Expectations

Better to lower expectations and then over-deliver than to fail to live up to them. 

In the bookshop I work in we tell people that the delivery of an order will take one to two weeks. Sometimes books arrive within a few days, and customers are delighted. But there are the odd occasions where they take the full two weeks. But if they do, the customers are still happy because it was what they expected. If someone wants something for a gift, we cannot guarantee it by a particular day because deliveries by suppliers are out of our hands. Better to be realistic than to let people down. 

The same applies with our expectations of ourselves. Maybe we need to be more realistic or more caring of ourselves. Stop trying to do too much and running ourselves ragged. Most things on your to-do list can wait a day. And if they can't, do those things first!

Boxed - or not

 

This page was getting out of hand with the colour and shape. As a last resort I drew a face on it, and then realised that I had started too large to fit the whole thing on. Hence the wording. 

None of us fit neatly into a box, really, because we are all so much more than one thing. Yes, I may fit into the box marked 'artist', but I am also a science major, for example. Really we shape our own unique box, so don't let others try to cram you into one of their own making.

New paintings in a new series

 

Here are a couple of paintings from my new 'Menopause' series. It wasn't what I planned, but it seems to be what is coming out on to the canvas :) The one above is called 'no focus' and the one below 'is it hot in here, or is it just me?' Whatever happens with this series, I'm having fun making it, and that's just fine.

Lino-cut cards

 

So I've had a little break after Easter, but that doesn't mean I wasn't arting. I've been painting a new series, and doing some Lino-cuts to put through the little press that my husband bought for me. These cards are printed in black and then hand-coloured with Arrtx acrylic markers. I'm learning quickly. These plates - and therefore the prints - aren't perfect, but I think that's part of the charm of anything that is hand-cut. 

What little side projects out of your 'usual' arting practice have you been working on lately?