Blog / 2024 / Blossoming Again

November 5, 2024

[video transcript]

You can download the free coloring page. Also, I published a full coloring book earlier this year, and you can buy the PDF or a physical copy of that book.

The idea of redoing old pieces started at the beginning of the year with this small self-portrait inspired by a much bigger one, and I repeated myself six times with these peaches, but remaking in a bigger format got under way over the summer with the geranium and another painting I have yet to finish. And then, ten days ago, I made this larger piece based on a smaller one. It’s delightful just how much the larger compositions make space for invention. I love how I get to enjoy the paint in a different way with these remakes.

You can see the making of the 2021 version of Geranium here. The 2024 version of the painting is $2900, plus shipping (and tax if you live in New Jersey)—contact me if you’re interested. You can buy prints and other pretty things here in my print shop.

pink geranium pelargonium floral art acrylic painting by Jersey artist Gwenn Seemel
Gwenn Seemel
Geranium
2024
acrylic on canvas
36 x 24 inches
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Over the course of my two decades as a professional artist, I’ve put a lot of energy into not repeating myself. Without thinking too hard about it, I’ve upheld the ideal version of the creative brain, which is to say a mind that’s always working on something new.

But I’m here to say that I’m officially over that! I’ve started remaking some of my favorite small pieces in much bigger. In this case, the 2021 painting on paper on the left is eight by six inches, while the new geranium is three by two feet.

I don’t want to be too hard on myself: my focus on not repeating myself was definitely a typical artist thing.

I remember meeting up with a painter I knew a little bit back in 2009 and mentioning that I was exhibiting one of my bodies of work for a second time in a new city a few hours away from where I was living and where I’d already shown those paintings. In response, the other artist scolded me about the importance of creating new work. It was an odd reaction, but they were older than me, and I got the feeling they needed to feel superior to me. That said, even in that moment, I recognized they were being petty. Seeing art in real life matters, so touring a collection of paintings to a different city was a good thing, because it allowed a new audience to see my work in person. Still, their comment stuck with me.

A few years later, an acquaintance who followed my work on social media complained to me that I was reposting art they’d already seen. It was a bizarre conversation, and, even as it was happening, I was trying to figure out what would cause them to say something like this. From what little I knew of them, I decided that they were frustrated by not pursuing their own art as much as they’d like, and taking swipes at full-time artists was their way of coping. Still, their feedback stung, and I couldn’t help but wonder how many other people felt that I wasn’t sharing enough new art.

In both those stories, it’s another creative person who’s reinforcing the anti-repetition ideal, but the message that you should always be working on something new is one that many people unthinkingly support. The most obvious expression of this being the question “what’s next?” which is something that well-meaning people ask artists all the time. Usually, it’s at an opening reception celebrating a complex project that’s taken months or years to complete. I think it comes from a good place. “What’s next?” is a combination of wanting to encourage artists to not lose their momentum and also wanting to be in-the-know about what they’re working at in that moment.

Still, the question feels like the perfect expression of our productivity-obsessed culture—of a culture that requires so-called “true” artists to always make something new and never ever repeat themselves.

So what’s next for me? It’s simple really: I’m opting out of the “what’s next?” way of thinking. For a few months at least, I’m going to repeat myself to my heart’s content. I’m going to revel in everything I can learn from remaking small works as much larger compositions. I don’t know what will come of it exactly, but, for the moment, I’m enjoying taking up more space with my art.

And, in the case of this now much bigger geranium, I’ve repeated myself twice over, by making the painting into a coloring page! After all, part of why I’m repeating myself is that the uncertainty of the US presidential election is stressing me out and I’m using art-making to induce a flow state in my mind so that I can relax a bit. I thought I’d pass that on to those of you who use coloring to find that flow state. You can download this coloring page for free!

geranium free floral coloring page by artist Gwenn Seemel
coloring book version of Geranium

Maybe this post made you think of something you want to share with me? Or perhaps you have a question about my art? I’d love to hear from you!

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