Apples of Gold in Settings of Silver
In the past two months I've made two out of town trips, back to back. They added up to being gone from the studio for more than two weeks, doing things not related to art, and I could feel the effect of it creeping in when I got back the second time.
What effect you ask? The one that creeps in when I haven't painted for a while, usually because of life circumstances. Sometimes those things are related to art, but often they aren't. After a while I begin to feel like I don't remember how to paint. Or that I have no idea what to paint. Or, why did I ever think I could paint?
That's when having a simple small step process comes in handy. Rather than feeling like I have to immediately get going on a wonderful painting as soon as I get home, which is very intimidating. I've recently made a workflow "schedule" which has been very helpful.
It just sort of came to me one day when I was thinking about the work flow I had when I was doing eBay. I had quite a system of steps that insured I didn't get things all mixed up. I was painting and selling five paintings a week and needed a way to organize the whole process. There were many steps, but if I followed them everything went smoothly. It was great!
I'm not doing eBay anymore and haven't for a lot of years. I also hadn't really managed to create a good workflow in all that time. Things would go along well for a while and then something would throw it all out of whack. Then I'd spend weeks trying to get my groove back.
I've found myself to be easily overwhelmed by too many choices and decisions. This simple schedule is clean, clear and not overwhelming. If I do the things on it, I know I'm good to go. All the things that need to be done, will be done. There isn't too much for any one day.
It's helpful when I do have an interruption to be able to walk into the studio on whatever day it is that I'm back and see what I'm supposed to be doing that day. Wow!! It's been life changing. No overwhelm. No wandering around trying to remember what to do. No sense of guilt for not being on track.
Do you have a schedule you follow? How do you handle time away and then the return? Is it hard for you or not a problem at all? I'd love to know!
It's been a crazy year for me starting last summer. I moved my studio downstairs, which was great, but it took a long time to set it up and be comfortable enough to paint. Lately life events, like my husband having a total hip replacement, and other family things have taken a lot of time.
All the things have been important things and I wouldn't want to not do them. But there are other things, little things that can creep in and begin stealing painting time if I'm not careful.
Learning to guard painting time is something I've learned to do as an artist. It isn't always easy and it certainly wasn't easy in the beginning. I felt guilty for saying no to friends who wanted to go do something. I also struggled with saying no to myself. Often I was the real problem.
One thing I did was set working hours and show up as if I was working for someone else. That helped a lot! Without that it was more a case of whether or not I felt like painting and that was just too subjective to be reliable.
Another thing that helped was getting dressed for work. Just because I work at home doesn't mean it's okay to show up in my sweats. I didn't dress up (unless I felt like it), but did dress as though the job was somewhere else, and for someone else.
Between having set hours and dressing for the job I was able to show up ready to work. Lately I've discovered having a painting schedule to be very helpful! By that I mean I have a few painting ideas in various stages and I have them loosely scheduled to be at a certain point at a certain day. That way I never have to walk in wondering what I'm going to do that day. With that schedule I can prepare at the end of the day for the next day's work. If it's going to be starting on a little gouache study, then I make sure there's clean water in the container, that the paint is laid out and the paper I'm going to work on is taped off.
Added to that process is a sequence of studies going from gouache to pastel to oil. I may never go any larger than the oil, but even if I don't there are three versions of a painting done and ready for my website. This has really taken the overwhelm out of the mix. And funny enough, this has helped my creativity rather than hindered it.
So, those are some of the boundaries I've set with myself. These boundaries have helped tremendously in protecting my time when it comes to the little things that can creep in from outside also. Not only that, but they actually help when the big life events happen. With somethign like this in place, it's easier to pick up where you left off before things happened.
Through the Aspens
11" by 14"
oil on linen panel
It also allows me to fit in some of the spontaneous things that come along. With these boundaries in place, there's still room for other things. I can tell someone who wants to have coffee, I'd love to, when I'm off work, so to speak. It's made things better all around. When it comes to your painting (or other art) practice, what has helped you set boundaries?
