“Likes and Life”

It’s late and my lids are drooping so I must clean my brushes and stop. Blogging is new for me and this site is still a work in progress but isn’t everything?  

Today I took my dog, Pickles to the park.  Or should I say, Pickles took me to the park.  I also paid a few very overdue bills and exercised,  And what does this have to do with art? Well, I’m not sure except that it felt really great to watch my dog play and to hang out.  And exercising moved my energy so I could paint.

In this  facebook insta branding universe,  every “like” can become our confirmation of our  worth and existence.  And I agree that it is fun to take pics of my dog, of my process, and of my friends at openings.  I have met alot of wonderful creatives, painters like myself, sculptors,writers, teachers, critics and have incredible relationships as a result.

The tools to promote ourselves and take charge are great.  If you have some extra cash flow, there are some solid  promotional people for the job, Kristine Schomaker, an artist, founder of Shoebox PR,  Heidi Johnson of Hijinx.  If you want a great bootcamp, Mat Gleason is amazing.  Artshare LA is also a wonderful place for opportunites to exhibit.

Now if you are like me, there is no buried treasure anywhere.  If you do have a line on some buried treasure, call me. No rich uncle?  OK, but you forge ahead, paintbrush in hand, creating new territory in a new land.   You make the decision to be a one man band and do it.  Easy, right? No magic wands and no glass slippers.  But if you are careful with your cash flow and don’t mind metro, you can go to the ball by uber.

In order to do it by yourshelf and still make time for your art there are a few pointers that might be helpful.  Don’t try to do everything everyday. Make time for living life, enjoying your family and your pets and be good to yourself.   Make art- making your priority.  If you are going to shows, doing facebook and instagram and tweeting and now, blogging like I am doing right now you will need to pace yourself.  And hey, wait, it’s 2AM so yes, I am still figuring out the pacing thing.    I spent a day and a half just trying to figure out this site so I skipped Facebook that day and instagram.  I made the blog my prioity because I had put it off and knew I had to get it done.  The next day I painted and it was like finding water in the dessert.  Today, I was able to get in 8 hours of work and it was heaven.

What I’m trying to say is , just do the best you can.  You can’t make art if you can’t stop looking at your phone.  Structure your time and prioritize and don’t worry about being on every site every day. Don’t worry about how many likes you get or whether someone likes your art or your cat video or your lunch.  It doesn’t matter.   The notifications, the email, the tweets and instagram will be there. Disconnect when ever you can and don’t allow social media to eat your creativity up.

On that note, I am going to get some sleep and check out the “likes” tomorrow….

Author: jodibonassi

I am a Los Angeles native. Really! Born in DTLA! My works lead the viewer into a dialogue about the connections and differences between people in contemporary times. The rich cultural diversity inspires me to look at the sometimes momentary but intense relationships experienced by people passing through or living in the urban environment. I am a metro queen, riding the rails and using my countless sketches and photographs for painterly portraits of people and creatures in an urban milieu. View all posts by jodibonassi