Twenty pieces shared to the public, 580 to go.
Digitizing each piece of my art completely takes 1-2 hours, from experience build (web page) to connecting to the rest of the gallery navigation to building out the experiences on DeviantArt. It is somewhat tedious work moving assets around, cleaning up asset issues, and making sure all of the digital information is correct for search engines. I know enough to be dangerous, have enough Marketing experience to know how to do this right.
With everything going on in my personal life over the last year, building out 600 pages of content wasn't my priority. It is now, and I've developed a certain focus that didn't exist before. Returning to social media to discover that I do have an audience of friends and fans that are interested in the art I have to share has been humbling and inspiring. Engagement hasn't been awesome, but it's not about the metrics anymore.
It's certainly a lot of work for few clicks and murmur of traffic. But my mindset around the #yearofSerenity isn't about clicks, not about blowing up my website with traffic, nor about becoming a household name.
My goal is simple: polish the experience of the 600 pieces that are currently in my Gallery, and communicate what I've done to the world.
And so far, it's been an anxiety-filled and surprising effort. I'm just like any other introverted artist; I'm not completely comfortable baring myself to the internet. Through this process, I expose all of the flaws of my creations; I reveal the diversity of my talent (some stuff sucks, some stuff wows); and I stabilize my art brand for posterity in a digital world.
I'm not advancing the sales of my business right now, but I am evolving attention to it. I definitely am interested in selling pieces, but building the mystery is my priority right now,
as well as finishing "Obscurious X" and "Echoprism Vol 2". As well as finding a job that pays the bills. As well as trying to get myself healthier, mentally and physically.
The list seems never-ending. I guess I wouldn't have it any other way. My creative engines are in overcharge, and I can't seem to slow them down.
Of all the necessaries fixing my mental state seems the most challenging as hibernation has been endless. We raced from winter of 2020 to shelter-in-place existence the rest of the year to winter 2021. I miss walking. I miss nature. I miss warmth and points that don't involve staring at pixels.
But, the obsessive focus on my #yearofSerenity has been productive. Dare I say, evolutionary.
By staring at my pieces for hours, I reflect on the imperfections in my work, the subject matter that I've chosen, and the process I used to create a piece of Art. Memory lane is a good place for exercise, but I don't dwell there.
I'm getting better as an artist through this process -- as a communicator, curator, and creator. If I achieve anything this year, I want consistency of experience across my Art and art experience.
I want a gallery that helps me remember my own pieces, guide the experience. I want a collection that shows growth, evidences progress, and cheers of adventure.
This is the definition of adventurous: like an actor or model without makeup, these pieces exist without blush, without polish, without touchups that would pretty their faces to the world before presentation. Sure, I've tweaked the lighting and composition to reflect them as cleanly as possible, especially HD versions of pieces available on DeviantArt.
But these pieces are the raw goods, the originals, the Point A for each piece of art. How they grow, be embraced, and evolve is not completely up to me.
It is up to the eyes of the beholder.
