Sometimes the best solution is to control-alt-delete . . . and if that doesn’t work, hold down the on/off button for 12 seconds and start over.
Who knows why computers freeze. Perhaps it is too many processes running at once, overwhelming the machine. Maybe it is a flaw in the registry’s DNA . . . or a virus.
It is hard for me to admit this but my internal, artistic computer has frozen. I don’t think I’ve hit the BSOD (blue screen of death) yet, but I can feel it fluttering just beneath the surface. Seems everything I attempt lately is a misfire, a disconnect. I have been fond of saying there’s no such thing as bad art – there’s just art that needs another layer or two; but for the past couple of months, no combination of layers has seemed to work.
Conventional wisdom is to take a step back and look at the big picture: I really am doing much more interesting pieces than I did several years ago. They are more interesting but less satisfying . . . and it’s nothing I would want to share with the world.
Sharing with the world.
That’s a part of the problem, I think. I’ve worked very hard over the past year to make some inroads into the Las Vegas art scene. I’ve been rotating pieces in a couple of galleries for months now and I have been well received. I’ve been using Instagram and Facebook and even cable TV spots to build awareness and visibility. And I’ve entered, been accepted and even won a few juried shows. Promotion is a time consuming endeavor and requires a different mental discipline and set of skills. It is a highly orchestrated activity. Painting is a flow. I am finding that it is hard to shift gears between the two.
So, I’ve decided to shake things up a bit, try some new things. I’ll save the details until I have progress to report, but I do plan to move away from canvas and panel and toward works on paper. I have 7 boards all set up, each accommodating 2 large pieces of heavy paper – so I can have up to 14 pieces in process at one time.
The goal is to work faster (less obsessively), work simpler, and work in series. And, truth be told, I am pretty excited about this new adventure!