Suffering from the Blahs

This has been a hard week to focus. I haven't been able to get into the groove no matter how much I have tried. I've been lacking energy and desire to paint. I'm not sure if it's because of the series that I just started. I don't seem to be as into it as the other work I have done. Maybe I just haven't "hit the sweet spot" yet in the work and I need to continue with it a bit longer before giving it up.

 I also have to admit that perhaps it is the fact that I am getting married next Saturday that is getting me down and not feeling much like painting. It's not that I don't want to get married, I am looking forward to the wedding and all that entails after, but I am so overwhelmed that I just want it to be over with so that I can move on with my life and not have to think about it anymore. The actual planning of the wedding has been super easy. Everything fell into place exactly the way we wanted it.  I'm not sure why people stress over that. Maybe I just have lower standards?? It's the family requests/ demands/ questions/ obligations/ drama, etc. that is driving me nuts. Painting was my respite from all the family chaos and worked as an outlet these past few weeks. It doesn't seem to be working this week though. Nothing does.

So what do I do? I am trying not to beat myself up for not being as productive as I think I should be. I do have a pretty good excuse for it, after all. But it's hard not to. I have open studios soon and need to get a lot of work done. But then I think "so what happens if it doesn't get done?". I may have to show some older work and not have as many new pieces as I'd like. Is that REALLY that bad? Is it REALLY necessary to have all new work showing? The answer is no to both questions. I don't have to be my usual over-achiever self. I have to let myself be okay with not painting as much this week, and I assume next week will be even harder. It's okay to give myself the occasional break.

The two paintings pictured here are the two latest in this series. The top painting is obviously a girl on a bicycle. The second may not be so obvious, but it's two people floating in a lake. I will continue working on these while trying not to pressure myself to work too hard this week.

BTW, if you haven't seen it yet, visit Lynette Haggard's art blog and read the artist interview she did with me recently. It's an interesting read with a lot of background info on me.