Murphy's Law with paint. . .

Well, it has been more than a year since I painted (or attempted to) so I was nervous and expected some issues, but "Murphy's Law" came to call and everything went wrong. 😒 

Let's start with the reason it's been over a year since I painted; back in Indiana my old shop wasn't heated that well so when it got cold, I stopped trying to pour paint. Then before it got spring-warm my husband changed jobs and I had to packed everything up to move, it was snowing the day we left Indiana but due to circumstances all my stuff landed in storage in Florida for some months which included summer months. 😕 So I understand why some of my paints were ruined with the crazy temperature swings. 

It came out of the tube like a foam and when I tried to thin it down it just made chunks and stayed chunky no matter what I tried. 😏

I though ok, I can live with that, they weren't all that way so I just set that color aside and didn't use it. But my big expensive jug of pouring medium also developed chunks of it's own, which is bad and sad. However, I thought I could get around it because I know a couple of other artists that don't use that stuff, so there are alternate recipes/ways of thinning paint for pouring, but I am horribly out of practice so I had nothing but troubles trying to get all the colors the same/right consistency. 😓

Then there is the fact that I was trying something new to me, so the paints were too thin kind of on purpose. 😐 But I also used way too much paint for the size of the canvas. 

So, when I went to blow the excess off and try the new thing, it over-mixed and went all wrong. 😞 At first, I thought it would still be ok, even though it was not at all as intended it was still pretty colors and looked kind of cool, it developed some "cells" and interesting spots. 

But the paint was still too thick in places so as it dried it started to wrinkle, ripple, and crack. 😔 Then like an idiot I moved it, I didn't want the tack-feet to end up stuck in the overflow mess, so I picked it up and put it on my easel but it wasn't really level so when I came back hours later there was a blob of ooze from the center where it had been left too thick, ruining the pretty swirls and cells just a glob of wrinkled muddy mess. 😟 

I won't post a photo of the mess, LOL but I will admit that I scraped tons of the paint off and will just try again. 😉 I was right to be nervous and I am disappointed on multiple levels, but it's just paint so I declare do-over. 😇

2022 Year in Review . . .

Etsy does this "year in review" thing with shop stats and highlights, I used to like it but this year I cannot access it because the "new app" doesn't work on my phone. 😒 Although, looking at my shop stats and low sales I doubt this year's report would really be all that enjoyable to look at anyway. So, I shall do my own review of this year and all I can say is, I'm glad it's over. 

For me the year 2022 was mostly a bummer from start to finish, covid is still a thing, we moved across the country which meant my business was closed for several months, my best friend of 15+ years died of cancer, so it's not really surprising that I have been depressed, distressed, and demotivated. 😔 

I have spent a week (actually more) contemplating closing my business, but I have ultimately decided against it. There are a few reasons aside from my basic stubbornness that doesn't like giving up, the naive bit of hope that I cling to, the acceptance that this year was extreme and not normal. I also realized that due to circumstances I have not painted in 16 months and considering I do find great joy in painting it's no wonder that I feel so _________. 

So, I will register the business for the new state, I will look for and plan in-person events for 2023, but most importantly I will resume painting. There is nothing quite like a blank canvas, it is simultaneously inspiring and terrifying as I suspect 2023 will be. 

Well, that's depressing. . .

 So, it's mid-December, the time of year I start looking at compiling the business books to do taxes and I gotta admit it's pretty dismal. 😞 This is the worst year since I started RainbowMaille honestly, it's ridiculous between the closing for months and moving and the sad state of sales since reopening, I am wondering why I even bother to call it a business. 😞  

Most years I have in-person events not just online sales, but not this year.  Most years my sales are measured in the Thousands of dollars, but not this year.  Most years I don't contemplate closing up shop and just giving up, but I am this year. 😔 

Seriously, I'm debating on whether to bother registering in my new state or if I should just call it quits and close and save the headaches and paperwork.  I am concerned that when we do our taxes this year and I have to file less than $500 in sales we are going to get audited, it's that far off, it's that bad. I feel like such a failure. 😭 

I keep telling myself that it's not my fault and next year will be better, but that's a pretty hard-sell.