I have recently decided to merge my painting blog to this one. Somehow I once had the crazy idea that I would be able to maintain 2 blogs. Ha! What a joke!
Why have 2 blogs in the first place? I think the answer to that comes from my longtime approach, or maybe lack of approach, to art.
I have always had a problem with sticking to one type of art.
As a child I always wanted to be an illustrator.
Long ago, when I began this journey,
(in earnest...I have always been an artist) I was very attracted to primitive art.
I was a young mother, I had 4 little ones at home, and homemaking was a big focus for me. I was very inspired to create a comfy loving environment for my little family. The values and morals I had been raised with; and that I wanted to raise my children with, were very evident in the country/primitive/rural decor movement of the time.
I worked happily in this genre for many years-mostly creating folk dolls and infusing them with the home skills I had been taught and knew so well. Fine sewing, embroidery, handwork of all kinds found there way into my work.
But something in me always whispered that I wanted something more. I had secretly always wanted to paint. But the call to motherhood was stronger in me, so I put it off and found my artistic outlet where I could-mostly in handcrafts that I created for my home and for my little doll business.
But then one day, when the 3rd chick left the nest-the talkative one-I suddenly felt very empty.
I was almost 50 and artistically what had I accomplished? At that point I had run my business for 12 years and even survived a recession, But it didn't feel like an accomplishment. I had never really developed my classic artistic skills. I was a wonderful quilter, embroiderer, I could hook a rug, sew anything. But of the fine art, classic skills I was lacking. I had not had the time to paint in oils or watercolors as much as I had always been attracted to both. It was not something that would have been conducive to my lifestyle-our home was the usual chaos of raising kids, and I never even had a studio back then-just a corner of our bedroom to work in.
So as I began to adjust to a life with more time to myself, and a house that is mostly quiet (my youngest daughter and husband are both introverts and not big talkers), I realized now was my chance.
I took the best room in the house for my studio (hee-hee!).
I have been painting and studying.
Studying and painting.
And I am happy.
Happy as a clam.
I have enrolled in countless online art courses. I have learned wonderful things from them all. I plan to take many more.
I still run my business by making folk dolls. I have had to let go of everything else.
I am no longer cross stitching or quilting,
rug hooking or doing needle punch. I only sew for the dolls.
I no longer limit myself to primitives, but you will still see their influence.
I have embraced color!
So, if you are still with me,(sorry this is SO long!) I have decided to embrace all of the different aspects of my artistic personality and merge them all into one blog.
You will now see everything I am working on; be it dolls or art journals, portraits or oil paintings or watercolors, its all here from now on.
Primitive, modern, country, or abstract-they are all pieces of me.
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing my story!
XOXO
~Annie
