I've been hauled up in the studio for a while now, working on different projects, developing my business portfolio, figuring out how to move forward in my work. It's been challenging to say the least. I feel I can wear many different hats as an artist, and to be taken seriously today, we are told we HAVE to hone our craft and public image in a distinctive, easily brand-able aesthetic.

I have a really hard time with this. I am sort of a late bloomer when it comes to promoting my work in any serious way, and feel like I am really starting from scratch.

Being a working commercial artist for so many years, building my career as a residential decorative painter and a muralist, I fell into a comfortable pattern. I was happy to work full-time. I wasn't struggling. I was making my own living, and that felt very good.

In the back of my mind, I always wanted to express myself in a very different way, to follow my own artistic impulses, to develop a body of work that would be mine only and recognized broadly. I worked on small projects over time, sometimes working for far longer then I should, because I was trying to fit it in as a thing I do on the side. A lot of it was seen only by my friends and family. I got into some group shows, but hadn't pursued real gallery representation.

Now, more then ever, I am aware of how precious time and fulfilling my goals are.

I have a kid. A whole new ballgame. I owe it to him, so he can grow up to see a mother that has followed her dream, so he can learn to do the same.

I will dedicate the time I have in the studio, for the first time in many years, to exploring, experimenting, satisfying my need to create whatever it is that has lurked inside me.

In the mean time, I'll be posting some insights and my process on this blog. Thanks for reading.

xoxo

Danya

How can I reconcile this? I want to do it all