studio notes: scaling up & an awesome giveaway

It’s almost the end of summer! I want to tell you about a project I just finished and an exciting giveaway that I’m participating in. 

scaling up

This past week I sent this large custom dot meditation painting to its new home. It’s the biggest painting (72” x 48”) I’ve made to date and it felt so good to finish!

I was nervous to scale up my work. There were practical challenges:

• Challenge: My studio is 200 sqft so the canvas would occupy a whole wall all summer so space was tight.
  Solution: Played studio tetris for a few months and reminded myself that this wasn’t going to be forever!

• Challenge: I usually work on wood panel so canvas was a new-ish surface to me
  Solution: Worked with Pence Fine Art Services to get the canvas primed and gessoed to exactly the perfect surface for me. lots and lots of gesso!

• Challenge: I didn’t have a long enough ruler to make my grid!
  Solution: an extra floorboard from a kitchen project worked just fine. Not every solution is glamorous :)

Even though I’ve been building my skills and visual language for a long time, I still have moments of hesitation and doubt. I feel both joy and anxiety in my creative process. I come to each piece with a rough idea of where I want to go - perhaps a palette or a feeling I want to capture visually. But I’m not a planner when it comes to painting. There’s no tiny sketch I’m working off or precise steps I follow. My painting style requires faith and commitment to the process. For the first 80% of a painting I’m thinking to myself: what am I doing?! where is this going? why does it feel like I’ve never done this before?! should I stop? With patience, regular adjustments, and little pep talks, it usually works out. Oh and for the last 20% of a painting, I feel like a rockstar!

These are my reminders for when I’m scaling up my work, saying yes to new opportunities and feeling feelings.

What’re your creative practice reminders these days?

free and beautiful art

I’m participating in this sweet end of summer giveaway! It includes me and six other talented and like-minded Michigan artists & small businesses. Here's the scoop: Each artist & small business owner below is offering something special from their shop, and one lucky winner gets it all! 

Here's How to Enter:

1. Click the "enter now" button below.

2. Fill in your email address – this will subscribe you to the newsletters of all six amazing brands... and enter you in the giveaway!

But hey, there's more! By entering and being subscribed to our newsletters, you'll be the first to know about exclusive promotions, exciting new releases, and inspiring stories from these incredible creative business owners who love a chance to share their work with you.

Don't miss your chance to win, connect, and elevate your inbox with inspiration. It's a win-win-win that you won't want to pass up!

**The giveaway concludes on Sunday, September 24th! Winner announced on Monday, September 25th.**

Here's a list of the fantastic makers involved:

Worthwhile Paper: Inspiring connection via sustainably printed goods: $100 shop credit

Rosemarine Textiles: Creating beautiful hand dyed home goods: $50 shop credit

Debbie Carlos: Gifting you a beloved handcrafted Pond Vase: $60 value

Object Apparel: Ready to share organic, ethical, and uniquely handmade clothing: $130

Goldeluxe Jewelry: Elevating your style with hand-crafted jewelry: $130 shop credit

Thistle & Bess: Offering the finest lifestyle goods from curated artists: $75 shop credit

end of summer tunes

Here’s an end of summer playlist for you!

aww studio notes: late summer / virgo szn on Apple Music.

Thank you for reading and supporting my work! As always you can shop my work here and here. If you’re interested in investing in a large custom piece of art shoot me an email at info@averywilliamson.com