[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Content” module_id=”content” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_width_px__hover=”1080px” custom_width_px__hover_enabled=”1080px” custom_width_percent__hover=”80%” custom_width_percent__hover_enabled=”80%” global_colors_info=”{}” make_fullwidth__hover=”off” make_fullwidth__hover_enabled=”off” use_custom_width__hover=”off” use_custom_width__hover_enabled=”off” width_unit__hover=”on” width_unit__hover_enabled=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.17.6″ custom_padding=”33px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1280px” custom_width_px__hover=”1080px” custom_width_px__hover_enabled=”1080px” custom_width_percent__hover=”80%” custom_width_percent__hover_enabled=”80%” global_colors_info=”{}” use_custom_width__hover=”off” use_custom_width__hover_enabled=”off” width_unit__hover=”on” width_unit__hover_enabled=”on” make_fullwidth__hover=”off” make_fullwidth__hover_enabled=”off” custom_margin=”-16px||||false|false” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”7262e956-c376-4aa6-9642-c413f71527d0″ text_font_size=”20px” text_line_height=”1.8em” width=”100%” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”13px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_font_size_tablet=”55px” header_font_size_last_edited=”off|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]
I have always painted in series. When one subject or idea strikes the proverbial gold, I keep digging. But not in some organized, focused way. I flit from this to that. Some series have lasted years, others hours, and I tend not to focus on just one series at a time.
It is one thing that frustrates me the most about myself. One of my deepest art insecurities is people walking into the gallery and not realizing all the work is by the same artist. But when I expressed that sentiment to my friend Carol at our recent artist book club meeting, she looked at me with shock. It is what I love most, she exclaimed. Your birds are nice, she said, but it is the figurative work that I really love.
I heard ya, Carol. And I received it. Maybe what I am insecure about is actually my superpower. I’m an explorer of both “old” ideas (because they’ve yet to dry up) and open to new ones. If Walt Whitman said it, maybe so can I– “I am large. I contain multitudes.”
I’ve always wanted to try to focus exclusively on a theme or subject but my wanting always lacked the discipline to actually do it. People pleaser to my absolute core, I want to be all things to all people, so the thought of excluding certain subjects and digging deep into just one feels scary. As it turns out, I cannot be all things to all people. News to me. So I had a chat with myself about how if I want to try something, I should just try it. Since I plan to paint until the day I die, there’s no harm in investigating. There’s no timeline I’m up against. A series of paintings focused on hummingbirds felt odd and, truth be told, it started off as a repeat iteration of a similar small painting, but then, oh then, I really got into those tiny little shapes and they appeared in themes I’ve previously explored (portrait, abstraction).
Limiting myself to hummingbirds did the opposite. It gave me a diving board, but the pool still felt as vast as ever. I got started faster because I eliminated the “what do I want to paint today” part. I felt certain that one canvas would influence the next, and it did.
I was sitting on my porch this morning drinking coffee and, in the neighbors oak tree, do you know what I spotted? Of course I did. So small, not at a feeder but in its own natural world entirely. I am not sure I would have noticed her without my laser focus this month. And, unconcerned with me entirely, I still like to think she whispered, “well done.”
I know myself and I know that, like that hummingbird, I will likely flit from one project to the next– using brushes, knives, oil, and water. I will paint people and places and things and shapes that represent no objective thing at all. I will use bright, bold colors and a variety of greys. But, for now, I’d like to take on another limited series, and I’m hoping you might have some ideas for me. What subject or theme would you suggest next? Please drop me an idea in the comments!
