Easter observation for us Greek Orthodox Christians. Holy Week, for many of us, is full of fasting, food shopping and preparation, and much church going. To say it’s exhausting is an understatement.
The frantic pace of holidays, with all the preparation and anticipation, can leave us with the feeling that nothing will ever be finished in time. In the end everything falls into place anyway.
Finally, when the week is done we can celebrate on Easter Sunday with family, and more food including all the traditional Greek/Armenian delicacies.
Christ is risen! Christos Anesti!
Rolling grape leaves for Armenian yalanji sarma
Greek red egg dye
Red eggs
Festival Easter bread called Tsoureki
Greek butter cookies, Koulourakia
Armenian cheese boerek hot out of the oven smells amazing
The little postcard sized watercolor painting I worked on for my twitter friend arrived safe and sound at it’s destination. How fun!
Here it is as photographed by the happy (thankfully) recipient:
Beach Shells, 6×4 Watercolor, Arches 140lb cold press paper
Doesn’t it look sweet in this photo? I’m so glad it was so warmly received. I can’t wait to see how it looks when the new owner gives it a frame and a place of honor in their home.
After I entered the wonderful Twitter Art Exhibit in Orlando, Florida I enjoyed tweeting back and forth with some lovely fellow artists. So far I don’t think my postcard sized watercolor painting sold, but then again I haven’t been on the tumblr site to take a peek either.
The artists I virtually met on twitter are amazingly talented and ingenious. One in particular, Crystal Hover, was painting her business cards in her abstract style. Really striking work on such a small scale. Amazingly, she offered to send me one of her cards!
Crystal Hover’s painted business card
How fun was that? One minute we’re yapping on twitter, and the next couple days I get this small painting in the mail. Crystal added a magnet on the back so it could sit on a fridge.
I decided I was going to swap with her, like some other artists were doing since Crystal was offering to send them mini works, too. I painted a postcard sized watercolor painting like we sent to the twitter exhibit.
Postcard size 6×4 Watercolor still life painting
It will be fun to hear how Crystal likes this painting. I hope she likes seashells.
Monday is my favorite day of the week. The open-endedness of the weekend is too much for me. It seems I need structure. Or maybe I like peacefulness, something I can’t enough no matter when.
On Monday, if I’ve been good, I get to show you the latest work from my easel.
Using a photograph as my starting point, I sketched a scene from our Greece visit in watercolor paint on a small size paper pad. Just enough space to work quickly and get something down.
A quick watercolor sketch of boats at Amorogos, Greece
Again, I was using the Marabu watercolor paints I resurrected. Now that I know they’re “vintage” paints, I would like to preserve them for times I feel like using something special.
At least I got some work done. Now if I could figure out this website business, I can get back to work on a regular schedule. Otherwise, I’ll have no hair left on my head.
The amazing thing about studying getting past Resistance is how it really works.
Yes, I will raise my hand here, I have been slacking on my work. I was on a roll, and now I’m at the point where something has to happen or I am so firing myself. This is no way to run a business.
Subscribing to Steven Pressfield’s newsletters have been a great resource as well as his books. The other day I picked up Do The Work and read a passage that smacked me across the face, hard. It said to read some statements about what we want to do our art, and if we chose one of the lame statements we should just stop right then and throw his book in the garbage.
Wow. But you know what? That’s the thing that made me paint something. Anything. Just do the lousy work already! Process, something great can come of just the process.
Working with watercolors with Marabu pan paints
At my desk looking at an old set of pan watercolors in a tin box my Pop gave me years ago, I thought I’d just try them out. Just a small Arches pad of paper would be enough for a sketch in paint, I figured. I never thought I’d love these old Marabu watercolor paints, but the colors were surprisingly vibrant. By the time I decided I’d done enough I ended up loving my “job.” The paint just flowed on the Arches paper, nice mixtures of colors mingled together within pleasing shapes. All in all, a nice, satisfying effort for the day’s work. Yeah, well, let’s say a half hour’s worth. Sometimes, if I’m in it, that’s all I need.
