Working toward the Foreground

I’m home but my head is still in this painting.  I started the day at 10am with a bag of cheetos and a Diet Mountain Dew.  Every day should start with a nutritious breakfast.  I worked till 3pm when the dogs were getting restless so I took them home and zoomed back to continue.  They’ve started wanting to go home mid-day which is fine — I need some fresh air and a few minutes away from the painting by that time anyway.  I realized it was dark outside at 6:30 and closed down for the day.

On days like this, I’m reminded of the wisdom of having a detached studio.  If I worked at home, I’d still be working…..and it wouldn’t be smart.  At a point, I’m not as tuned in and really need to stop.  Knowing WHEN that is can be KEY. 

Going through the motions

It’s the title of this painting….and sometimes exactly what I need to do!  It’s comforting, reassuring, and can border on boring BUT I really think it works.

My focus has always been to keep working.  Right or wrong, if in doubt….I paint.  I might not feel creative or inspired but I have a choice to make.  I can stare at the blank sheet and freeze, leave the studio and eat Cheetos (fill in your blank here…), or I can paint.

I feel like I’ll learn something if I’m working — maybe a new technique will emerge or an unexpected color combination will bump up against each other.  Maybe I’ll feel energized by my subject after fifteen minutes — or maybe I’ll get sick enough of what I’m doing to actually DO something different tomorrow.

Whatever happens, I’ll be a step or two down the road.  So if going through the motions is the best I can do today, well, there is no reason to leave the studio.  I turn the music a little louder, adjust the blinds, and pick up the brush.  If I’m lucky, I’ll look at the clock in a couple of hours and wonder where the time went and why my muscles are sore from sitting so long.

And usually that’s exactly what happens.  Of course, I do stop for Cheetos - there is a sprinkling of Cheeto dust in almost every painting.  Magic dust.