Hummingbird paintings hit the gallery Friday, September 9 with a wine/live music reception from 6-8 pm and the site on Monday, September 12 at 10 am.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Comments” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1280px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” _module_preset=”003e9429-8e11-4d9e-968b-8881092bbf81″ header_2_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” header_2_text_color=”#161616″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.35em” header_2_font_size_tablet=”30px” header_2_font_size_phone=”20px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9jb21tZW50X2NvdW50Iiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiPGgyPiIsImFmdGVyIjoiIENvbW1lbnRzIDwvaDI+IiwibGlua190b19jb21tZW50c19wYWdlIjoib2ZmIn19@[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”20px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||” custom_padding_phone=”” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}” padding_tablet=”0px||” padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” custom_padding__hover=”|||” padding_phone=”0px||”][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1280px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_comments show_avatar=”off” show_count=”off” _builder_version=”4.16″ form_field_background_color=”RGBA(0,0,0,0)” form_field_text_color=”#161616″ header_level=”h4″ header_font=”Work Sans|700|||||||” header_font_size=”18px” header_line_height=”1.4em” title_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” form_field_font_size=”16px” form_field_line_height=”1.8em” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”16px” button_text_color=”#161616″ button_bg_color=”#e3e1dd” button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” button_custom_padding=”10px|24px|10px|24px|true|true” button_text_size_tablet=”17px” button_text_size_phone=”16px” button_text_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” border_radii_fields=”on|0px|0px|0px|0px” border_width_all_fields=”1px” border_color_all_fields=”#E3E1DD” form_background_color=”rgba(26,10,56,0.03)” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-70e8f1e6-78eb-4f52-a811-0c9b614afdc2%22:%91%93}” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off|hover”][/et_pb_comments][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Author” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_post_nav prev_text=”Previous Post” next_text=”Next Post” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”|700|||||||” title_text_color=”#E09900″ global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_post_nav][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|20px||20px|false|true” border_width_all=”1px” border_color_all=”#E09900″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_blurb title=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9hdXRob3IiLCJzZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJiZWZvcmUiOiJXcml0dGVuIGJ5ICIsImFmdGVyIjoiIiwibmFtZV9mb3JtYXQiOiJkaXNwbGF5X25hbWUiLCJsaW5rIjoib2ZmIiwibGlua19kZXN0aW5hdGlvbiI6ImF1dGhvcl9hcmNoaXZlIn19@” image=”https://denisehopkinsfineart.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/201-DENISE_HOPKINS_COMMERCIAL-scaled.jpg” image_icon_width=”100px” content_max_width=”100%” _builder_version=”4.16″ _dynamic_attributes=”title,content” _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” border_radii_image=”on|100px|100px|100px|100px” image_max_width=”100px” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9hdXRob3JfYmlvIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIifX0=@[/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_button button_url=”https://denisehopkinsfineart.com/shop/” button_text=”Shop Art” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” background_layout=”dark” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_button][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Related Posts” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”0|0px|54px|0px|false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1280px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”003e9429-8e11-4d9e-968b-8881092bbf81″ text_text_color=”#ea8a90″ header_2_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” header_2_text_color=”#161616″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.35em” header_2_font_size_tablet=”30px” header_2_font_size_phone=”20px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}”]
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,1_2,1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1280px” custom_width_px__hover=”1080px” custom_width_px__hover_enabled=”1080px” custom_width_percent__hover=”80%” custom_width_percent__hover_enabled=”80%” global_colors_info=”{}” make_fullwidth__hover=”off” make_fullwidth__hover_enabled=”off” use_custom_width__hover=”off” use_custom_width__hover_enabled=”off” width_unit__hover=”on” width_unit__hover_enabled=”on”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blog posts_number=”1″ include_categories=”93″ show_more=”on” show_author=”off” show_categories=”off” show_pagination=”off” _builder_version=”4.16″ header_level=”h4″ header_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” header_text_color=”#161616″ header_line_height=”1.4em” body_line_height=”1.8em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#E2C29D” meta_font_size=”12px” meta_line_height=”1.8em” read_more_font=”Vidaloka||||on||||” read_more_text_color=”#161616″ read_more_font_size=”16px” read_more_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”|||0px||” border_width_all=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}” body_letter_spacing__hover=”0px” body_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”0px” body_text_shadow_style__hover=”none” body_text_shadow_style__hover_enabled=”none” body_text_shadow_color__hover=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” body_text_shadow_color__hover_enabled=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” border_radii__hover=”on||||” border_radii__hover_enabled=”on||||” border_radii_fullwidth__hover=”on||||” border_radii_fullwidth__hover_enabled=”on||||”][/et_pb_blog][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blog posts_number=”1″ include_categories=”93″ show_more=”on” show_author=”off” show_categories=”off” show_pagination=”off” offset_number=”2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ header_level=”h4″ header_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” header_text_color=”#161616″ header_line_height=”1.4em” body_line_height=”1.8em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#E2C29D” meta_font_size=”12px” meta_line_height=”1.8em” read_more_font=”Vidaloka||||on||||” read_more_text_color=”#161616″ read_more_font_size=”16px” read_more_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”|||0px||” border_width_all=”0px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” body_letter_spacing__hover=”0px” body_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”0px” body_text_shadow_style__hover=”none” body_text_shadow_style__hover_enabled=”none” body_text_shadow_color__hover=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” body_text_shadow_color__hover_enabled=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” border_radii__hover=”on||||” border_radii__hover_enabled=”on||||” border_radii_fullwidth__hover=”on||||” border_radii_fullwidth__hover_enabled=”on||||”][/et_pb_blog][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blog posts_number=”1″ show_more=”on” show_author=”off” show_categories=”off” show_pagination=”off” offset_number=”3″ _builder_version=”4.17.6″ header_level=”h4″ header_font=”Vidaloka||||||||” header_text_color=”#161616″ header_line_height=”1.4em” body_line_height=”1.8em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#E2C29D” meta_font_size=”12px” meta_line_height=”1.8em” read_more_font=”Vidaloka||||on||||” read_more_text_color=”#161616″ read_more_font_size=”16px” read_more_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”|||0px||” hover_enabled=”0″ border_width_all=”0px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” body_letter_spacing__hover=”0px” body_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”0px” body_text_shadow_style__hover=”none” body_text_shadow_style__hover_enabled=”none” body_text_shadow_color__hover=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” body_text_shadow_color__hover_enabled=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” border_radii__hover=”on||||” border_radii__hover_enabled=”on||||” border_radii_fullwidth__hover=”on||||” border_radii_fullwidth__hover_enabled=”on||||” include_categories=”214″ sticky_enabled=”0″][/et_pb_blog][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
September 8, 2022
Share Post
One of the first things I remember learning as a child was the concept of patterns. Teachers seemed to be...
After kicking off 2024 with a (mostly) small painting a day in my annual 31 in 31 practice, I was...
“If You Want to go Far” 24×30 inches, oil on canvas I started this month with a bike, and...
Become a member and enjoy early access to new releases, exclusive discounts, and a new wallpaper for your computer or tablet. Elevate your art journey with us.
This following document sets forth the Privacy Policy for this website. We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Crh), which sets out a number of principles concerning the privacy of individuals using this website.
We collect Non-Personally Identifiable Information from visitors to this Website. Non-Personally Identifiable Information is information that cannot by itself be used to identify a particular person or entity, and may include your IP host address, pages viewed, browser type, Internet browsing and usage habits, advertisements that you click on, Internet Service Provider, domain name, the time/date of your visit to this Website, the referring URL and your computer’s operating system.
Participation in providing your email address in return for an offer from this site is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose your information. You may unsubscribe at any time so that you will not receive future emails.
Your personal information that we collect as a result of you purchasing our products & services, will NOT be shared with any third party, nor will it be used for unsolicited email marketing or spam. We may send you occasional marketing material in relation to our design services. What Information Do We Collect? If you choose to correspond with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses.
3 Responses
Hello! Fellow becoming artist here!
This is something I struggle with most, making sure all of my work looks like it’s from the same artist. I’ve felt like for the past couple of years that I lack a defined process for my work, but I just always struggle because I too love trying new things and different ways of creating. Your further thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated!
-Jessica
Hey Jessica. I’m so glad this helped you. Where do you show your work?
Thank you for your response! I use Facebook and Instagram for social media, and try to participate in at least 2 live shows a year.
My instagram @art_by_jstebbs is not near as beautiful as yours if you’re wondering, but I love your blogs and amazing impasto work!