With apologies to those of you in the Southern Hemisphere who are chilly right now, maybe you can think back to the summer that just passed for you.
Do you give yourself a break and relax a little over the summer?
Is your summer busier than other times of the year?
What does summer do to your art career and business?
Do you have a summer reading list?
How do you plan to stay on track this summer?
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16 thoughts on “How are you staying on track this summer?”
I like this photo of you.
And these questions. Because, thanks in part to you, I have answers to them! Endorphins are going off in my brain now. Ahhhhhhh.
Summer means I consume more sweet iced tea in an effort to stay cool in the Arkansas heat. I always feel like I should give my studio air conditioner a raise this time of year.
Summer is actually a very busy time of year for me – my wife is a CPA, and it’s post-tax season time, which means I’m back to a more normal schedule and I’m able to devote more time to my studio work.
For me the summer sun and longggg days (Scandinavia) make me really energetic. I want to be in the studio and fling paint around and read/re-read inspiring books on other artist’s processes. Many lighthearted, high key paintings show up in the summer months, as opposed to darker colors and heavier subject matter during the winter. I won’t leave Norway in the summer either unless it’s crucial. Also, I have a yearly exhibition in August, so much work has to be done. Having an exhibit to work towards is always pushing me to keep busy. Good books…..No More Secondhand Art (Peter London), The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life (Thomas Moore), and The Artist’s Reality, Philosophies of Art (Mark Rothko)…..maybe more……
I am working at a more relaxed pace and enjoying it even more because I’m also trying some new things, playing. I do have a summer reading list, and a fall reading list, winter reading list…
Here in Toronto, we all retreat to our caves between November & April…Winter…Then all of a sudden it is warm & the sun is shining & we all emerge…This is the time we reacquaint with each other…For artists it is the time to network- meet the owners of the new galleries, arrange new shows, make new friends, just do as much as possible until it gets cold again…Today I wrote for the first time like you said we should about a gallery I visited in my exercise walking time…I was doing my networking summer thing, but the added finish of writing about what I saw was very empowering as an exercise…I have decided that this writing about other people’s art will help me to push my summer forward…Honestly though I am doing this more for that putting the shoe on the other foot feeling I get than the benevolent writing about art purpose…My bad…
Over here in the East of England, a place that has less rainfall than Saudi Arabia, we are currently experiencing our wettest drought on record. Water conservation measures were applied by the various water companies [PLc] on the 5th of May…since then it has rained [and continues] to rain almost daily…a terrible shame for those who like painting out in the wild!!!
Summer. Children out of school = less painting time during the day. But, oh, the sun rises earlier and so do I. This is when I really start getting up at 5 to work.
I stay on track with the help of my accountability partner – I met her through your Blast Off class in June 2011. (Thank you, Alyson.) We connect weekly and will be pushing each other through the next few months. We’ve started setting monthly goals as well as weekly goals. The summer is now a chance to finish three big things. June is a chance to get my contact list under control (again).
I also take some reading breaks. I like to read artist bios. I am open to suggestions for this year’s list!
Amantha: I love hearing that you’re connected with someone you met in Blast Off!
I’m so jealous – CO is one of my favorite state and you DO have glorious summers! I’m down in Phx, hot – coffee shops and my laptop have become my coworkers. Currenty working on digital art 🙂
Deborah: Yes, but AZ is the place to be in the winter, huh? I agree with the coffee shops.
Summer means working as hard and fast and long as possible for 3-4 days, then going to the mts. and doing nothing for 3-4 days. A weird rhythm of extreme productivity and focus against sleeping in, reading, knitting and hiking. I like it all!
Jana: That sounds like a good plan!
I don’t get to the movies, much but occasionally my sister, SIL and I get together for DVD flicks for a “girls Night at the Movies.” Interestingly, we don’t have the same tastes, but some flicks transcend that. Did anyone make a film of “My Name is Asher Lev?” There’s a play, I know. I haven’t seen it. I read the book way back when and found it interesting. Enough that I actually remember it.
Side note, assuming writing is considered art… Ray Bradbury died. 🙁 I’m a big SF fan and read him when I was a kid (yes, I was reading adult sci fi when I was six) and onward, because, well, he kept on writing.
Summer means Art-In-The-Park in the nearby resort town of Berkeley Springs, WV and no rest for the weary! I’ll be attending 7 of the 10 shows from this Sunday through the end of September which means a 45 minute trip to an 8 AM set up time, 2 hours of set-up and a day of being ON. A hermit by nature, I can turn on when I need to – and I’m told I’m good at it – but it wears me out. Thank heaven my amazingly patient and terribly clever husband will do most of the grunt work; he is both muse and roadie.
So summer for me means work, work, work. Plus I have a one woman show in Georgia almost immediately after the last event. I need a nap just thinking about it.
And, yes, that is a wonderful shot of you, Alyson!
Just finished up 2 vacations – 1 back east to see my ailing mother-in-law last month, and 1 last week with my step-mother who came to visit me in Colorado for the first time. Summers are usually tough for me as I have at least 1 festival each month, plus I teach at a local adult-ed program. My festival schedule is a bit lighter than usual this summer, so I’ve committed to creating a new body of work, learning a new process, and rebuilding my website over the next 3 months. What keeps me on track is the daily taks lists done on the blank index cards, the ones you taught us to do in the Blast Off class; I do one every morning with my tea and yogurt. I also have started doing “accomplishment cards.” I use the same index cards – one for per week – and write on them every day what I accomplished for my art business that day, then I file them in an index card file so when I’m feeling down I can refer back to them for a pick-me-up. I’ve also learned to allow for my down time after shows and big projects so that I don’t get frustrated with my lack of accomplishemnt during those times. They’re all part of the track I’m on and I need to trust that it’s the right track to be on.
Jacqueline: I love that you’re still using the index cards and that you adapted the idea to accomplishment cards.