A Fresh Set of Eyes
It’s March now, which means if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, you might be looking forward to spring being just around the corner. For the second year in a row now for me, spring means market and art fair season is already creeping up rather quickly.
I’ll have to admit, I’m still new to this schedule, the ebb and flow of quiet time followed by what feels like pretty intense hustle. I don’t have the planning and business side of things very streamlined — I’m sure I will when I’m more seasoned. I usually make my print orders at the last minute, and I’m matting and framing pieces right up until we pack up the Jeep to head to wherever the next event is. Or I’ve decided that this particular piece has to come with me and now the night before we leave I’m making last minute adjustments.
Even though I’m mentally preparing myself for my first pop-up of 2024 this coming weekend, this spring feels a little different than it did last year.
My art has accumulated.
I have piles, and I mean piles of art in my studio. Framed art, probably close to forty pieces, and then more unframed pieces than I care to count. A small fraction of these works are in my online shop, some have only been seen on Instagram or Facebook, and some that have been seen only by my eyes, Spencer’s and Rudder’s (on the occasion he rests his chin on my desk to see why I’m not taking him on a walk). Today was the day I needed to go through those piles and make some decisions on what is going to be framed, what might be going into an upcoming exhibit — more on that later, I’m excited to share with you — and what might not be given a chance at all.
It’s an interesting experience to thumb through paintings I haven’t taken a look at in months.
Firstly, it feels like time travel. Similar to when you reflect on a memory and glean a different perspective than when you were experiencing it firsthand. Pieces I had tossed aside suddenly don’t look so shabby. The experimental abstract tryptic looks kind of fresh and bright and fun. Even though they’re not a collection or series, I can see what I was working through, how I was challenging myself and I can commend 6 months ago me on my bravery to enter new territory.
Secondly, it had me thinking about my selection process of what to put up in my shop and what to hold back on selling — or not sell at all. I’ve found asking myself questions on composition and color to be important reasoning but one of the most helpful tools to this decision making process is a second set of eyes. I put into a pile all the “I think so’s” and then ask Spencer to come down and go through it. Sometimes we agree, but most often, he always grabs pieces out of my “no” pile and says, “This one, definitely.” Which almost always shocks me. But you know what? The ones he picks are usually the ones that sell first.
Now, he’s got a great eye and unique taste, but there’s an even more important facet of this that I want to note.
It’s become imperative to have his perspective on my work because he sees things that I don’t. It’s as simple as that. Oftentimes, I’m too close to my own art to see the value in it. It’s too easy for me to discount this detail and that color that I feel is a little off, or the little smudge that was planted on the page when I dragged my sleeve over the first wash while it was drying.
I think we can apply this to anything we create. It is so important to get another set of eyeballs on our work from time to time, or to have a friend who can give us an objective opinion. It helps us grow. And it gives the painting that was in my “no” pile a chance at living a life in a frame.
If you saw an image of something you liked in this article but you don’t see it in my shop, please email me at katie@katiebrommewatercolor.com.