PineShoreStudio/Paintings by Helen Harris

   My day has a certain flow to it. Habits and patterns have been established over years. I must admit it probably reflects a little OCD also! I don't think about it much until it's not there. I know that this week,  traveling, catching up on the mundane house chores, paying bills...  I've lost my rhythm. My paints have dried on the palette, a painting that I'm stuck on remains untouched on my easel and I'll find every reason not to walk into the studio. Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter all beckoning with feeds that distract me...even a good book. It is depressing and I need to follow my own past advice. Just start...scribble, throw paint and play.  In the past this has always lead me out of my doldrums. When the colors hit the paper or canvas I start to feel better. Just the pure activity of painting, since I was a child, has brought back my joy, and minimized problems real or imagined. I think perhaps the resurgence of coloring books that now fill adult book store

I have a web site: http://helenharrispaintings.com I have this blog: http://pineshorestudio.blogspot.com I have 2 on line shops: http://PineShoreStudio.artfire.com http://PineShoreStudio.etsy.com I have Facebook, Twitter& Squidoo....... uh.....but do I have my painting? The balance of painting and then marketing on all these sites is a challenge and it can get very out of wack, especially at this time of year . Black Friday, Cyber Monday,this promotion and that sale...hmmmm push and do everything or be overwhelmed and do nothing? Balance . A word to be considered today. Choice. The action to be taken. Breathe.............paint! Smile!

The Memorial weekend unofficially kicks off the summer season here "down the shore". The boardwalks, beaches, parks and waterways ...and roads fill with visitors. Art shows are opening every weekend in various locations. Does anyone have money to spend this year that is NOT going into a gas tank? Is it going to be a season of browsers? Will those "incentive checks " actually be used to boost purchasing? Events in my life curtailed my entry into the fairs this summer. I have mixed feelings about this. I'm turning to the internet to market my work. Maybe this is a good thing to explore...at least I don't need to worry about the gas tank. In addition to this blog,I've revamped my web site http://helenharrispaintings.com/ ,published 2 lenses on squidoo http://www.squidoo.com/frame_it_right , and http://www.squidoo.com/rip_it_up_and_paint . I'm establishing a social network on Twitter, http://twitter.com/HelenHarris . I'm even getting ready to open a

Ok...so I'm beginning to enjoy this form of communication. In the last day or so I've posted to a number of sights that I normally would not have found . Originally my intent was solely to drive more traffic to my blog and web site. Now ...it's also great fun. We all need that break in the day, especially if you work alone in a studio all day. So if you haven't tweeted on Twitter....give it a try, www.twitter.com or click on my update in the right hand column of my blog and then check out my new squidoo page http://squidoo. com/frame_it_right , and join the discussion. Below is a work in progress..currently trying to warm up the tones . It's a panoramic: image size is 8"H x 27" W.