Over the years I’ve started a lot of bigger artwork pieces but never finished for one reason or another. I usually go back at a later time to see if I get more motivation to work on them again. Sometimes I do continue. Most times I just put them aside again, in a drawer full of other unfinished creations. Sometimes I go back to a piece and get a new idea or perspective about how to proceed in a different direction with the piece. For me, each of my larger pieces are never finished in a single sitting. Each piece is worked sporadically over many months, sometimes years. I don’t know if other artists work this way or not. I don’t know if this is a good or not so good process to follow. I only know this is what works for me. Sometime it is a loss of interest. Most of the time it is because I have some other ideas I want to work on immediately. A lot of times, it is because of fear. Fear that the piece is not successful. Fear that the piece will not be interesting enough for anyone else but me. Fear that I am wasting my time.
I worked hard to fight this fear. The advice I hear the most from successful artists is, “Just do YOU” and the results will be successful. Or, "Be authentic and genuine” and viewers will recognize that and love the piece. But what happens when you do YOU, be authentic and genuine and still not get a reaction from viewers? This is a hard place for an artist to be in. This is the fear I fight the most: the seemingly counter-intuitiveness of proceeding with something that is authentic and genuine to you, the artist, but may not be well received by viewers.
The most recent large piece that I returned to is the one currently on my drawing table as I am working on the art for my 2026 Kickstarter project. This piece, called (currently) “Where Angels Hide”, was started when I was still working in Germany. It has gone through a few changes over the years. I am pretty satisfied with the most recent evolution of the piece and beginning to see how it would be finished.
“Release” is another piece I see myself finishing, however, it is really big and pretty ambitious. I would love to work on it one of these days. It will probably be re-titled as well. This piece is about releasing inner turmoil like stress, anxiety, fear, depression, and many other darker thoughts and feelings that plague any of us each day. Creating pieces that represent the inner turmoil and unseen battles I fight each day is my release.
My kickstarter project (now on the third iteration) has taught me a great deal about consistency with smaller pieces. I worked on each stage over all 20 artwork at the same time before moving to the next stage. It has been working so far to keep me on track. More articles to come later about this process
