back to writing

Finally I have time again to write and sub one a week.  I know this because I'm twiddling my fingers in those spare moments wondering what to do, like what should I google.  When you google your own name, you know you are in trouble...

The last few months have been fruitful: solo painting exhibition, group show, signed on with an art dealer, started with two new galleries and dealt private sales.

All this intertwined with house hunting and organizing moving, eek.

And I've read a ton of books, The best being "Ogni Angelo è Tremendo" by Susanna Tamaro, family friend of James Joyce.  I love how she describes the visits to art galleries her mother took her to as a child.  Her reaction to contemporary art was, should I puke or should I not puke.

in a whirlwind

There is so much going on with my painting that I had to buy an agenda to keep track of all the appointments.

The extra time I had for writing and submitting stories once a week is consumed by communicating with people and dealing with moving.  Yes we are moving house soon.  Luckily not my atelier. All those bureaucratic details that seem like splinters in your thumb.  You just gotta deal with them.  Maybe I can at least post on my blog.

Last Night I got a call from a gallerist in Metz, In 3 Arts.  Tomorrow at least ten people are coming to the atelier and bringing the aperatif, monday and art dealer and Tuesday I go to Honfleur to make an exchange of painting with another gallery.  Then next week Terre des Arts will retrieve paintings for my show in a few weeks, there will be over 30 paintings.

After that I've got to paint my butt off for the Grand Marché d'art Contemporain(GMAC)  at place Saint Suplice in Paris's 6th Arrondissement.  That Saint Suplice, you know the church from Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.  Yes we'll be right in front of that under a tendopoli.  Should be fun and hopefully the weather will be fantastic.

Here is the painting that I've kept for the GMAC:

It is unfinished in this picture.

On top of all that activity, since the first of February, I painted and sent the first forty small works to Carré d'Artistes.  

life in the tornado

The past eight weeks life has been a whirlwind.  I am Dorothy caught in a tornado flying up to the sky, house and all waiting to land in Oz.  Oz is near, I can't wait to be there.

W1S1 weekly

After t2013's first month of writing and submitting, I decided to take the weekly challenge instead of the monthly one, yippee.  I'm on the toboggan riding the adventure
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In January I won three rejections and have another submission in course.  If what Milo Weaver says is true and from what I've read from other W1S1 madmen and madwomen I can expect at least another nineteen rejections for each of these stories before they find a home.

The best thing about writing these flashes and shorts is rediscovering old stories and revising them.  The best one so far, has been Diamond light which I wrote in January.  The first draft was over 2000k words and I reduced it to 900.  I thought of Chuck Wendig's advice.  25 Writer Resolutions for 2013 and Beyond.

The second best thing other than that I am finishing the novel I started in 2011, I see how bad the first draft is thanks to these exercises in short writing.

Now I have an idea to group all the stories that are formulating, all based on the book Shimmering Images that I learned of from Janet Reid's blog.  You can find the shark's blog here on my blog roll to the right.

Claire King's interviewed by Rumjhums for FFC

Here is the link on Flash Fiction Chronicles  to the interview of Claire King by Rumjhum Biswas.

I felt like I was reading about myself in some ways, moved to France, started interest in Flash Fiction when baby was small, written several novels and abandoned them.  How she says when she finds the time to work she does because she never knows what will come up to take her time away.

It's the same for my painting.  Writing is still a sideline for me.  It may always be but I'm having fun doing it.  Especially the Write 1 Sub 1 challenge.

I like what Claire King says about flash fiction, that a writer can try genres without embarking on a long, that flash fiction leaves no slack room.  Her Goldilocks theory is fantastic, not too hot not too cold just right.

Thanks Claire for your words.  Funny that you are an editor for The View from Here, I just stumbled upon your interview after submitting to them.  I'll have a second go with the next story.

Thanks Rumjhum for your questions.

31 bis, rue Campagne Première -

photo courtesy of wikipedia

André Arfvidson designed the studios where my main character passes his Parisian residency in the story Parisian sky.   The facade of 31 bis rue Campagne Première  is covered with polychrome tiles.  The tiles not flat, are various shades of ochre and reflect warmth from the Parisian Sky.   

How can the Parisian sky ever be warm, it's grey, like 320 shades of grey, the other 32 days may be various blues, especially when the north wind is whipping.

Arfvidson, (what kind of name is that?)  won a city contest for decorating facades.  Originally the building held twenty ateliers for lucky artists like Man Ray.

Here is a video:

Kiki et Man Ray

rejection dejection and faith

image courtesy of ehow

 Killed a hedgehog, lately?  

Ho hum

Today I received the response for my short The Collector from its first submission to The View from Here.  Negative.  Thanks for considering it.  I'll rework it and resubmit to another journal.

Diligence is one of my virtues so if #W1S1 founder,Milo James Fowler,  tells me that it is not a matter of being rejected it is just finding the perfect fit for your story then I have faith...  I'm a subscriber to paper copies of literary journals too.

After 25 years of painting only what I want and managing to make a good living then I have faith that my stories will be published.  Once upon a time I wanted to go to Rutgars and study creative writing but won nice scholarships to art school - like you care, I know,  but blogging is pure vanity.

I also believe that I can win the lottery.  It's either you win or you lose 50% chance.  Think this is bullshit?  Ok believe what you want.  I've one lots of times, not the big pot, but enough that my sweetheart and I can go to a five star Michelin in Paris...