The Creative Life - Barbara Trovillo

I have just finished an autobiography about Georgia O'Keeffe. What a life she led! The story of her journey as an artist and her life with Alfred Stieglitz is very interesting and inspirational.   She lived in a time when women did not have the same opportunities and liberties as men. Early on in her career, she said to herself, "I can't live where I want to. I can't go where I want to go. I can't do what I want to do. I can't even say what I want to. I decided I was a very stupid fool not to at least [...]

    I definitely am an introvert. I enjoy interaction with people in small groups or one to one. I never knew there was a name for that...."Extroverted Introvert". Definitely a contradiction!   I am uncomfortable in large groups of people and work best alone.     Fortunately, most artwork is done in solitude. Unfortunately, marketing and networking is done in groups.   To be honest, this has been an obstacle for me.   For many years, I ignored the issue. I painted as if under a rock for a long time. I wasn't overly concerned about getting more exposure. I had a nice social media following. I did a yearly solo [...]

Impostor Syndrome:  Loosely defined as "Doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud".   Do you struggle with Impostor Syndrome?    Many of us do.   Regrettably, I didn't go to art school. In fact, I didn't begin to paint until my late thirties. My Mother was a gifted artist and schizophrenic. She suffered greatly from her mental illness. I think, had she not had this disability, she would have gone far with her talent. She was young when I was born and very insecure. Our home was not a nurturing environment. We were fed, clothed, and ought to be grateful for it! It was the fifties [...]

Last week I shared a painting failure with you. This week I worked hard to put into practice some of what I learned.    I followed the advice I set out for myself:                                     My Reference Photo                                                     A Notan Sketch                                                    [...]