Colour matching the Brisbane River
I own a book titled 'I'd Rather Be In The Studio'. It describes itself as 'The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion'. It encourages you to explore chapters such as defining success, organising information, the power of your artists statement, creating a portfolio to impress people and how to amplify your online presence with social media. As I said, I own this book. I have even picked it up and opened it. Hell, I've even read some of it. It is full of fabulous positive methods of going out there (beyond the studio) and selling your art. I often read it in bed at night and go to sleep full self confidence, and good vibes full of great ideas. Then I wake up in the morning and beat (after dropping Ella and Charlie at school, shopping, buying petrol, swimming lessons, cooking, appointments...whatever else takes up my time) a hasty retreat straight back to the studio. It is sanctuary, safety from the outside world and somewhere I can be in my creative zone, that currently feels more like a beaten up dog kennel than a palatial retreat for an uninterrupted thought process.
So, if you are wondering how the Siobhan Kelley art market is going...umm. What I have done is finally unpack some canvases that I sent to Port Hedland three years ago and never unpacked. That was confusing. I discovered I owned six small square canvases that were completely blank. Nothing drawn up, still wrapped in the same bubble wrap they left in. Why do I own these? Then weeks later I opened my visual diary, which also has not seen the light of day for an eternity, and I laughed out loud. There was the plans for a painting incorporating six small canvases 'The Tropic of Capricorn', which spans the invisible line on maps through the three states it passes. Two canvases for each state.
I had thought I had moved on from the map paintings, but also packaged in these boxes were the beginning of 'Flow', a painting I had intended to enter in the Wynne. It also consists of six square canvases - slightly larger than the unpainted ones. This painting depicts a map of each capital city that has a river flowing through it. The river is painted in pale blue with a darker blue outline and writing. The idea is to join the rivers to produce one long flowing river. Each canvas would be hung at different heights, depending on where the river ends and begins on each canvas. It has been three years since I last touched any of those canvases, and do you know, I still like the painting enough to want to see it completed. I actually still have a box with four containers of paint that I was using three years ago. Naturally, most of it has dried up, so I spent an hour yesterday mixing new containers of paint with the thought that I will continue to work on this painting until its completion.
I do not have it in me to sell art. I hate selling art, I would rather give it away. I would much rather be in my studio than any other place on earth...maybe. I would much rather vacate my brain of all the useless information it has floating in it in order to fill it with deeply contemplated creative arty things. Do you know something. I think I will do just that. Except for the bit about vacating all useless things. Unfortunately I still need to know when the shoe sales are on.
