The Weight of Incompletion

There is a super heavy weight to things/actions that have not been completed (the meaning of completed could mean different things here). Projects that have been passionately begun and then abandoned, plans that have been left without any action taken, paintings painted and then stored in a stack… these situations will strain a conscious mind and vulnerable heart. I am often subconsciously crushed by the weight of my incompletions, and I am starting to do some intensive work to dig myself out from the heap. It is likely that I have over a couple hundred unsold paintings in my studio. I have built some fine protective armor to shield me from the daggers that they throw, but I know of the chinks in the armor. Finding homes for existing inventory is a goal… as I may have mentioned in a previous post, burning work to set it free is one sure way to find its final resting place. I am feeling more drawn these days to find ways to get free of the weight… it works as an opposition force to progress, and after plenty of years in this relationship, it is time to force a shift. Will it work out to have a grand studio sale/giveaway? Not sure. Today, I took these two paintings (from the One Painting A Week For A Year), and I gessoed over them.. killed them dead. They will be reborn as a commissioned diptych that has a home to go to… The freedom that instantly came when I cleaned the slate of these canvases was visceral. The road ahead is long for this task, and it will be wild, but I have magic tricks for assistance.