Between the Lincoln Arts Festival and my new show at Gallery 9, I genuinely had no free time in September. Needless to say I’m feeling some really hardcore burnout right now. I had a few nights off this week and it was wonderful.
BOOKS
I took reading breaks amidst all of the art, which really helped keep the stress from becoming overwhelming. A good romance book does wonders for stabilizing my brain when i’m anxious. I only wish that I had picked better books since despite reading 13 of them, I only have a few to recommend.
(The Mermaid Murders, The Monet Murders, The Magician Murders)
I knew nothing about this series when I started (I think one of the books popped up on an “Amazon recommendations” list?) and ended zooming through all three in quick succession. The series has a long-running they-love-eachother-but-won’t-admit-it romance plus a different mystery to solve in each installment. The main character is an FBI agent from the “Art Crime” devision who keeps getting pulled into the orbit of a legendary (and aloof) criminal profiler. Sleuthing, smooching, and some murders ensue. Definitely a fun series to check out if you want popcorn mystery with your romance.
The Duke I Tempted mixes a gothic-romance atmosphere with a duke who is secretly into BDSM and a gardener who remains unmarried so she can run her own business. I really liked the characters and the way that the "forced marriage due to scandal" plot device doesn’t lead to immediate romance. The two MCs are stuck in a moment of passion/big fight/confused feelings loop for a good long while. But, of course, this makes it all the more satisfying when they finally figure out they're in love. I would definitely recommend this one, although be warned, I found myself yelling “just tell him/her you’re true feelings you idiot!” on more than one occasion. Sadly the second book in the series follows my least favorite character (the Duke’s self-absorbed, phenomenally annoying sister) so I probably won’t read number two.
MUSIC
Usually I like to have favorite movies or youtube videos playing in the background when i'm working. While prepping my recent LA show for example, I binged three seasons of Fringe. Yet for some reason I found myself getting instantly distracted whenever I tried to watch anything in September (with the one exception being OutsideXbox lets-play videos), so I ended up listening to music most of the time. Specifically a constant rotation of BTS and Troye Sivan. Seriously, the entire month it was just these guys on unending repeat.
ART
I created 11 new pieces for my show at Gallery 9 (which is up through the month of October) and will finally be adding new prints to my shop this week. CLICK HERE to see all the new art. I really don't like how blogspot displays groups of photos so I will spare us both the frustration of trying to add them into this post.
Now i'm taking a little time for myself to play video games, clean the house, and pay attention to my dog before hopping back in the studio. With all of the really awful things happening in the news I’m finding it harder and harder to recoup between shows, but I’m bolstered by the fact I have new project ideas already. Hopefully that means that my brain is just dried out and not dead all together.
Ok, now to get caught up on GBBO and about a million Netflix shows...
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