And were back to New York City Painter! While I was very happy with the new blog name, Google was not. The blog disappeared from the search engines twice, and it seems was not searchable for the last five days.
This was all just too much trouble to deal with, so I'm back to my original name. Eventually I'll move the whole thing to a new platform, but for now, I'm back and I apologize for any aggravation you have had in finding me the last couple of days.
Tomorrow, I will resume posting regular content.
Thanks so much for your patience.
Xx,
Frances
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Sunday, May 27, 2018
New Blog Name!
Hello Everyone. You may have noticed that there is a new name on the blog today. This is a change I have been contemplating for some time, and today I just decided to go for it.
I have several reasons for making this change. The first was practical. After having a good google ranking for years, I was suddenly getting knocked off the search engine on a regular basis. Mostly by people looking for house painters in New York City! It sounds ridiculous, but the house painters and a paintball company recently started getting a lot of search hits which in turn adversely affected me.
This blog is not monetized and I have no plans for it to be. It is more of an online diary. But one of the best parts of having this space has been the ability to share my art work and communicate with people from around the world, and to do that, people need to be able to find me.
Secondly, after almost seven years of blogging, I found the original blog name no longer suited me. There are several reasons for this. I decided the name was too long. I originally wanted it to be NYCPainter, but that was taken by someone who made a few posts and never used it again, so I decided to spell the whole thing out. This was in the days before social media was such a presence, and I just feel like a shorter name is better for me. I also think the new name better describes what it is that I actually do, which is painting in a realist style.
Another factor is that there are a few art blogs that have almost the same name as mine. I even met one of these artists a few years ago and we had no idea that we had almost the same blog name!
The third reason that the blog name needed a change is because I may be making one as well. NYC is the best and I love it here, but I am DONE with winter. I have just had it with cold weather and perpetually gray skies, so becoming a "snowbird" is in the works! Yes, like many in the tri-state area, I am hoping to start spending time in Florida over the winters. Remember Jerry Seinfeld referred to New York, Long Island and Florida as the Bermuda Triangle? It is and I plan to join the ranks, so I did not want my writing to be limited by the blog name.
Last, but certainly not least, the last few years have brought many changes to my life, some good, but many of them have been less than pleasant. Out of necessity, I've had to make some changes, especially recently. While change is always difficult, it can be a time for growth and that is what I feel is finally starting to happen. I decided it was time to have a new blog name to go along with my new life.
I thought about this name change for quite a while. I was very up in the air with the whole thing, but recently, a few bloggers that I have followed for years changed their blog names, mostly due to the same reasons as mine. That gave me the confidence to do it as well. I had not intended for today to be the day, but when I sat down to write a post, I decided there was no time like the present.
So there you have it. Probably more explanation than was necessary, but I wanted to share my thoughts on this name change with you guys. I also have some new blog series coming up and a few other new things to go along with the new name.
As always, thanks for reading and if you have any questions, leave them in the comments!
I have several reasons for making this change. The first was practical. After having a good google ranking for years, I was suddenly getting knocked off the search engine on a regular basis. Mostly by people looking for house painters in New York City! It sounds ridiculous, but the house painters and a paintball company recently started getting a lot of search hits which in turn adversely affected me.
This blog is not monetized and I have no plans for it to be. It is more of an online diary. But one of the best parts of having this space has been the ability to share my art work and communicate with people from around the world, and to do that, people need to be able to find me.
Secondly, after almost seven years of blogging, I found the original blog name no longer suited me. There are several reasons for this. I decided the name was too long. I originally wanted it to be NYCPainter, but that was taken by someone who made a few posts and never used it again, so I decided to spell the whole thing out. This was in the days before social media was such a presence, and I just feel like a shorter name is better for me. I also think the new name better describes what it is that I actually do, which is painting in a realist style.
Another factor is that there are a few art blogs that have almost the same name as mine. I even met one of these artists a few years ago and we had no idea that we had almost the same blog name!
