July 25, 2012

"Sammy"

Oil on panel  - 8" x 8"
It seems odd to sit here knowing there is no place to put my work anymore.  Well, to be fair, there is still facebook and this blog.  I was speaking more of an internet commerce site.  Five years ago I became involved with the daily painting movement - a collection of artists motivated to paint and post a painting every day of the week and some weekends as well.  Those familiar with this blog know that I failed miserably at the "daily" part. I did post 149 entries in 2008, less in 2009 and continued to fall off from there.  It's not that I couldn't have done something everyday but I didn't merely want to dash out a piece just for the sake of saying I showed up.  I think it's like Cal Ripken's continuous 2131 game streak or better yet, Lou Gehrig's.  It may be blasphemous to say but I suspect there were days when the manager put them in for one "at bat" just to keep the streak going.  I am going to miss my fellow painters at www.dailypainters.com.  Some of them were stellar and did manage to produce quality work on a more or less daily basis.  I endeavor to become more disciplined in the coming months.  Hopefully, with better time management, I can do both gallery work and some small pieces.  

It's fitting that my farewell piece is my boy Sammy looking wistfully out the studio window.

6 comments:

deb o said...

I'm gonna miss your little paintings, but change is good. Bonne chance. And I love your painting of Sammy. I want to pet him.

Diane said...

As always, a wonderful painting of a sweet boy

Mark Adams said...

Thanks, Deb. Old habits die hard. I'm sure my furry models will make their way to these pages from time to time.

Mark Adams said...

Thanks, Arya.

Mark Adams said...

Thanks, Diane. Lots of folks wanted this one but I just couldn't let it go.

Diana Moses Botkin said...

Mark, I totally identify. My dailies have fallen off too, and I've come to realize that I can't keep trying to come up with little masterpieces almost every day.

I have never reached my goal of 365 paintings in a year since I've been attempting this in several years.

2004 was the first year I tried daily painting, and produced 104 pieces. That number rose during the next few years, peaking in 2010 at 236. Last year and this year, I've been working much, much more slowly and with more deliberation.

Be that as it may, I'll still continue to do the little 'uns for several reasons, along with some larger pieces with more thought and effort behind them. If my efforts do not produce something new and wonderful (and complete) every single day, so be it.