And Now For Something Completely Different

Hello, my friends! I wanted to give you an update to let you know that I'm still alive and kicking and what I'm up to right now.

As I'm sure is true for most of you, the last year and a half or so has been a time of reflection and change. I went through a huge creative block which kept me from working and also afforded me a LOT more time for said reflection. One thing that kept coming up for me again and again was that I needed to spend some time painting for myself with absolutely no pressure of a specific outcome or deadline. So that's what I did.

Shadow Sister #3 ©Jane Font

I painted and painted and painted. Acrylic, watercolor, oil, some pastels and charcoal, I gave myself permission to just do all of the things I always wanted to do but didn't have time for. In doing that, I started to realize that I didn't know who I was as an artist. I certainly had no idea who I wanted to be. I know that's a struggle that so many of you deal with too! And I can tell you now, from so much experience, when you give yourself over to your creative impulses, when you create just from your heart and make things simply because you want to, when you do it over and over and over and over and... [you get the point] you quickly discover who you are and who you want to be.

So that brings me to today. Today I'm pretty confident in who I am as an artist and the kinds of things I want to do. I'm back to painting about 6 days a week, roughly 8 hours a day. I have private students. I'm selling and showing my art. Basically, I've given myself permission to take my art seriously, which is kind of a hard thing to do. At least it has been for me. But now that I've got a path and some momentum, I gotta keep going and see where this all leads! I've encouraged all of you for years to follow where your art leads and to do things that make you happy no matter what anyone else says, and now it's time that I follow my own advice. That's a seriously tough thing for me to do!

Hintergarten ©Jane Font

Now, I'm not saying this is goodbye forever. I'm super impulsive and could decide that I have something new to share with you tomorrow! I just felt really bad that I kinda fell off the face of the earth without a word. In all honesty, the anxiety I've developed recently is what kept me from saying anything sooner. I just need some time to figure out how this new me fits into all of this. I think about you guys all the time, and I always have moments where I think "hey, this might make an interesting video for some!" So you never know.

Anyway, on Monday, July 19th I'll be putting my brushes on sale. I very well may clearance them all out. So when that happens, get what you need because they may not come back. They may, but they may not. I'm still really unsure about all of this. It's also possible that I'll launch a new line of brushes sometime down the road. These are all just thoughts I've had recently, and one of them is bound to take hold.

The Entrance ©Jane Font

If you're interested in what I'm doing now, please follow my personal art on Facebook, Instagram, and my new website. On my website, you can sign up for my mailing list, see my artwork that I have for sale, and learn more about my art coaching sessions where you could become one of my private students. Please bear in mind that all of the artwork on my new social media accounts and website is copyrighted and not available for recreation, nor will any of it ever become tutorials. I get asked those things quite often, so I just need to make that clear.

Now, I want each and every one of you to grab onto the things that make you happy, the things that fill your creative well and make you feel accomplished, and I want you to do those things no matter what anyone says, regardless of whether or not you think it will sell or someone else will like it. If you can truly find that space within you that allows you to create with abandon, I think you'll discover who you are as an artist and what path you want to follow. I'm not saying it will happen all at once, but it may happen a lot faster than you think. But the most important thing that will happen is that you'll be fulfilled, and I'm telling you that after the year and a half we've just had, feeling fulfilled in yourself and what you do is one of the most important things in the entire world. Don't let anyone or anything take that away from you.

I love you all and I hope to see you around the social mediaverse!

Jane