Ok, I went, I saw, and I LOVED!!! The Hope Artist Village is where I want to spend my days painting and weekends selling. The energy there is amazing. I am going to continue to create enough paintings to fill the walls in the studio so when I do move in, it will be beaming with all of my work. Please everyone send me good energy to obtain the perfect studio so that I can actually eat dinner on my kitchen table with my family instead of painting on it and have everyone eat in the living room … 🙂
Okay, the Ringmaster is stepping into the scene now. I spent last week painting this guy and I am finishing him up this week along with submitting some chapters to my writers group. What a wonderful group of women writers I got together this time. Writer’s groups are magical. You get different writers from different backgrounds all meeting up at a table two times a month and the energy and information fly!
My goal for this year is not only to finish my novel and get it in print for you but also to network and reach out to other artists – I mean really join the artist community by putting my work out there. I am going to put paintings out into the world as well as my books. As I near my 40th birthday I feel the need to expand my artistic world. As a matter of fact this Wednesday I am going to visit the Hope Artist Village to look at retail space for my work. I will let you know how that works out.
Okay, its ccc-old out there! Wild winds are pushing around snow that is supposed to get above a foot! Yippee! That’s what most of my friends are saying. Why? Well because we are New Englanders and that is what we look forward to. I am sitting here in my fluffy jammies with fingerless gloves typing on my laptop in my bed under the covers. The wind is howling so loud outside it is making my windows whistle. All this ambiance and I am having trouble getting words down on the page for my novel. Ugggghhh. Of course that doesn’t mean I am going to give up. After I read a few children’s author blogs I’ll get going – it always seems to get me going.
The deeper I travel into this novel the more I love it! I am sitting upstairs in what I call my ‘writing nest’ and tapping away at the keyboard. Although my back is hurting me badly I am managing to type lying down on my daughters bean bag. Pain pill helps as well. Cross your fingers for me and perhaps you will have this very book in hand by the spring!
Today I begin with my frustration. Let me begin by saying I am and always have been an optimist but since 2009 of May this wonderful characteristic of mine has declined greatly and unfortunately it still declines daily. I never mentioned this on my blog because I didn’t think it needed to be talked about or was relevant but since this is my blog about my writing and artistic struggles I think it does need to be mentioned.
I need you to know that I am writing from my bed.
I am doing this because I have a major spinal disorder that prevents me from sitting up for long. Not only does it prevent me from sitting up but it also prevents me from running, walking, swimming, driving, and basically anything under the sun with ease. It hurts to put it mildly. I have been writing and drawing from my bed since 2009 of May because that is when my inherited disorder showed itself.
I think its important to tell you this because it is the number one reason I have been struggling to finish my novel. Although the ideas are coming fast and furious and I can’t seem to get them down as good as I used to. When I write, I tend to pace and walk then sit to write then get up and do the same thing all over again. It’s a very physical process for me. I have even gone so far as to lay on my living room for and have my friend help me set up all of my artwork and inspiration materials around me. I have attached a photo below.
My Disabled Office
I want you to know I am by no means complaining. I am just giving you a glimpse into my daily life because that is what blogging is all about. Please know that I will never stop writing until my hands don’t work anymore and even then, I will probably talk – type. I love writing and all that is involved but also please know that I am struggling to do it.
Thank you so much to all of my readers who have purchased my work in the past. I hope my new work lives up to your expectations.
What an enjoyable weekend I had just painting my clown in my art studio by the pond. I have to admit though, I had no idea how long it had been since posting to my sketchblog. Last May and the last posting I believe, I drew this clown. Since then, he has been written into my middle grade novel, which by the way is almost complete, and painted into a wonderful mixed-media piece. There is so much more to this piece and I will actually unveil it sometime this week. I plan to finish the entire work by Wednesday of this week so be sure to check back here to see the finished piece. The novel I have been working so hard on over the past year has inspired me to explore an entirely new genre of art which will also be explained in more detail just as soon as I figure out the details. I have so many wonderful ideas floating – no, more like flying – around my brain right now I can hardly keep up! Its exciting and exhausting at the same time. But just like any proper artist, I cave to my creativity and explore all of my ideas as my ‘domestic’ life falls apart around me. It’s a good thing I have such supporting children who have learned to accept that the kitchen can sometimes become an art studio and that dinner can be fun eating picnic-style on the living room floor! My lovely boyfriend also has a world of patience with me as I get lost in my work and refuse to leave the house for an entire weekend. My family is not only understanding of my creative “condition” but they actually encourage me to paint and write and are excited to see the next piece. I have to say I have been blessed.
I enjoyed a wonderful weekend with my best friend Stacey. We took the train from Providence RI to New York City and saw the play WICKED. It is by far the best performance I have ever seen and I have seen alot. I did see this show before at PPAC in Providence and it was excellent too. The energy is unbelievable in this show! If you haven’t seen WICKED yet its time you did!!!
I did get a new character sketched on the way to NY and I absolutely LOVE him. He appears in my novel and is being written in today. I know I said this novel would be ready to be released in October of this year but because of the turn the story took, I am needing more time. I hope you are not too disappointed if you have been waiting for it but believe me, it is going to be well worth the wait.
It’s Mothers’ Day – a very happy one it was. I spent the day with 6 of my kids – my 7th was nowhere to be found. He didn’t even call which makes me sad but at the same time I know he is preparing for a big move to Idaho and planning a wedding as well so of course I can forgive the forgotten phone call. He is 21 and no longer depends on me but that never stops a Mom from thinking about her child every day. When the kids are little all we can think of (we being artist/mothers) is when will I ever get the time to write or draw or paint? Funny – now that my little ones are getting older I find I am sitting at the drawing table unable to focus because I am wondering where they are and if they are all right. Seems to me its a lot easier when they are running around making noise while I work. Yeah, now that I think of it, I can create much easier with my kids under foot. Just yesterday I was sketching and all my littler ones were running in and out of the house. I drew at my art table while watching them out the picture window and when they ran inside to give me an acorn I just smiled and placed it on my tabletop. It added to the value of my writing and brought  a whole new level of meaning to it. I really enjoyed my weekend creating with my kids running around me and I am going to enjoy it for as long as I possibly can because I know it doesn’t last forever, it didn’t with my first born.
To all those mother/artists out there, enjoy your creative times with the chatter in the background while you can… you will miss that precious chatter. I know I will.
Erin T. Whalen 
