Currently listening to the chorus of 'You're the Voice' (John Farnham) on repeat. I made a short video with some encouraging comments from my mental health YouTube channel, Bipolar Courage. I spent hours in hyperfocus last night, to complete the blog post.
Just going to write a short blog post, while listening to that part of the song, as I feel burnt out. Will be stepping back to paint etc for a bit.
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Supportive comments from my mental health YouTube channel, Bipolar Courage. Sometimes, I feel like deleting it, mainly because of harrassment from trolls. I have screenshot some of the supportive comments as a compilation here. I have never been paid for my advocacy efforts, nor do I wish to be. My main goal when starting Bipolar Courage was to reduce stigma. I don't even like to call myself an 'advocate' anymore. Thank you for expressing your appreciation. I appreciate it.
I recently spoke at a public hearing about proposed changes to community arts grants. Under the new proposed criteria, I would probably have not have been approved funding (just NZ$500 twice) for my art as therapy solo exhibitions. It was a life-changing experience and even though speaking is stressful for me, I spoke up, on behalf of others in the community who may potentially benefit.
I've had a very busy and stressful week, which included a car crash and doing a painting. Painting was actually some time out but I don't have an art studio, so paints everywhere in my bedroom become more stress, so they have to go away until I'm ready to do another painting.
In the middle of this, I was notified that I was awarded a Red Ribbon for my memoir, Bipolar Courage: Are You Sure You're Not Autistic? I am currently retreating into gentle music with headphones. To drown out environmental sounds which are causing me extra stress (especially sounds like other people's speaking voices).
Doctors called my heightened sensitivity to sound 'hyperacusis', which is experiencing discomfort and even pain with sounds that don't bother other people. This week has been rather stressful. I was in a car crash. I also completed a painting of a butterfly on a sunflower.
Good news. I have decided to go semi-professional and part-time, self-employed with my art. Art has been a passionate hobby for years and I want to take the next step offering original paintings and fine prints for sale. Aiming for quality, unique art at reasonable prices (no AI generated stuff).
After doing some research, I will focus on a New Zealand market at this stage (to avoid shipping and taxation nightmares; and to have high assurance of quality). I have started a New Zealand-themed collection. A New Zealand website is coming soon. I finished painting Fantail Rose today, an original painting of a fantail with a rose, in memory of my Dad. I didn't set up a camera to film, as I now have a very cramped workspace. I took some progress pics with my phone, so I have put some of them in this blog post.
The room I am painting in is dark but I was able to have reasonable lighting with two lamps. The pics in this blog post were taken with a Canon EOS R100 with a RF-S 18-45mm kit lens. One of the lowest cost cameras using new mirrorless technology. Ideal for beginner and hobby photographers.
This was on my first day of using it, without working out all the settings yet. I have left the pics uncropped, so you can see how much the subject fills the frame. I've tweaked the images slightly with Photoshop Elements. I have reduced the file size for the internet. One of my hobbies is photography. Very much at the budget end of the spectrum. I bought a Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ80, a supersoom bridge camera some years ago, which is very well priced (hundreds of dollars, not thousands) for being very versatile. Recently, I bought a second-hand Canon 1500D DSLR, which is considered entry-level. I also bought two lenses with it. For the combined price of a new Lumix (prices have come down with people switching to mirrorless).
In this blog post, I am going to compare some of the photos from each camera and also how I found them. I have cropped some of the photos slightly for a more pleasing composition, plus reduced the file sizes for internet. These pics are all taken handheld (no tripod or monopod). |
Xanthe Wyse('Zan-thee Wise'). Disclaimer: the author of this blog is not an expert by profession and her opinions should not be taken as expert advice.
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