Hello again, my friends!  If you noticed an increased Artsy presence on social media last week, you may have guessed what I’m about to tell you– the whole job thing didn’t work out as I’d hoped it would.  I wish I could say I was surprised, but.. no.  Have you ever been in a situation where, you know in your gut that something isn’t quite the right fit for you, despite how good it looks on paper?  But then you ignore your gut and forge ahead anyway only to be sucker punched every day for not listening to that quietly persistent inner voice?

I was finding myself quite miserable, not just because of the extremely long hours and bus commute ( there were afternoons when I was on the bus well over an hour trying to get home following a ten hour day ), but because my personality just didn’t gel with where I was.  I don’t want to get into details.. maybe one day over a few glasses of wine. 😉 Since leaving, I’ve been in a bit of a fog.  It’s been like I’ve lost the confidence to trust myself and my decisions.  Mr. F has been loving me through it, but I’ve hardly been much fun these days.  So today is the day I WAKE UP!  Get back to the business of being Artsy!  As I’m going through this mental and emotional awakening, I thought these beautiful pillow paintings of UK artist Alex Hanna were perfectly apropos.

Sweet Dreams, oil on canvas, 75×60 cm

Sweet Dreams 4, oil on canvas, 30×40 cm

One thing that has been contributing to my fog has been the loss of my sense of purpose.  For over two years, in addition to be Mrs. Forager and keeping our vagabond household together and all that means, writing this blog has been my purpose.  It has been my baby and putting it on hold messed with my psyche so much more than I ever thought possible.  It isn’t just a place where I share amazing artwork, it’s where I work things out through my experience of the work I share.  For me, that’s a huge part of living an artsy life– using whatever creative outlet we have to better our lives and the world at large.

Pink Pillow 1, oil on canvas, 15.7×17.7

Sweet Dreams 4, oil on canvas, 30×40 cm

I’m not sure what the future holds for this Artsy.. perhaps a full time job I adore working for someone else, or perhaps it’s time to parlay the past two years and all my other experience into creating my own dream job, or maybe a combination of both.  Who knows.. but I’m up, I’ve come out of my slumber and am ready to take on whatever the future has to offer.  Bring it!

Sweet Dreams 9, oil on canvas, 29.5×23.6

To see more of the work of Alex Hanna, please visit his website.  You can also find his work, including originals and prints, for sale at Saatchi Online.

Images via the artist’s website and Saatchi Online.