I wake up with a list in my head and on a legal pad. The list is my roadmap for everything from household tasks to ordering materials, searching for reference photos/brushes, setting up lights, video gizmos (I am trying to get tech savvy), checking website emails and posting new items to social media and being a good wife, grandma, neighbor and friend.
All before the first cup of coffee goes down!
In attempting to "show up" as a professional artist I usually take care of business details as I finish off my coffee. Then I make a mild effort at maintaining the "human" details...exercise, showering, laundry...and straightening the abode. (Did I mention housework gives me an allergic reaction? In my next life I have requested DIVA status...and domestic elves!) Usually this all takes me right into the noon hour when I finally get into my "studio"!
FINALLY...I arrive in my compact little room and survey the work in progress to see which piece (I usually have a few going at one time) is calling for attention the most. A lot of this depends on my mood du jour...and the pressure I have placed on myself. I may paint anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours often listening to simulcast news or an assortment of favorites cd's. Time flies for me in this little room.
After the painting flows for awhile I move on to the "details" of finishing pieces. Selecting a frame, sizing a mat, taping, fitting and attaching dust covers and corner bumpers to some of the watercolors. If the pieces are canvas I trim them and mount them onto cradled birch panels with adhesive and LOTS of heavy books to hold them down till the glue sets (fancy & high tech). These are the details that aren't as satisfying as the painting is, but BOY do they make a difference in the finished work! It's a lot like adding the right jewelry to an outfit or the right accessories to a new car!
(Scroll down to get an exclusive look at "View From Wilkeson Point")
At this point I usually manage to emerge with at least a few paint streaks on my clothes, face or arms and need to banish myself to the garage sink area to clean myself and my brushes or water jars before reaching out to an artist friend or two to talk about an idea or upcoming show or painting detail we are challenged by. This is where I learn SO much!
And now it's well passed the time normal people have started dinner! So I sneak into the kitchen and hopefully see my dear hubby has already started dinner (sometimes I get lucky) or I triage the fridge for a miracle. Momma did not raise a chef!
By the time dinner is cleared the UPS truck may have swung by and dropped off a new bunch of art supplies (on a really good day) and I open the box and get re-energized like a kid with a brand new box of crayons.
If its not a "momma got new art supplies" kind of day the I refer back to my To Do list and check off whatever I accomplished (please God let it be at least 1 thing) and a half a dozen more of new ideas and goals.
On an especially good day I get an email telling me someone is interested in giving one of my paintings a new, loving home and I do an internal, sometimes actual, happy dance as I head upstairs for one more look at the "state of the studio" before slipping into my slippers to spend some time with hubby before we both nod off.
All in all its a great way to spend my days and I enjoy sharing the results with all of you. Art IS work but lucky for me it is Work that I LOVE!
Thank you for sharing my art life and times with me!
Stay healthy and Enjoy!
Sue
Here is a PREMIER LOOK AT my latest Dyptych "View from Wilkeson Point". You can see more by clicking the link below:
