New Year, New post....finally!

2013! Here it is.

"Priority." Security envelopes, oil and graphite. 16 x 20 inches. ©Karine Swenson2012

I had to crawl into a little hole for a while there, but I am slowly emerging, back into the cyber world of blogging. And what an interesting world it is! I have begun to catch up with some of my fellow artist/blogging friends. They are all doing wonderful things. Just one example is Liz Holm, who has challenged herself to paint 30 paintings in 30 days. Stop over and see how wonderful these paintings are! I have been thinking of doing wonderful things, but I often feel as though the things I do are still not wonderful yet. You may think that sounds slightly pessimistic of me, but I see it as a necessity. If I really believed what I was doing right now was wonderful, do you really think I would keep painting? Would I continue to stretch and push myself as an artist? I tend to think I would not. I would keep doing the same thing, convinced that it was wonderful. I would never stretch. I would never push. I would stop exploring. And, in all honesty, I would most likely quit painting out of boredom.

So, into the studio I go once again. To keep striving. To impress myself. (The toughest critic I've ever had.)

I have found one of the best things I can do at the end of one year is reflect and write down everything I accomplished that year. It is an extremely rewarding exercise, and I highly recommend it. It helps me create the kind of feeling I want when thinking about all I want to accomplish in the New Year. One proud accomplishment for me in 2012 was completing 76 paintings. Ten of those paintings were 36 x 36 inches or larger. What about you? What accomplishment are you proud of last year?

Happy Happy New Year!

It is good to be home. Yesterday, the Great Studio Organization Project made large strides, and Pretty Soon, you will see photos of the finished product. I received a sewing machine for Christmas (thank you, Mama and Papa Recker!!!) and last night I practiced some sewing. There was a piece of fabric pinned to a curtain rod in my studio. I am hemming it and finishing the edges, so it looks a little more official. I decided this was a good thing to practice on, because if it doesn't work, I can always buy more cheap fabric (which is what this is) to try again. I am not a seamstress, and it is NOT my mother's fault. She tried very hard to teach me how to sew when I was younger, and I just didn't have the patience. I don't know what makes me think I have the patience now, ...optimism?? Wish me peaceful sewing moments, please.

Happy New Year, all you lovely readers of my blog. I am grateful to you, for reading, for commenting, for everything!!! I leave you with some delightful yellow desert blooms, which Matthias and I discovered not too far from home. Best wishes for all of you in this New Year!