While hanging out on twitter recently, another artist posted a view of her basement art studio set up. Well, I have the same view as she does and I took a couple of photos of my art space to show how similar it is.
Take a look at one side of my space:
The side of the studio with a window, my desk, and bookshelves, and my “mushie”
On the opposite side of the room is the table where I work on my jewelry designs:
Jewelry workspace, paintings, easel
The Princess loves my studio space. I’ve set up my sons’ chalkboard/easel for her to use and she has a great time on that. She likes to say “Welcome to my art studio. Have a seat!” She cracks me up. I like how she paints, too.
She works like there’s no tomorrow, present, persistent, motivated, blocking out me and any distractions.
I wish I was like her.
The basement studio isn’t perfect. It’s far from ideal as far as natural light, ventilation and storage is a small problem. But it’s my space and I am glad to have it.
Mr. Resistance loves my little studio space too. He’s always there when I want to get things done. Wouldn’t you know?
My hero in Resistance awareness, Mr. Steven Pressfield, has hit another nail on the head with his latest newsletter post How I Get Ideas. I am grateful to the Universe for directing my attention to this person who understands the Resistance phenomenon so well.
Grateful may not even be the best word to describe how Mr. Pressfield clears away the cobwebs, but it’s the only word I can think of right now.
Sketch of Bethesda fountain in Central Park, NY, 8×10 Conte crayon on pastel paper
In his post Pressfield lists 10 “observations” on how he gets ideas for his creative work. You really need to read the whole post yourself, but his process sounded just like my own.
“1. Ideas seem to come by themselves, unbidden.”
Really, where do ideas come from? For me, and for Steve apparently, ideas pop into my head at the weirdest times and places. I could be no place special, but see shapes and colors that I’m intrigued by.The paintings come together in my head before I ever get to the easel.
Many of those times the painting is junk, but the process works anyway, when it happens at all.
When Steven says after a good idea appears, Resistance is following right behind ready to dismiss it as worthless, I know that all too well.
Me and Mr. Resistance? Best of friends right now.
Pressfield tells of a time he was at a farm watching farm kids sort through potatoes flying by on a conveyor belt, sorting the good ones from the bad. Ideas are like that, he says, coming in all day, flying by, but we have to recognize the good ones quick enough to hold onto. Noticing that great idea, the next painting, is my job.
“10. Pay attention to the potatoes.”
“Here we are, you and I, standing beside that conveyor belt in the underground bunker in Idaho. Thousands of potatoes are rolling past us every hour. Some of ‘em are stone beauties. Snatch that spud. Grab it like the brass ring—and hang on for dear life.” Steven Pressfield
Unable to move forward lately, I decided to just sit at my desk and easel and think.
How hard could it be to beat Resistance, I thought to myself as I sat in the studio.
It’s been very difficult. Life is going to happen, no matter what. Other people go to a job every day. My job is to paint, so why don’t I do it, everyday like working people? If I was my boss, I’d have fired me by now.
Conte crayon sketch of the Elgin Marbles bas relief
Meanwhile, I was sitting at the desk looking at my brushes, paints, and papers strewn about. I thought about all the things I haven’t been doing, and then I went over all the work I have already finished, trying to turn negative into positive.
The quiet in the space was very satisfying. I looked at my stuff and daydreamed a little. The last painting I was working on sat on the easel unfinished nearby and I just noticed it there.
Then I leafed through a pastel pad I’ve used and found a couple of drawings in conte crayon in it.
Nice drawings, I thought.
A few moments passed when I found myself filling a small cup with water and adding color to the watercolor painting I haven’t touched for a couple of months. Before I could really grasp what I was doing, I finished the work and signed it.
Done!
Maybe that’s how work has to happen for the time being?
