Sunday, February 28, 2021

Happy Habit of Painting Every Day

What seemed like a delightful challenge kicking off 2021 has turned into a boot-camp!

Maybe surprising but I love boot-camps - you just get excited and find the energy to go for it, quickly letting go of any perfectionism, deadline management, or literally anything else that gets in the way of just getting through the camp (i.e. dinner, chores, ha ha).  Okay this one doesn't trap you physically, but it has become the daily FOCUS.  

The idea of creating a habit is being rigorous about keeping a schedule, commitment, and focus --- then repeating it enough that it just "sticks."  Funny that we have so many "habits" we don't even think about - brushing your teeth, having the same thing for breakfast, taking out the trash . . . .  Why not create a habit for painting everyday?  Sounds reasonable.  But no matter what, it's tough because creativity is not toothpaste, but we're definitely gonna figure out how to make it so! 

Another key aspect of habit forming is reward - for me that's coming up with a painting I want to share with others and hopefully connect enough that someone "has to have it."  Blows me away every single time.  But guess what, the ANTICIPATION of achieving that goal is what makes you stick to the habit, not the outcome.  Light-bulb 💡moment!

Anyway - this virtual workshop is to paint everyday for 30 minutes just to get the habit entrenched.  So here is the outcome - the 30 minute hack-jobs, a couple of decent stabs, and the joy of reflecting on my art journey in this blog.  You know us Type A's gotta do it.  As always, thank you for hanging in there with me.  

Here they are - all together


The second row, challenge to paint and count the strokes - 40, 30, 20, 14 strokes - the first photo is the painting and the counting. fun.  Other paintings mostly 30 minutes. Last one is one I forgot to post a long time ago - wadda gonna do with an empty square?  Excellent group of fellow artists from coast to coast, championed by Monica Linares.  Highly recommend. 

Finally - local art show is coming up so I painted a very special one.  Rather proud of it and hope it sells.  

Veggies on Parade
10x20"
Oil on canvas


Enjoy! Life is joy we make one moment at a time,