I am a bit obsessive about my art, and often let other things (like housework) go by the wayside, while I am happily immersed in some new and exciting technique that challenges me! For instance-right now, I find myself in the process of trying to teach myself to paint with watercolours from videos on Youtube and from doing hours of research on the computer...If you have never tried this-take my word for it- it isn't easy! But I AM making progress, and actually did a halfway decent job on a little Work In Progress I call "The Red Barns" and that is it above. It isn't completely finished, but is getting very close. I have a tendency to overwork my paintings (perfectionist tendencies...sigh)so, I decided to just leave it alone for a day or two and find another project to work on. I think I will add a door and a few details to the buildings, add a bit more color to the trees, and that will be all.

I have been more than a little "uninspired" lately, with the holiday season getting me offtrack, plus I always get "the blues" around this time of year for some reason. The holidays really stress me out, with all of the running here and there, spending money, and trying to find gifts for people who already have everything they could ever want! So, for a couple of days, I did nothing, and found myself just getting worse. Then, I decided to do something, anything, just to get started moving again...

Amazingly enough, I ended up cleaning up my art table, the space around it, and organizing my shelves! Me-the "queen of chaos and messes", actually organized, sorted and straightened the things on my art table and on the shelves, and it looks so nice, I can hardly wait to start working again and mess it all up again! I had been feeling a bit down and uninspired, which is rare for me, but the simple act of organizing got me back on track again!

If we think about it, this same idea can be related to our lives-sometimes we need to step back, take a good look, and clean up and reorganize our lives...If we don't,  our lives have a tendency to get really messy and full of problems! Just a small bit of cleaning and organizing of our lives and priorities can do wonders for our peace of mind! Remember this as you go about your life, and until next time-enjoy being "The Uncommon Artist"!