Dartmoor Adventures, Pinterest Addiction & Changes.

As I've mentioned recently, I've been stuck in a huge art block and nothing has really helped over the past few weeks, if anything it's actually gotten worse!

So when I was offered the chance to go out to one of my most favourite places I jumped at the chance!

I first went to Dartmoor when I was 14 and I was blown away by the utter beauty of the place. It was truly magical for me. From the stunning views, the grazing animals, vibrant wildlife to the myths and legends that surround the moor, every part of it had me hooked. I quite happily walk for miles across the moorland taking in the beauty and fresh air. 

So going on an adventure here for the day was like Christmas come early!

It was as always, beautiful, can I use beautiful any more than I have without sounding completely insane? :P 

And not forgetting the lambs that surrounded you at times whilst playing or trying to find the best bit of grass. I even got to see a pony I've known for 13 years which is always nice as I can see her still being cheeky and friendly, she even had a foal this year.

If it wasn't obvious, the little day out filled me with a lot of excitement and was inspiring. I got to clear my head with the fresh air and got inspired by the beauty of nature. The wild nature that thrives on the moorland. So I'm now itching to get the paints out and have some fun!

I've come to the conclusion this week that using Pinterest properly might not have been a great idea for me... I'm now completely addicted to it and understanding why so many people procrastinate so much on there! I should have pinned a lot of my own work by now but instead I find myself looking up pictures and making new boards for inspiration. Now I know that's not exactly a bad thing. Inspiration is the basis of my work but oh it's so distracting! I feel like I'm gonna have to give myself a cut off time whilst using it! But as I said, I am very addicted and I love it... It's also lots of fun to follow other artists and see their own boards of inspiration. Yes, excited again... ;)

I think I'm slowly getting the hang of social networking... slowly! I knew before starting out that a lot of my job would involve the internet and stuff so it doesn't surprise me. I like learning new things after all and this is turning in to something I'm really enjoying rather than dreading loads!

Gosh I sound so old!!

So art wise, I'm slowly getting out of the block, business wise I'm starting to take back control and am throwing everything I've got at it and personal wise... well gosh my little life is going through so many changes right now!

I'll admit that the last few weeks have been very stressful for me and I haven't really stopped thinking about what's happening and possibilities and worries and now that June has arrived... it's suddenly all become so very real. I'm both scared and terribly excited! I feel like this month is going to be a whole lot of non stop crazy!

But change is good, gosh I should know that with the amount of constant changes I've created for myself over the last few years and this time I'm not doing things on my own. This is actually a joint thing with my partner so there's always that.

But oh gosh! Everything's happening at once just like it always does! :P

Now I'm off to spend the afternoon surrounding myself with paint and researching some tasty veggie nacho recipes! Bring on the fun!

Have a great day!

Dealing With Self Doubt.

Now as you all know, I started my art business properly on the 4th of February this year. It was a massive thing and I was running on such a buzz at pressing the open shop button for a good few weeks.

But starting a business is tough. Well to be fair doing anything is tough and doubts start to kick in.
The worst part I've found about my job is that I can spend weeks putting my heart and soul in to work, working through the night, full on through the day to the point where I forget to eat or my newest thing, forgetting to pee! I do the shuffle well cos, I'll stop just after the next line... or the next... It truly is madness!
But anyway, you do that for a few weeks and get it all going and then you get nothing in return, in fact I'm now getting less views and feedback than I did before my major crazy work burst.

And you know, it really sucks and is a total blow to your self esteem. I'm sitting here now after spending a few hours going over everything and updating things and it really is like a kick to the stomach. There's this lingering thought of, this isn't working out in the back of my mind which I know is wrong, after all I've only been going a couple of months and can't expect miracles.
But the louder voices are more what did I do wrong, is my work not good enough, are my prices too high, am I missing something, am I dreaming here.

I have my wonderful partner reminding me that I'm being silly with these thoughts and that these things take time and I know he's right. I know he's completely right and I'm just being impatient but at the same time I also feel like I should be doing more.
My biggest worry is when I hit these self doubt moments I tend to lose my muse and can't even draw a line let alone create good products!

I'm also not trying to whine here, just documenting the ups and downs of starting a small art business and trying to claw your way up desperately!

It's not all bad either, I'm still loving what I do, still have so many ideas and don't regret my decision. It's just very hard to stay positive when you seem to have lost a bit of control.
But then again I also know that I am in complete control and there is lots more that I can do right now.
Sure money always helps and right now, I don't really have any. Right now all my money is going in to savings for mine and my partners future... which could be getting exciting by the end of next month, oh fingers crossed for some good luck! So my money is for better things and I'm trying to do this on a budget.
So I guess when you look at it that way I've actually done pretty well ;)

So yes, the self doubt has kicked in but I'm not giving up. If anything it's making me work harder and fight to get somewhere! Which is always a good thing ;)

I guess I've rambled today, it really is because so much is happening right now in my little world and I'm just having to keep hold of what I can and control what I can and the rest, well, that'll all turn out fine in the end.

Warm happy thoughts to everyone out there and have an amazing week!

I do have a special post happening later this week so please check back!!

We've got this!