I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty saturated with the “good riddance 2020” theme. I get it, believe me. I feel the same. Despite the crises, suffering, and hardships, I’m also trying to take stock of what was good about the past year, count my many blessings, and pay attention to what might be really good about this coming year. They say you manifest that which you hold in your mind, so this might be a perfect time to put away the news feed and start dreaming again.
I’ll start with something I learned in 2020.
Being an artist, time is short. Really short. It’s the exact opposite of what you might expect the artist lifestyle to be: sleep in, take long lunches, play with the paint for a while, maybe take a nap, etc.
Not so much. Especially for someone trying to go pro in midlife. I knew it would be tough, but as the truth unfolds, I’m finding out just how much there is to do. I feel I need two more arms and at least one more head. I’ll spare you the details but suffice it to say – and this is coming from a guy who always had a long to-do list – the list is intense.
In some ways it makes me want to slow down and say to myself, hey man, take it easy! There’s plenty of time.
Then the other half of my Gemini personality says, oh really? How can you be so sure?
Then a third voice steps in and says, all right, that’s enough! Back to work.
I now feel time passing as a measure of hours that I could be painting. Strange, I know. It’s not a normal relationship with work. It’s not exactly what I expected, but I suppose I had a hunch. Whatever the case, it’s my new reality.
Like most artists, I’m torn between competing desires. Every hour I’m not painting feels somehow like a compromise, but I also want to be making meaningful connections with people who love art.
With the advent of social media, traditional ways of presenting your artwork to the world are changing fast. There’s a lot of pressure to use every tool available. Plus, in addition to (and within) social media, new platforms are springing up like mushrooms. Each new platform spins off a constellation of support tools and services that bombard artists through the very channels they’re trying to use to connect with people. As an artist, it leaves me wondering whether I’m the producer or the consumer. Apparently, I’m both.
A big challenge is shifting my time to be more of the former. I want to be creating. Growing a following takes hours and days away from the essence of what I’m trying to do: create my best work possible.
At the same time, I decided at the get-go that connecting with other people who are passionate about art was important to me. It gives meaning to the creative process. I really do want to enrich more lives with art and share the experience. For that reason one, it really is time well spent.
I suppose like many things, it’s a balance. It’s one I’m still figuring out.
Fortunately, looking back on 2020, I can see the seeds of progress beginning to sprout. To wrap up the year, I wrote down everything I accomplished along my new career path. Progress is slow, but taken as a whole, it might even be a little more than I expected. Enough, perhaps, for a brief moment of satisfaction? Five minutes later, my mind is hard at work figuring out what’s next.
One thing I’m excited about this year is spending more time evolving my artistic style. I’ll write more about it, but the short story right now is there’s always another level to unfold.
Some artists hit upon a particular style and subject with enough passion and vigor to sustain a lifelong career. Others are engaged in a continual process of striving towards some kind of artistic expression that lies just beyond reach. This tension prompts further exploration in the next work, and so on. Sometimes, this exploration leads into a completely new medium.
I feel I must be the latter type. Limiting myself to one style and subject is hard to do. The truth is, I don’t. While I mainly present landscape paintings professionally (at this point), my interests and subjects are wide ranging.
For the foreseeable future, I’m enjoying experimenting towards new forms of expression in my landscape paintings. The process is a real mixed bag of feelings: although it can be frustrating when things don’t work out (which is often enough), the act of striving is the hot core of creative energy essential to great artwork.
To make room for this, I’m clearing the decks. When I find a new form that speaks to me, I look forward to seeing what emerges with a new body of work.
Just a couple months ago, towards the end of 2020, I began the process a bit by exploring a couple different stylistic avenues. I picked up the acrylics again and painted a few late fall scenes with a different technique and palette from my previous work. I also used oil paints in a thick, impasto style with impressionistic but fairly precise brushwork. I also worked in a smaller format for a change.
A few of these works are now live and available on my web site. The last of 2020. If you follow my ArtJournal or socials, you might have seen a couple of these paintings already, but there might be one or two new ones you haven’t seen. Check them out at robinhostickart.com/landscapes.
As 2020 slides farther behind in the rearview mirror (like the T-rex in Jurassic Park), my final note is one of gratitude. To all of you, my friends, fans, and collectors, thank you for your love and support, and for making this a great year despite everything. May 2021 bring us all fresh joys and inspiration!
