another post! surprise!

hi all- trying hard to keep up with this. want to talk today about the direction my art is taking,which at the moment is a bunch of unrelated forays into portrait painting, some abstract pieces and the ever-present journal. i feel as if i'm on the verge of a break through, though what direction it's about to take i haven't a clue. i'm readying my children's book for submission to publishers. i'm trying to find my style so i can begin preparing my work both for the web site and for a portfolio, at least a collection of works that is somewhat organized, shows some growth and continuity, without being pigeonholed into constantly reproducing virtually the same work, all variations on a single theme,(alex katz comes to mind).i need to devote more time to painting and drawing, and less time on creating cutesy journal pages. i'm still interested in journaling but want to try and produce more good pieces that stand alone as works of art, more drawing and painting, less copying other artists works that i see in the pages of the magazines i read. i have a new sense of making things more authentic from the clothes i wear to the way my house looks, to the kind of art work i produce. although i'd still like to do some illustrating,try and make prints of my paintings to sell, and possibly get some kind of marketing thing going, i'm less interested in starting a full "creative business". i don't think i make the kind of art that lends itself to that sort of arrangement, though i will continue to explore in those directions. right now i just want to get through the last few months before i retire with as little stress as possible, fitting in a little art here and there,truing to organize it on my computer . well on that note i will end. hope it hasn't been too boring.later, brigid.