Strides: July 15, 2025
Not everything goes according to plan--especially art
At long last, the mixed media/acrylic painting I started shortly after arriving in Colorado five months ago is finished.
If you’ve been following along, the last update I shared detailed the addition of rhinestones and shards of glass. There really wasn’t much else to do, aside from adding more adhesive to the glass (I’ve been paranoid about pieces falling off) and varnishing.
I think that, in the end, it turned out as well as it could’ve. This is considering the fact that I almost trashed it one week ago, rather than carrying it over the finish line. The entire concept was born out of the highs and lows of my migration out west. My feelings since beginning this piece have evolved, and while I was never trying to make a particular statement, I did start to see a lot of what I had envisioned become lost in translation.
Truthfully, I only saw it through because someone expressed hope in seeing the final product. An audience of one is still an audience, and sometimes — even when you can’t see that light at the end of the tunnel — you just need a reminder that it is, in fact, there.
I’m already dreading having to find wall space for it in my new apartment this fall, knowing very well that I have dozens more just like this to hang once they arrive. If I could hire someone to level, measure, and nail up all of my canvases, I think I would. Insert ‘poor artist problems’ here.
Now that this piece is done, that’s a wrap on art making requiring an easel until I move next month. I don’t have money for the canvas I need for my upcoming piece just yet, and I don’t like the idea of starting something without being able to finish it prior to the move — it feels like it would be more than just an interruption; perhaps an insurmountable disruption. This has left me with my pens and sketchbook, and I still want to make something for the free gift exchange at the end of the month.
This wound up becoming another piece that did not look like how I originally envisioned. I’m just glad it still leaned horror by the end of it, and now, I’m hoping someone will appreciate it enough to give it a good home.
I keep telling myself I’m going to start taking horror drawing more seriously. I’m bombarded by inspiration from horror artists all of the time on BlueSky, but I almost feel like they’ve taken all of the good ideas I want to execute on myself.
What is art, however, if not a repeat of what has already been done? I could spend the next 30 minutes citing infamous music copyright cases, or I could use that time to brainstorm my own renditions of the horror I see around me.
I’ve never been one to waste my time.
There was always more than one who wants to see where your creativity takes you. Keep creating, if only with just pens 🖤