When I was a young child, I watched Looney Tunes cartoons on Saturday mornings. My favorites included Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote. I actually felt bad for the coyote, always losing out to the mono-syllabic roadrunner, even when he had the best-contrived schemes. The worst was when he got an ACME anvil dropped on his head.
Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I sort of feel like I've had an anvil dropped on my head this year.
What does the future hold? There will be brighter days ahead,
although it will take time and adaptation.
I thought things were off to a sufficiently rocky start when we abruptly lost our dog, Marlon, in early January and then elective hip surgery brought with it a very protracted recovery that I didn't fully appreciate beforehand. I spent a lot of frustrating time laid out on our couch. And that was just in the first couple of months of 2020, before the pandemic really hit. Duh!
Since that time, like you, I've been re-orienting myself to a world transformed by Covid-19. My hip is doing better now - that's me hiking in a Tennessee state park just last week. I am extremely fortunate. I have not gotten sick and I'm able to continue working. I am grateful. I've really focused on washing my hands and keeping a low profile. As an artist, this whole "stay home" and "social distance" thing really isn't that much of a leap (!)
Nonetheless, my heart aches for what this country and the world are going through. I take my news updates in metered doses these days and I'm trying to regain my focus. To be candid, although I've had more time to spend at home and not be on the road to various art shows like I usually am at this time of year, I haven't exactly been super productive. I've been anxious and sad. Although at least my garden is the best it has ever looked in all of the years since I began doing outdoor art shows.
As more time goes on, I can see that it will be quite a while before outdoor art shows and other social gatherings return to our lives. For this reason, I will soon launch a new portfolio web site to reboot my fine art business to this new reality. Among the enhanced features that will be available on my new portfolio web site:
- Print On Demand - Select prints of my artwork in the sizes, media, and presentation (matted, framed, etc) that you want.
- Wall Preview - Visualize my paintings and prints on the wall of various room settings
- Augmented Reality - Preview my artwork on the walls of your home or office
Just as restaurants have adapted to our world with enhanced carry-out options and we've all become well-versed in Internet video conference calls, there will need to be an evolution in how artists connect to interested patrons. I look forward to sharing this next step forward in my business and I thank you for your support and interest.
