Changes are coming to the studio and my life I should say, as symbolically demonstrated by Lola in the above photo when I tried to add another thing in the calendar…
It takes a lot of planning and organization, for sure, to keep up with a very busy commission schedule and keeping the studio interesting and constantly moving in the right direction. I paint as soon as I get home from my day-job, and I paint anywhere from one to three hours. Then I paint all weekend long. It’s my passion and my joy, but as with all things, it takes dedication, commitment and a lot of scarifies to make it all go around.
Heck, the painting is only half of what I do for the studio. The other 50 percent is like running any small business: planning promotions, C&C and open studio events, writing blog-, social media- posts and newsletters, photographing and photo editing each painting, making new prints, order supplies, edits to the website, bookkeeping, shipping out orders etc. The list is long as with any full-time job demands.
So what’s changing? While this hardcore schedule has served me well and brought me an immense joy and satisfaction. I’m ready for a new schedule, a schedule that includes both painting and balance. No major change, just taking on fewer commissions so I have time to stop and smell the roses and play with paint – for me.
That is all…. and everything. I would like to have time to decide if to embrace more Swedish baking and food traditions, and not feel like I missed the opportunity because I was too busy, or go on sporadic adventures with my husband without having to plan them several weeks in advance. You know, things that fill up our creative juices.
What may this change mean for you? If you’re thinking of giving a painting as a gift, just shoot me an email several months in advance. Paintings ordered for Christmas are limited, as I won’t be doing any painting in December but instead embrace the holiday season. You may also see a little less adorable pet portraits and more experimental modern art… We’ll see. I’m excited.
