Finally a day off!

The State Fair has come to a close and I am finally enjoying a day off. Seventeen straight 12 hour days was rough! I'm not whining, I'm just exhausted! I did enjoy being out there everyday, meeting new people, having my confidence boosted. I fell just short of my sales goal, but with the couple days of bad weather we had, there was nothing that could have been done.

I received an invitation for a gallery show in Gallup, NM. This was pretty exciting to me as the gallery owner is interested in my newest works. There was a lot of interest in my newest spiral abstract flowers. I needed that boost to my confidence. It was good for me to get the confirmation that what I'm painting now will be accepted. I decided months ago that I will no longer paint what I think people will like. I'm painting what is inside of me and even though it makes no difference whether or not people love it, it felt good to find out that my joy for what I'm now painting shows in the work.

I made some great trades with other vendors which is always one of my favorite things to do at an art show. Receiving compliments on my work from other artists has always meant more to me than compliments from regular people. Not that compliments from regular people don't mean anything, it's just that other artists are "experts in the field" so to speak.

So, it's now back to being holed up in the studio. I'm planning to go crazy with new paintings, now that I can afford to stock up on canvas! I hope to have an open studio event soon. I have wanted to open the studio up to the public for some time, but just haven't gotten around to doing it. Now that the outdoor show season is over, I should have plenty of time to plan and make it happen. Stay tuned for more information on that.

Tomorrow I will be back at work. I have several paintings and painted boxes to put in my etsy store. I'm also going to put a few up for auction on ebay.