Merry Christmas and a Fabulous New Year from Reg and Ryn Shell

Christmas in Australia

Copic Pen Koala by Ryn Shell

Become a Patron!

Summer flowers, by Ryn Shell.

Hi, friends.

I hope this season will be everything you need it to be. 
​However you spend this holiday season it is a time to  share, to love, to review. ​

Preparation for Christmas is easy-going in my house. The lilies bloom in my garden and we have the hose on our heavily laden fruit trees and the cottage garden on this warm summer day.

​The only decorations I do are the garden, my paintings, and new toys for the studio assistant cats. I do recall the Christmas rush of our youth, the excitement of the end of year art exhibition, carols by candlelight in the park, and how Reg and I I loved the excitement of creating a special time for our children.

In my senior years, I now love creating the peaceful life with Reg, and visits from my youngest daughter and her family.

---

Peony - Transparent Petals and Misty Morning Peonies
Oil on 10" x 10" Stretched Canvas, by Ryn Shell

Nature decorates our gum trees for our summertime festivities.

Kookaburra in red flowering gum, by Ryn Shell.

Possum pair in red flowering gum by Ryn Shell.

Possum family in red flowering gum, by Ryn Shell.

The inspiration for the art I'll teach in 2019 will be direct from nature.

It’s a time to think about New Year resolutions and dreams for the New Year.  A time to review the past year and plan what comes ahead.

My New Year dreams see a happy and comfortable year for Reg and myself, keeping in close touch with my youngest child and her family, and also my sister in the United States. I will armchair garden, trying to improve my fitness level, as always, and focus on what I can do best, and that, aside from caring for family and myself, is to teach art, and also literature, time management and small business skills through online courses.

What are your plans? 

In reviewing what I'll leave in the past, Facebook only shares page posts if you advertise with them. I looked at their recent lack of ethics is sharing their user's information with third parties, and have decided, "No way!"  I closed my Facebook account.  

I promise to put all I'm capable of into the lessons I create. Just as my novels continue to sell (mainly through iBooks) without my advertising them, so will my courses, at a pace that will allow me to know my students by name—that's the way we all like it. 

Reg Shell

This year was a year I've looked forward to for decades. The celebration of fifty years of marriage with Reg, was everything we'd hoped for, thanks to loving family who helped make it extra memorable.

I’d like to thank you ALL!
Thanks for sticking with Reg and me for another year and for supporting my art, either as a student or a follower on my YouTube Channel, newsletter or this blog.  

Thanks for taking your time to leave a comment and a “like” on my videos and for trusting me as your art tutor to help you develop your painting skills.

I wish you a wonderful festive season and a creative 2019!

Ps. If you have a chance, check my latest video published recently on my​ YouTube Channel. Click here to watch it!

---

---

Creative Business Tips: 

Twitter:
I tried something new recently. I broke my art videos up into thirty-second sections and tweeted the mini-videos on YouTube, with twenty-minutes between tweets. They received a ten-times higher engagement, and sharing, than still photo posts or posing links to my longer videos received.  So, I'd recommend that tactic to YouTube video creators seeking more engagement. That is assuming you have content viewers love. 

YouTube:
Growing a YouTube channel. This year I proved that vlogging every day could grow a YouTube channel ten-times faster than vlogging three-times a week can achieve. So, there's another, How to get a YouTube video off the ground fast, is my tip for those who want to try that.

Don't burn out:
I've worked very hard to create the Painting the Beauty of Peonies Course. It will never be finished, not as long os peonies continue to flower in my garden. However, with a solid foundation there of twenty-three lessons taking students from beginner to advanced, I will pace myself at an enjoyable pace. Also, future additions to the course will be student guided, developed in response to your questions and requests for more information. 
Stay interested in your career, and know that you don't have to measure success by financial formulas. Success can be in the satisfaction gained from the achievement of a challenging task, or the knowledge that you have helped a client achieve their idea of success. Love yourself with self-care as you love your career. Stay up late working if you are loving it and thrive on it, but learn to know when to stop work.

Tips for the artist and author.

Know when to stop.

Ask: "What more does it need?"

Don't ask, "What more can I do." 

Sometimes learning when a creative work is finished is difficult. Nothing is ever perfect.

Kathleen Gorham

The painter must learn when to put the brush down and to put all they learned into the next work. You won't improve work by rehashing it. The same goes for most novels. You can change things, but in doing that, you may lose the spark of genius, the freshness of that original artistic passion and the result, while it might border on technical perfection, leaves the viewer or reader unmoved.

My less than perfect mum taught me creative enthusiasm brought superior results than aiming for perfection. They teach that in business schools these days. There is a book on the topic. Aim for excellence, not perfection. 

My mother took me to watch the expressive Kathleen Gorham dance Giselle, and then took me to see the greatest ballerina of that time, Dame Margot Fonteyn, perform the same ballet to brilliant perfection. 

There was no comparison. 

For decades Kathleen Gorham was the most loved ballerina by the Australian audience, despite being treated to guest visits from the world's premier dancers at that time. I've maintained a life-long adoration for Kathleen Gorham's performances. You could say that she did not just dance with her body, she danced with her eyes and emotions. She could convey joy and tragedy to viewers in a way no perfect rendition of choreographed dance moves alone could achieve. 

​I was there as an adoring fan when Kathreen Gorham's husband and dance partner, Robert Michel Pomie, (soon to be ex-husband) dropped her on stage. The audience gasped, then adored her all the more for how she quickly interpreted that drop into a part of the performance. Spontaneous creativity breaths life to a work more than technical perfection. There is artistry in well-managed imperfection. 

Try to learn to stop working when the painting doesn't need anything more. Don't keep working, just because you can add more to a work. 

---