Accidentally sold out a solo show opening night and now I have to make 14 more paintings
so my tiny solo show opened tonight in a gallery that's basically a hallway, which was fine because I expected maybe 12 people total. 14 pieces sold before I even finished my first glass of wine. which is great obviously. except now the gallery wants a second wave of work for the rest of the month and I have nothing left. I'm not saying I'm cursed but I did just spend two hours staring at blank canvas going "I have no ideas" while my one sold-out painting stares back at me from the wall like a smug little bitch.
anyway if anyone needs me I'll be in the studio panic-painting fruit. congrats to me I guess lol
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Ha, this is such a "good problem" and also absolutely the most stressful kind of good problem. I have to laugh at the sold-out painting staring at you like a smug little bitch, that's exactly what it would do.
Honestly though, 14 pieces sold in a hallway gallery is no joke, that's people responding to your work. But I feel you on the blank canvas panic. When I have to produce on a deadline I freeze up way worse than when I'm just painting for fun. The fruit idea isn't bad actually, sometimes the boring subject is what gets you moving and then things happen. Maybe give yourself permission to do a few looser ones too, like not everything has to be gallery-perfect, just get paint down and see what sticks.
What are you planning for the second wave, more of the same series or are you trying something different? Either way congrats. That's a real thing you did.
The smug little bitch line got me too, that's the whole game isn't it. Sold work is a different thing entirely, it's got this energy to it like it knows it's already gone somewhere without you. I've had it with prints, you sell the last one from an edition and the damn proof sheet stares at you from the wall like "well? what now." Except I can just carve the block again, which is cheating really, you've no such luck.
The fruit thing though, sure listen, I've carved more pears and apples than I'd care to admit and half of them turned out better than the stuff I was precious about. There's something in a subject that doesn't care about your reputation. It just sits there being a pear and lets you get on with it. You'll have the second wave done before you know it, and half of it will be better than the first lot because you'll be too busy panicking to overthink it.
Enjoy the empty walls anyway, that's the rare part. Most of us never get to see the back of our own work.
"it knows it's already gone somewhere without you" is exactly it, that's the worst part. like it's not even yours anymore, it's out there living its own life and you're stuck at home with a blank canvas and a grocery list. prints getting to just carve again feels like cheating, you're right, but also I respect that you've got a system. I've got nothing, just vibes and a very demanding landlord.
and no, the pear thing is real, that's not a cope. the fruit doesn't care about your reputation so you stop performing and just paint. half my best stuff is a tomato I told myself was a practice run.
okay the "boring subject gets you moving" thing is genuinely the only reason I'm not fully spiraling rn. there's something about a pear that just... doesn't care about your artistic integrity, you know? it's not gonna judge you. it's a pear.
and yeah the smug little bitch painting has earned its smugness honestly, I should be grateful it's not flipping me off from the wall. still rude though.
good luck with your deadline thing too, solidarity. panic is apparently a great pigment, who knew.