Make Bad Art + Spider Moon Series

Hello to You!

Lately, I’ve been watching the late afternoon light turn everything golden for about fifteen minutes before the sun drops behind the ridge of the cove. It's the kind of light that makes you stop and just... look.

I sold a painting once that I loved so much, I should have kept it. Then I stopped painting for two years.

It took me a while to figure out why. But, I eventually realized that I'd been so busy doing all the "right" things - galleries, promotion, Instagram, the whole dog and pony show - that I'd forgotten to just make art. Everything had to be "good" art. Perfect enough to show, to sell, to post.

That's just not how art works.

There's bad art that has to be made before the good art can come out. That's the truth they don't tell you when they're selling you courses on Instagram optimization. The industry has glazed this perfect veneer over the creative process, and I got tired of it.

As I've grown into my own artistic voice, I'd much rather see something with life in it than something technically flawless but sterile, perfect.

What I didn’t really understand then was that creativity is a deep well that isn't going to run dry. The more I create, the freer I am. The faster I release work into the world, the more space I have for what wants to come next.

I don't attach to individual pieces the way I used to. Not because I care less, but because I trust myself more. I trust the well is deep, that my job is to keep creating and let the work flow through.

That's the creative rebellion I'm living in now, working toward making art that's alive rather than perfect, and not caring at all whether it fits someone else's idea of what "good" art should look like.

I'm still working on that fall surface pattern design collection I mentioned last week - checkerboard pumpkins and crescent moons. I just finished the first couple passes at a main print repeat pattern. It needs refinement, but it's encouraging to see it taking shape.

I'm still not sure what I'll do with these patterns. So many options - phone wallpapers, digital papers, fabric, scarves... I'm in the not-knowing phase and enjoying the creation of them. There’s time enough later for those things.

Here's something ready to leave my studio: eight small mixed media paintings (5x7) I'm calling the "Spider Moon" series - moons and stars with a spider in residence on each one and two pumpkins with stars. I made them all at the same time, so they coordinate beautifully.

These are originals on heavy bristol paper with a quarter-inch white border, ready for a standard 5x7 frame. Each piece is $25 (US shipping included) in my Ko-Fi shop.

I hope they speak to you and someone feels their pull.

What would happen if you made something this week without caring whether it was good? What if you just let your hands move and see what wants to come through?

Reply and tell me what you'd make if you stopped worrying about "good."

You're a Light!

Monette

P.S. That painting I sold and still miss sometimes? I finally made peace with it. Because I know now that I can always make more. The well doesn't run dry.