Category: motivation

Looking for Ideas

Until I decide on the next painting I am working on some jewelry pieces. There is an upcoming shopping event I agreed to do. I need to be prepared with work to show and sell. 

Motivation and ideas for the next painting work have to come from somewhere. Hopefully, as I arrange the beads, and my brain drifts away while I work, something will pop up.

A Lull in The Action

Cloudy, rainy weather does nothing to foster motivation, for me anyway. I updated my Facebook page this week with just that sentiment and some other artists chimed in to to agree, and disagree.

Sun and heat is key for my brain to work properly. Inclement weather day after day, makes me drowsy and lethargic. I don’t care how many affirmations I chant, how many times I tap on acupressure points,or read inspirational stuff, it’s not happening.

But then, for other people, bad weather is their signal to hunker down and do some work. Yeah, I get that, but I can’t change my mind about it once I get a taste of summer like weather. Then it’s all over with that.

In the winter time, bring on the cold, the blustery days and I could fool myself into believing it’s a good day to get work done. Even then it’s tough. How many books do I have to read, how many courses can I take, to keep in the process?

I heard someone say “If you trip down one step, do you then throw yourself down the whole flight?” well, of course not. So you pick yourself up where you left off and go doodle or something.

That’s my plan for today anyway.

Before I go bury my head, I have a question: How do you handle older work that is hanging around? If you can sell it, do you price it differently than new work? I’d love to know how artists deal with this, so please leave a comment.

Thankful for Finished Work

Every once in a while I think we have to stand back, take a break, and just do nothing. When there’s too much going on it seems to me the only way I can move ahead is to stand still. The craziness of the last event had me standing still a little longer than I would have liked. Things eventually work out.

The latest watercolor painting I started working on was waiting patiently to be finished while my brain rewired itself. There it was, sitting on my desk, waiting. I waved hello and got to work. Patience pays off in the end, and it is finished, finally. 
I don’t know what the big deal was, it’s a small piece after all, but brain cells were missing, having gone AWOL. When they returned, so did the motivation. 

Big Tomato ©2012 Dora Sislian Themlis
9×12 Watercolor, Arches cold press 140lb

Waiting to continue..

And there you have it.  I worked on it until I decided I’d had enough of it. Maybe an hour to get it where I thought it should go and then I dropped it like it was HOT.

The thing is it’s finished.

Planning Works Wonders

Now for more color..

Hip hopping on the process, baby! Just coasting on this latest watercolor and having such a good time I hope I keep going. Better not crash land, or it will be a bad thing.

Friday was a lovely day here in New York, for February. When do you get 52F in February? If the weather stays like this (which it probably won’t) I will be happy. Last year this time we were over our heads in snow with no where to put a shovel full.

Plan in hand, I went over my to-do list. At #1 was Painting. I drew a line underneath that and wrote out the rest of my list. As I finished each one I crossed it off. House neat? Done. Read emails all dressed and ready, instead of in pajamas? Done. Online class? Done. Out the door!

Errands checked off as I continued with painting in my head. Made it home before noon. Set up my iPad, got my lunch, read my snail mail and email, then off to the studio.

I will mention one item on my gratitude list for today: I can see the sunny day out my basement studio window. That helps.

With the painting ready and waiting I got to work, adding more color, defining other areas, trying out how to work all those berries. Now I need another tube of paint I ran out of so I marked it on my list.

Honestly, I don’t know how long I worked on this. Before I knew it the day was gone and it was late in the afternoon.

Heaven is a quiet day of work. Process!

Photo Friday with Art

Keep going!

My photos for Friday seem to be about paintings lately. It used to be about fun things I’d see during my day. Is it me or is it that “fun” things aren’t happening? Could it be that my brain is in the clouds, thinking about painting? Maybe.

Moving along now. I started adding in some shadow on this painting to keep it interesting. Darks against lights make me want to continue. There’s something about the contrasts that I like.

Those little blueberries are going to give me trouble if I pay too much attention to them. You know what happens next, right? Too much attention, too much working it, ends up in the trash.

The plan is to take my time, work all around the piece, let things dry and keep going. Work it.

Process, baby! Process.

Humming Along on the Next Painting, Wow

Next up!

As I await my new invitation to participate in the 100 Paintings Challenge, and the next online course Cultivate Collectors to begin, I started another work. Gee, I am humming along, aren’t I?

When I took all those photographs of my veggie haul I wasn’t thrilled with most of them. I even had a few I didn’t bother printing out. This photo was one of those I had no intention of painting from. Well, lookie here. Guess I was wrong.

Finally using my brain, I sketched this out over the weekend to be prepared for the sessions to begin during the week. Smart cookie.

I was so excited to paint that I thought about it before I fell asleep, each time I woke during the night (which was alot) and it was the first thing when I got up to start my day. It’s great to have that motivation going.

The plan of attack was running in my head. Where was I going to start? How would I treat the areas that seemed to flow together? Which colors was I mixing to give the work the feeling I was after?

Plenty of questions, and I hope I have some good answers.

While my granddaughter napped, I ran to the studio and put down some color.  I thought I might try to keep a light hand on this one. I’m not sure where it’s going to go, but it’s a beginning.

Photo of Painting for Friday

Moving right along

And we’re off! I had the day, the time, the motivation, the set up, and the materials! Yay for me!

You know, sometimes you get those days that just click, things happen, mostly the right things. As the day opened up I decided to pull out my new plan and schedule from the Blast Off class and keep going.

I felt good after hearing that another artist uses their morning for house/errands and the afternoon for painting, the evenings for family/whatever. I liked that. I’m a morning person anyway, but I don’t necessarily need to paint at that time. If things need doing I can comply in the A.M. and have the house neat so my brain is clear to paint in the P.M.

Perfect!

I ran my errands, visited the art supply shop and purchased the largest Arches watercolor block made, on sale! I added to my brush collection, also on sale. I picked up a tube of Holbein. You said it, on sale. I asked about oil painting mediums for the future. Then I ran home.

After lunch, on schedule, I went to the studio to keep working on this latest painting. I thought about it all night and painted it in my head. I knew what I wanted to do when I came to the studio.

Things are looking up.

On to the Next Step

The next step

*Note: For some reason this entire post, including my photograph, was deleted! It wasn’t me either!

And it was such a good post, too.

I was discussing how I’ve been fairing with the Blast Off class over, motivation high, resistance low and churning out this latest still life watercolor painting. This one is on larger paper than I was using and is going to take a little more time to finish.

Now I remember, since seeing the comments, that I was thinking about painting in oils again, but not so sure I want to inhale the fumes that turpentine, varnishes, linseed oils emit without going to all the trouble of trying to ventilate a basement studio properly.

Anyway, that’s all I remember. Use your imagination.