The third reason that the blog name needed a change is because I may be making one as well. NYC is the best and I love it here, but I am DONE with winter. I have just had it with cold weather and perpetually gray skies, so becoming a "snowbird" is in the works! Yes, like many in the tri-state area, I am hoping to start spending time in Florida over the winters. Remember Jerry Seinfeld referred to New York, Long Island and Florida as the Bermuda Triangle? It is and I plan to join the ranks, so I did not want my writing to be limited by the blog name.
Last, but certainly not least, the last few years have brought many changes to my life, some good, but many of them have been less than pleasant. Out of necessity, I've had to make some changes, especially recently. While change is always difficult, it can be a time for growth and that is what I feel is finally starting to happen. I decided it was time to have a new blog name to go along with my new life.
I thought about this name change for quite a while. I was very up in the air with the whole thing, but recently, a few bloggers that I have followed for years changed their blog names, mostly due to the same reasons as mine. That gave me the confidence to do it as well. I had not intended for today to be the day, but when I sat down to write a post, I decided there was no time like the present.
So there you have it. Probably more explanation than was necessary, but I wanted to share my thoughts on this name change with you guys. I also have some new blog series coming up and a few other new things to go along with the new name.
As always, thanks for reading and if you have any questions, leave them in the comments!
Monday, July 15, 2013
My First Blog Anniversary!!
The other day I decided to look up when I wrote my first blog post. I thought it was in the fall and was shocked to find out that it was July 15! I can't believe that one year has passed since I sat down and finally made that first post.
I'm amazed that one year has gone by and equally amazed at all the great things that have happened due to the blog. I still can't believe that people around the world are looking at my paintings every day. That is something I could not have imagined years ago when I began painting.
I've also met many of the great bloggers that I have admired for years. Holly from decor8, Leslie of A Creative Mint, Shauna of Nubbytwiglet, Kat from Rock and Roll Bride, Gala of GalaDarling and Molly Crabapple.
If not for the generosity of these ladies sharing their blogging and business wisdom, this blog would not exist. Thank you to all of them and thank you to each and every one of my dear readers. I'm very excited to start my second year of this adventure and hope you will all come along for the ride!
Xo,
Frances
I'm amazed that one year has gone by and equally amazed at all the great things that have happened due to the blog. I still can't believe that people around the world are looking at my paintings every day. That is something I could not have imagined years ago when I began painting.
I've also met many of the great bloggers that I have admired for years. Holly from decor8, Leslie of A Creative Mint, Shauna of Nubbytwiglet, Kat from Rock and Roll Bride, Gala of GalaDarling and Molly Crabapple.
If not for the generosity of these ladies sharing their blogging and business wisdom, this blog would not exist. Thank you to all of them and thank you to each and every one of my dear readers. I'm very excited to start my second year of this adventure and hope you will all come along for the ride!
Xo,
Frances
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The Artists Way
Are you guys familiar with The Artist's Way? Written about twenty years ago by Julia Cameron, it is a great book for artists of any kind. The front cover bills it as "a course in discovering and recovering your creative self". I bought the book many years ago, put it on my shelf and promptly forgot about it. I've since learned that this is a very common occurrence. Last January, after spending way too much time reading design blogs and even more time on Pinterest I decided that I needed to style my bookshelves.
While this restyling was going on, I happened across my Artist's Way book. I had forgotten that I even owned it and was actually thinking about buying one. On a whim I decided to google around and see if there were any courses happening in my area and as luck would have it, a six week course was just about to start. The book itself is a twelve week course, but I signed up for the six weeks to get started.
I was very lucky. My class was taught by one of Julia Cameron's teaching partners, James Nave. I went to my class every week for six weeks and worked along with the book. Unfortunately, I did not continue on to the remaining six chapters, so I have decided to do the book again on my own. Once a week for the next twelve weeks I will write about everything that I'm doing with the course.
First up, the Basic Tools. Julia states that there are two basic tools needed for creative recovery. The first of them is the morning pages.
