Rising Artist: Not Enough Hours in the Day

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Not Enough Hours in the Day

There never seems to be enough hours in the day. Even when I didn't have to go to a day job, there didn't seem to be enough time for everything I wanted to do. Now that school has started and I spend my days teaching, it feels like I have even less...probably because I actually do have less time. Part of it is that I haven't quite gotten my "teacher legs" yet. I am still getting used to my new schedule, my new routine, wearing heels again... Usually I leave work feeling completely exhausted. Teaching high school students takes some getting used to, I guess. When I finally get to the studio, if I am lucky I get in two hours of painting. This is mostly because I am too tired to paint any longer. I am so exhausted that I have gone to bed 2-3 hours earlier than what I normally do. Yesterday I was asleep by 8:30pm! It was a Friday night!! Yeah, I'm feeling pretty old right now.

I do know that it will get better, though. I will get used to this and have more energy to paint afterwards. I will survive. I always do. After all, I only have to teach 172 more days (and yes I am counting!).

In the meantime, here are the latest two paintings that are finally completed. The first one took so long because I was agonizing on whether I should cover her eyes. I kept her unwaxed for almost two months trying to get myself to cover them. I almost covered them three days ago. I was ready to do it, then got distracted. By the next day, I had already lost my nerve to do it. Fortunately for me, the Richard J. Demato Fine Arts Gallery saw the painting and decided it's fate for me. They want her as is, with no bar over her eyes. Done! The second piece I finally finished kept getting interrupted by smaller pieces I had to get done sooner for the JoAnne Artman Gallery, so it kept getting put on the back burner. But they are now done and I can move on to the next two paintings planned.