Art & Photography by Lauren: April 2014

Since 2001 my friends and family have encouraged me to apply and participate in the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, MS. I have always said that I wanted to apply and every year in November I would get an email saying that they were taking applications and then I found every excuse in the world not to apply. Here are some of the most common excuses: "I don't have any artwork ready, I have not painted in years, I don't have any extra time, It will probably will rain if I did it...." The excuses go on and on. The fact is, I have not consistently painted since 2001 and I sure as heck lost a lot of technique I once had. I did some paintings here and there throughout the last 13 years but I found out as soon as I tried to paint it was like my hand no longer worked and I was sluggish; not as "talented" as I remembered. This year I decided that the only way I would find time to paint and regain my painting strength and technique was if I was forced to paint. In November I received my email that Double Decker was taking applications and that same day I submitted my application. Surprisingly, I did not start a single painting. I did not start a single painting until March 8th after I had been invited by the jury to show my paintings. I had 6 weeks to get a massive amount of painting done. Each weekend I had a goal of how many paintings I needed to finish. Each weekend I fell short of that goal because I was not as speedy as I once was but I began to realize not only was my technique slowly coming back but I believed it was better than it had ever been before. Tomorrow I will be venturing down to Oxford with 17 paintings I am very attached to! With each painting my technique grew and I hope I'll be able to sell just one! I am excited and honored and I cannot wait to be back in Oxford, a place with so much culture and energy. A crowd of more than 55,000 is expected and the weather is going to be beautiful. Wish me luck and if you plan to attend come by booth 141 near Proud Larry's because that's where I will be all day!