It's That Time of Year

🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶  "When the world falls in love, every song you hear seems to say, Merry Christmas may your new year dreams come true! " 🎶🎶🎶


Even at this time when our country seems to be in uproar and divided, this time of year always makes me so happy and grateful for everything I have and I get swept up in the Christmas spirit.  There are so many out there who don't have a fraction of what I have. Like the people in Malawi or Burundi who make the equivalent of 75 cents to $1 a day!  I put 75 cents in my pocket sometimes to remind myself of this when I get caught up in worry about money or get jealous of those who have more than I do.  These three quarters remind me that there are people out there who are worried that they may not even eat that day when I complain about fighting the crowd at the grocery store or how I don't have time to shop.  I hate to be preachy, but really we have so much to be thankful for here in America.  There are those who are suffering in our country too and things can always be improved here as well, but it's important for me to have a greater world view and remind myself of these extremes that exist in the world so that I can do and give my fair share without complaint.  It's tough not to slip back into whiney grumbling so that's why it works for me to have those 3 quarters in my pocket from time to time.  I can't save Malawi, but I can do my work with a smile and use my gifts the best I can each day. 

November seems to be the month of minis for me. These are always a joyous experience because every little painting gives a little bit of light into someone's life. It makes us all feel good and brings us back to the present moment and gratitude when we can appreciate the simple beauty of life that is all around us.  A couple of weeks ago I did about 50 little still lifes, 2.5 "x 3.5", and the outpouring of love from that was tremendous.  This week I have started doing some little mini Christmas scenes, while listening to Christmas music of course!  These 5 are going to my gallery here in Oklahoma City and of course 1 for my Mom.  I'm also sharing some of my favorite Christmas minis (5"x7")  from last year.

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Christmas Minis - 2.5x3.5" and 3"x3"

Christmas Shopping - 8"x10"

Frosted Window Panes - 5"x7"

Pretty Packages - 5"x7"

 

 

If you like my blog and want to join, please do! I will be giving away a FREE Kelli Folsom Art Calendar + A Mini on Dec 1st and January 1st!

 

Kelli Folsom Art Calender 2017

6.5"x8.5"

$20 (free U.S. Shipping)

click the donate button on top right and include your shipping address

 

 

Kelli Folsom Sunrise Calender 2017

Folding Desktop 4" x 8"

$15 (free U.S. Shipping)

click the donate button on top right and include your shipping address

 

 



It's Your Thing....Do What You Want To Do!

I'm always trying to figure out am I doing the right things to be a successful artist? What is my end result goal anyhow? Countless hours are spent journaling, planning, goal setting, searching for answers online.  I'm always afraid that maybe.... just maybe I'm not doing this thing the way I should be and often times I am doing things that go against marketing and career planning advice that I've read and even received from admired colleagues.  Sometimes the self-doubt and questions pile up so high and spin me around in circles resulting in being thrown off the merry-go-round and getting some good grass stains, scrapes and bruises.  I'm constantly wrestling with my own self awareness, what individual hang ups and personality traits might be holding me back: like my need for variety and sometimes lack of focus, my not sticking to one genre, or wondering if my work will ever be good enough to be at the top (yikes).  

What I do know for sure is that when I follow my instincts and don't worry about the rules of success or how I'm viewed by others, I always oddly find success.  Perhaps not success in terms of my name is in every magazine or winning some huge award, but success in the joy of creating what I wanted and sharing that with others. 

This month I decided to indulge my need to get away from the hard core discipline and focus, the seriousness of it all, and just have fun! I've always had fun painting minis because they are quick and spontaneous. I like the speed and rush of doing a whole bunch of little studies in one day. I just set up one after the other, don't think about how good they are or not and just paint on automatic. It's funny how taking the pressure of greatness or perfection off frees you up to just experiment, explore and in the end you usually find something really good that you can carry into larger works.  Sometimes, too I think you discover what people really like. For example, it was clear that in these 50 "Paintini's" the paintings with sunflowers or blue & white pottery were the crowd pleasers. Now, that doesn't mean I'm going to abandon my higher ideals of artistic merit and start churning out sunflowers and blue and white paintings, but when one has to pay the bills that knowledge doesn't hurt!  

In the end, following my instincts brought me great joy, not to mention a boost for the bank account! Personally connecting with other artists and art collectors who snatched up these little "Paintini's" was so much fun and they expressed their gratitude again and again for me offering something affordable to give themselves and friends. In my mind, other artists and art collectors are like an extended family. We share that one thing, the love of art, in common. We can bind together, no matter how many differences we may have,  on that one common ground!

For November & December I will be giving away to

a Blog Member

(there is a join button on the right hand side)

1 Kelli Folsom Art Calendar for 2017 and 1 Paintini!

The drawing will take place Dec 1st and Jan 1st and announced here on the blog.

For now I am done with the Paintini's, but you can get a Kelli Folsom Art Calendar for $20 (includes shipping in U.S.) Just click the Donate button on top right and enter $20. Please make sure to give me your shipping address in the information.