The morning pages. Oy vey. These would be much easier for me if they were the afternoon pages. I am as far from a morning person as you can get, but they are a very important part of the course. Basically it is three pages of long hand writing of what ever pops into your head. You don't stop writing until your three pages are finished. You are not suppose to think about it, just do it. Julia says that in order to retrieve your creativity, you need to find it. I'm luckier than many people doing the course. I have not lost my creativity, but I discovered through doing the morning pages that I often let "the excruciating minutia", to quote Elaine Benes, of every day get in the way of my creativity. I was doing everything I needed to do and then making time to paint. The painting time has to come first and if the house isn't perfect or the paperwork needs to be done it just has to wait.
The second tool is the artist date. The artist date is a block of time set aside once a week to do something fun and nurturing to your inner artist. I have to admit, when I did the course the first time I did not do the artist date. I made the excuse that I did not have time for it, but the truth is, I didn't make the time. The artist date can be anything. A trip to the museum, a car ride, a long walk. This past Friday I was in between appointments and I realized I had an hour and a half of free time. I started thinking of all the tasks I could accomplish in that time, but instead decided to take myself on my first artist date. I happened to be on the Upper East Side, so I decided to window shop along Madison Avenue. The store windows were beautifully decorated and seeing them was very inspirational.
Julia says that your artist needs to be taken out, pampered and listened to. I rarely do that to myself, much less my inner artist. She also states that there are many ways to avoid this commitment and she is so right. I have to do it again this week and am struggling to make time for it, but I will let you know where I go and what I do.
There is so much more to The Artist's Way than what I've written here. If you would like to check out the book for yourself, it is available here.
Are you doing The Artist's Way? Leave me a comment. I would love to read about your experience with this amazing book.
Frances
While this restyling was going on, I happened across my Artist's Way book. I had forgotten that I even owned it and was actually thinking about buying one. On a whim I decided to google around and see if there were any courses happening in my area and as luck would have it, a six week course was just about to start. The book itself is a twelve week course, but I signed up for the six weeks to get started.
I was very lucky. My class was taught by one of Julia Cameron's teaching partners, James Nave. I went to my class every week for six weeks and worked along with the book. Unfortunately, I did not continue on to the remaining six chapters, so I have decided to do the book again on my own. Once a week for the next twelve weeks I will write about everything that I'm doing with the course.
First up, the Basic Tools. Julia states that there are two basic tools needed for creative recovery. The first of them is the morning pages.
The morning pages. Oy vey. These would be much easier for me if they were the afternoon pages. I am as far from a morning person as you can get, but they are a very important part of the course. Basically it is three pages of long hand writing of what ever pops into your head. You don't stop writing until your three pages are finished. You are not suppose to think about it, just do it. Julia says that in order to retrieve your creativity, you need to find it. I'm luckier than many people doing the course. I have not lost my creativity, but I discovered through doing the morning pages that I often let "the excruciating minutia", to quote Elaine Benes, of every day get in the way of my creativity. I was doing everything I needed to do and then making time to paint. The painting time has to come first and if the house isn't perfect or the paperwork needs to be done it just has to wait.
The second tool is the artist date. The artist date is a block of time set aside once a week to do something fun and nurturing to your inner artist. I have to admit, when I did the course the first time I did not do the artist date. I made the excuse that I did not have time for it, but the truth is, I didn't make the time. The artist date can be anything. A trip to the museum, a car ride, a long walk. This past Friday I was in between appointments and I realized I had an hour and a half of free time. I started thinking of all the tasks I could accomplish in that time, but instead decided to take myself on my first artist date. I happened to be on the Upper East Side, so I decided to window shop along Madison Avenue. The store windows were beautifully decorated and seeing them was very inspirational.
Julia says that your artist needs to be taken out, pampered and listened to. I rarely do that to myself, much less my inner artist. She also states that there are many ways to avoid this commitment and she is so right. I have to do it again this week and am struggling to make time for it, but I will let you know where I go and what I do.
There is so much more to The Artist's Way than what I've written here. If you would like to check out the book for yourself, it is available here.
Are you doing The Artist's Way? Leave me a comment. I would love to read about your experience with this amazing book.
Frances
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