UFOs have taken over my studio!

And how I intend to resolve this scary situation 😉

Back in September, I was sifting through my flat files, looking for some drawings I wanted to use in a composition. The search revealed the unsavory fact that I had a disturbingly large population of UFOs hiding in my studio. UFO is the artsy acronym for UnFinished Objects. Half-finished drawings, abandoned canvases, dried-out ceramic hand-builds—regardless of medium, every artist or maker has a collection of work that never quite made it over the finish line. It’s so easy to lose commitment to a project when the going gets tough, or get distracted when an inspiring new idea pops up.

An assortment of unfinished art found in my flat files.

As I sorted and re-organized pieces into different drawers, I realized that the problem with many of them wasn’t that they were poor compositions or badly rendered beyond repair. These projects had been abandoned because I’d had a failure of nerve or felt overwhelmed by the degree of finish required to bring the painting to completion.

Graded I for Incomplete!

They feature watercolor and colored pencil techniques, along with a variety of surfaces. At least one was actually finished, but I didn’t quite like the desaturated black paper, compared to the colorful image.

FYI, Frida has been hiding in my art drawers for over a decade! Eek!!!

Rather than letting these half-finished paintings and drawings roost like bats in my mind, or run them through the shredder & fill our recycle bin with paper confetti (and face regret afterward!), I’ve decided to tackle at least a few of these in the New Year.

Would you like to help me decide which UFO should be completed first? Here is the Project UFO 2024 shortlist for you to vote on in the poll below:

Options 1-3: A prickly pear blossom w/bee from Cross of the Martyrs Park; a crabtree bloom from the Randall Daley Audubon Center; some tulips illuminated by early-morning sun.

(Typo: That should be Randall Davey Audubon Center—Substack editing features are really balky!)

Options 4-6: A Woods’ rose from Aspen Vista Trail (it’s 90% done!); a green orchid hybrid that I’d like to re-do in watercolor, intensifying all the colors and contrasts; Frida (time to lay a ghost to rest).

Pick the UFO artwork you think I should tackle first in the poll below! (For some odd reason, the poll dialog won’t let me add a 6th choice. 😠 So if you choose option #5, please be sure to leave a comment whether you’ve chosen Frida or the Orchids!)

Over to you! What interests you about your UFO choice? And what about YOUR drawers or closet? Whether it’s a quilt, a vintage chair needing fresh paint, or a sculpture, tell us about the UFOs lurking in your home or studio!