What will you do with the rest of the year?

Attention Those Of You Who Have Squandered The First Half Of 2024

Housekeeping

It’s the middle of the year and that feels like a great time to reassess your life, art, goals and just generally check in with where you are at. Keep reading below for more on this subject.

I have just finished listening to the new episode of Emulsions podcast which discusses the work and life of Diane Arbus. Emulsions is my favourite photography podcast and I cannot recommend it enough. I always feel inspired and pensive post listening and I bet you will too!

I spent some of this week updating my website, which is not really a fav task of mine, but I did feel a sense of accomplishment seeing it more up to date so in the end it felt worth it. These types of tasks can easily fall to the bottom of the list. They do impact our success as artists though, and they clutter and cloud our ability to really get to the stuff we should be working on.

For example I had been putting off reaching out to a gallery as my website didn’t reflect any of my personal work which left me without a link to put in the email so they can actually see what I do. This is a prime example of a barrier we often let be in place and it’s a perfect way to keep making excuses for ourselves about why we haven’t done X or Y yet. I see you and I know you what you are doing because I do it too.

If you wanna go check out my updated website feel free to. I have bundled everything together under a resources tab and that is where you can find my guides, preset, and also my services like portfolio reviews and 1:1 sessions. I’ve had lots of interest from people lately about how the hell to approach social media and that is something I’m passionate about so hit me up if you want more info on my services :)

Twisted Towel

This image above is one of my favs.

It’s slightly more understated than my usual BAM in-your-face-bright-colour-direct-flash stuff, and because of that it feels more grown up and refined. I hate that I view it that way and it makes me like and dislike this image in equal measure. A complicated relationship always makes for an interesting one though and I do think there is something about this image that makes you “feel” a certain why despite the fact that really, it’s just a towel on a washing line that didn’t get brought in with the rest of the load?

It’s a rouge towel, and it’s also a rouge image for me. I took it with an SLR so it’s got more depth than my usual work and truth be told, if I had the choice I would change the colour of the towel, and the metal shed background to ones that POP. At the same time though I think the soft yellow is nice and the texture of the towel and it being twisted is what makes the image good…if i’m allowed to say that about my own work?

Dissecting my own photography in my own newsletter might seem a tad self centred, however, I only do this to convey to you that we never feel 100% sold on our work and nothing amplifies that feeling more than when you go to submit it knowing you are offering yourself the opportunity to be chosen…or not.

This twisted towel image is in the art worlds hands now and being judged amongst other submissions for the HOTA Triennial exhibition here on the Gold Coast.

Who knows what the Twisted Towel’s fate is?

You can be sure of one thing though, I will be writing to let you know. I’ll even let you know regardless of the outcome, because too often we share our wins, but not our efforts. At risk of sounding like a primary school teacher or your mum, I believe that the effort is the part that matters the most and it’s also the hardest part.

Our intentions make up a large part of who we are and as artists we don’t take our intentions far enough, we don’t share enough and we don’t back ourselves enough.

I have been feeling frustrated lately and instead of wallowing I have been acting and taking control in the form of voicing my dreams, sending emails that have given me a lot of anxiety and going after things I might have a shot at, but struggle to allow myself to really make a reality.

I invite you to do the same!

Have a look at what you can apply for, submit to and create before the year is done and set yourself some mini goals from now till 2025.

See you all in the next newsletter and thanks for reading.