Had a super busy week in the studio this week. Thursday I had the honor of teaching a "Paint Knight" on zoom for Arcadia University's Alumni Reunion Week! It was my first time teaching anything over zoom and though I fumbled a bit in the beginning I had so much fun once I got my sea legs! From what feedback I received, everyone enjoyed their time diving into this sunset painting with the campus castle skyline! It has inspired me to look into running my own zoom art classes. So definitely look out for those!
Friday was a pretty emotional day for me as I celebrated my 8 year "Boobiversary" of my prophylactic double mastectomy. I always reserve this day for self reflection and relaxation (with some intense celebrating at night). This year, though way more low key than years before, did not disappoint! I took the weekend to recover from all the events I had participated in and today it was back in the studio.
I also have added my art to a few sites so that anyone can order prints! The great part about this for you is it keeps costs down, sizes are customizable, and you can have a choice of having them frame it or not! It really gives the customer a lot more freedom and options. Not to mention one of the sites lets you order my art as jigsaw puzzles and that makes even me uncontrollably excited. Who doesn't love a good jigsaw puzzle?! Check them out!
I am currently and officially a featured artist of Medford Arts Center in NJ and will be scheduling an exhibition with them soon! Stay tuned for dates and times!
I am trying a new series (which I am jokingly calling "A painting a day keeps the 9-5 away") where I create one drawing or painting a day. I will start this tomorrow as today I am spending updating all my sites, social media, responding to emails, and cleaning my studio. I will be ready to go tomorrow to start producing.
I value my days off as much as I do work days. It maintains a delicate balance of my ability to paint. Having this weekend to recover from all the stress was definitely important. Don't let anyone make you feel like you constantly have to be performing in order to be spending your time correctly. Everyone needs some time to spending doing nothing. Just to live in the moment and enjoy the little things. Otherwise life passes by too quickly. I challenge all of you to find some me time this week or weekend where you can just shut down, lay (either on your couch or outside) and really let yourself unwind. Don't think about the things you could be doing instead, just enjoy. Read a book if you can't shut your mind down. I think we all need a little extra time to decompress this year.
Love,
Carina Brandt