the painting procrastination continues....

I've come to realize I am doing everything within my power to prevent having to start the paintings I want to do for the cupcake show... I've always been scared of painting. I can't tell you why. I just feel like i'm not very good at it. Even though i 'paint' on people every day for some reason I panic when i put paintbrush to canvas. I'm afraid it won't be good enough.

So instead i've been cutting, and gluing and knitting... but no painting. First I planned on using my 5 days off over xmas to start painting, or well, to start working on projects but I had envisioned I would at least start painting. That time came and went while empty canvases still sit unused in my closet. Now i have two more days off and swear I am going to start a painting tomorrow.

Maybe I have to approach this like I do a tattoo. Come up with a preliminary sketch, refine it till I'm perfectly happy with it, do a color study then move on to the final product. But on the canvas instead of skin. Well its worth a shot I guess. If you have advice for getting over this personal artistic hurdle of mine, i'm all to happy to hear it!

Let them eat Cupcakes!...with your eyes?

In just a little more than a month I am launching a mixed media art show entirely inspired by the cupcake.

I love cupcakes more than any human probably should. The soft, moist delicious morsel of tasty cake topped with a billowing crown of delicious sugary icing that is possibly adorned with glittery sprinkles! Heavenly. But cupcakes have also become a visual feast, creeping in to the things I wear and use. I have a cupcake belt buckle with a cupcake belt, there are cupcakes printed on my wallet and I have cupcake jewelry! Not to mention that cupcakes themselves have become an art form with the amazing things great bakers are accomplishing with icings and a lot of imagination! So i thought I would gather a group of creative people whom also share my love of cupcakes and put off a truly spectacular one of a kind art show. Oh, and this show is also going to be a fundraiser for the St. John's Women's Center Marguerite's Place (www.margueritesplace.ca)

Its been almost a year since i organized a show of any sort ( i used to produce vaudeville shows in the city) so I'm a little nervous. And while my mind is flooded with awesome ideas of things I can make/draw/paint, my execution is not working out so well at present. My plan was to use my 5 days off over xmas to really get some stuff done. Of course, through family visiting and obligations that time was a lot less of my own then i anticipated. I've definitely started, but true to form, I have finished nothing and am back to the daily grind in 1.5 more days. Thats the unfortunate part thing of creativity. You really can't force it and expect great results. It has to come when its ready to which often means you are up till 4 in the morning because you suddenly felt inspired and had to roll with it.

But I'm still confident everything will come off, i'd like to say without a hitch but that's just never the case. Through the terrible time of year for trying to do anything productive, and then the friggen swine flu, its been hard to get any one together but through diligent blogging and facebook contact we are all in the loop of whats going on and gearing up to put off an amazing show. Stay tuned for more progress reports :P