Ahhhh, Monday, the start of another “work week.” What do I paint today?
Working as an artist/contractor, I am given ample rope to play with in terms of my schedule… You know what they say about enough rope… It’s a daily point of discomfort trying to plan my workday out and balance conflicting desires/responsiblities. It’s also something I don’t think I can ever go back on; the responsibility to choose my own work is worth the ever-present feeling that I am not doing things quite as honorably I should be. Maybe someday, I won’t feel that anymore. In the meantime, I keep my chin up and I WORK!
Today my painting time came after a morning of meandering and following the pace of the day. A necessary trip to the grocery store brought me past the flower section where I found my muse and the justification for spending money on decoration. I would be painting those flowers. It’s an investment. Into the cart.
My heart was fuller than normal today and my presence acute. This gift of a combination led me to rest in overflowing gratitude for the beauty of the flowers as I carefully pulled myself out of the busy trance I was in to cut and thoughtfully arrange my bouquet. I was certainly Arranging Fragrant Feelings.
With only an hour and a half window to focus, I began my floral painting with my viewfinder and spent about a half-hour setting my composition (Which at one point was knocked over by Kit! It was hilarious to see the reaction of the kitties to such a splash and sound as the vase fell to the ground. Not hilarious to have to take a break to clean up the mess… Thank you, serenity prayer, for coming in hot!).
I salvaged all of the paints from my previous work to start my new palette. Fully stocked with a squeeze from some of the tubes, I mixed with a new efficiency. This daily practice is paying off!
What did I learn today?
- The composition set up takes a chunk of time that can’t be ignored. I’ll plan to budget at least 30 min to really get the set up and lighting how I like it.
- Permanent Rose does have a place on my palette! It was perfect for the vivid, highly saturated purple/pink flowers.
- Breaks are wonderful. I was “interrupted” from my flow by three dear friends for phone calls. I sat aside to talk to them so that I could be a good listener, and when I returned, each time my eyes caught new details I could add in with a refreshed sense of certainty.
- Black doesn’t go well over any white. It just sucks the white right up. You can see this in the little playful leaf jetting out to the right. There is a smidge of white in the paint beneath it, couresy of the color blocking I expected to mask over.
- I am improving! The order of events is coming much more naturally to me.
- My habits of setting up and tearing down are leaving me with more time to PAINT.
What a beautiful way to end my day. I painted from around 4:30pm-8:30pm with around an hour and 45 minutes of breaks to talk on the phone. Music was a great companion for this work.
