I have been using my art projects as a distraction since the lockdown back in March, and I feel like I am now hitting a wall. I’ve gotten used to working with my hands constantly in my spare time, but now I find that I am distracted and having to push to finish projects. It’s probably a sign that I need to take a break and maybe allow myself to, well, just “waste” time. The downside is, of course, that life in the midst of the pandemic still requires distractions so I need to find some new healthy ones that don’t involve screen time. But that is a post for another day; today, I’ll show you a some of the things I did manage to finish recently.
Portrait painting has been on the back burner since the beginning of the year; I began to feel burnt out on that back in January so I took a break. Right in the middle of a portrait. The unfinished work has been sitting next to my easel since then, a gentle reproof. Last month, I decided it was time to ease back into portrait painting; I had an inclination to work on a new piece, but I felt like I would first have to finish the old one. So I did. This is what I started from:
I won’t lie – it was a challenge. It’s as if I had lost my muscle memory for it. I struggled for what felt like a very long time and while I don’t feel like it’s one of my best works, I am happy with how it turned out in the end.
This one ended up feeling extra special for unexpected reasons. As I was working on it, I kept thinking that the girl looked like what my daughter might look when she’s older. It’s not why I chose the subject to begin with; the inspiration photo doesn’t look much like my daughter, but the painted version took on a life of its own as my portraits tend to do, hah. After I finished it, my daughter decided (unexpectedly and wholly unrelated) to cut her long hair — almost 18 inches of it — into a shoulder-length bob. So now the likeness feels even stronger in a way.
Moving on, most of my time lately has been devoted to making jewelry. I have been lucky enough to sell a few pieces – enough to cover some of my material costs. Gotta love a hobby that can pay for itself. Here are some of them:
“Styling” my pieces has been a whole separate hobby – it allows me to play with my clothes again, and indulge in a little sartorial fantasy outside the bounds of my (pretty mundane) everyday life. As we move into fall and winter, I’m going to need all the escapism I can get. Speaking of which, I would love to hear about any projects you’ve been working on, or new hobbies you’ve picked up.
The portrait came out great, and that last necklace is really cool as an accent for those outfits!
I’ve continued to be very into fountain pens, after being inspired by your Instagram stories. It’s slightly shocking how many I’ve acquired in such a short time, since I’m stuck at home and at my desk all day. Having some nice pens and really interesting, colorful ink really makes me feel a bit better. And I also like that there’s a lot of very active internet communities devoted to fountain pens.
Omg, there really are! I’ve tried to stay away from them because I don’t need more encouragement, lol! I’m up to 5 pens and 5 inks now. But it does really brighten up my work day.