Hello friends!
I've been a bit quiet on my social media channels lately, as you may or may not know I've been working on a series of studies in oil and acrylics. For several years now I have been painting in one style which many of you have come to know and love, but I kept feeling like there was a piece of the puzzle missing. More of a longing to move away from intense detail, make gestural strokes on canvas and actually enjoy painting again.
This is me in France over the holidays! We went to visit my partner's family and did a little exploring around the south of France and in Spain :)
For the first time in YEARS, I actually stepped away from everything for awhile. Social media, emails, Etsy, you name it! I took a breath and some time to reflect on my art biz and how I want to move forward.
This year, my only goal is to learn. Often when I feel the most excited about art and painting is when I feel like I'm learning something new, improving on something, moving forward. I also feel like I'm going through a bit of a transition as I recently turned 28 and my tastes have changed quite a bit since I first started my career in my early 20's!
It's such a strange feeling, to go from being incredibly busy (which I totally did to myself) to only having a few things to work on at a time. Right now those are: paint, learn, paint, and manage my Etsy shop (this helps me survive in this crazy expensive world lol!). My Etsy shop is pretty sacred to me, it's how I found my success as a young artist and when I get to see my art prints in homes all over the world it just fills me with joy.
It feels like a breath of fresh air, to slow down and really take the time I need to figure out what kind of art I want to be making in the foreseeable future, as well as making meaningful art which I can display in galleries and (hopefully) in your homes as well!
I'm being patient with myself, and taking it slow, for the first time (ever). I hope you'll also take some time to reflect on your goals and know that sometimes, more isn't better. When we peel back the layers we are left with the core, the important stuff.
My biggest takeaway from 2022 is this:
You don't have to be busy to be successful, there's a lot to be said about the value of deep focus (and what's the point of being successful if you're going to be too busy and stressed out to enjoy it anyway?).
For the time being, I don't plan to return to instagram in the same way, after spending over a month away from the platform I realized how much peace and calm I have when I'm not as exposed to it. I'll still be around, and post from the desktop version as well as answer your messages, but this is how I'm creating deep focus for myself this year...
Away from comparison, from AI generated content designed to steal my attention away from my precious studio time. This year I'm prioritizing my art, rebuilding my relationship with it and being intentional about the work I do.
Until next time, happy new year and THANK YOU for being here!
We can never know what the future holds, but we can live each day with gratitude and appreciation.
Xo
Sabina