After my last post, you’ll know that I’m here to talk about art and the pursuit of art in my life (my posse of inner critics just collectively rolled their eyes, but I’m ignoring them.) So here we go with a little more on said adventure…

I have a confession to make: When I had to close my portrait studio for a few big chunks of time during the beginning of the covid pandemic, I was stoked.

Don’t get me wrong - I was hugely scared and worried about the whole situation. I was super stressed about potentially losing a business I had worked so hard for over a decade to build. But aside from all of those feelings, there was this little voice behind that thick, closed door in my heart (please refer to my last blog post re: the thick, closed door), that was saying,

‘Now you have no more excuses.’

In the few years leading up to that point, I’d already acknowledged that the longing to be an artist (aka the voice behind that door) was there and was not going away. It was pretty loud, actually, despite having been neglected for 20 years.

I made a few (very few) arty photos here and there between 2014 & 2019 - stuff like this...

There were a few flower photos happening once in a while as well...

...and I dabbled in collage for a couple of years around 2017/18, even managing to get a few pieces into curated shows. I sold a few, and collages were what I submitted when I applied and got accepted into the residency at Chateau d'Orquevaux. 

I loved making the collages and the arty photographs - I still do - but there was still something missing. 

All of the work above was very sporadic. I had no consistency and it somehow felt like it didn't count. My perspective on that is shifting now, but at the time, I was frustrated.

I was finding it really difficult to make time for personal work. I was always prioritizing client work, and life stuff, and other people’s expectations, and the whole ‘to-do’ list that I’m sure is familiar to every adult in the world.

So, back to where this post started - when the pandemic hit, there was a bright silver lining for me. I couldn’t take clients; I couldn't focus on building my business; no one could get together or be out and about in general.

I had an empty studio and an empty calendar for the first time in my life.

No. More. Excuses.

(Cue dramatic cliffhanger 'dun dun duuuuuunnnnn' tones here.)

To be continued :)