Surprise! I am back writing again this morning! Yay for me! I’m trying to take my own advice to heart.

I heard from so many people yesterday that could relate to my life. We are all truly going through a lot right now. Whether our life is interrupted by parents or kids or even just our own spirit trying to find a place to settle down, it is a rough time. And for most of us, art has always been our “go to” … to nourish our soul and help us deal with life. I think when our “go to” is disrupted, we feel so lost.

It takes a little more these days to stay on track. I’ll be the first to admit that I am a perfectionist. I was raised to be one and have always been so hard on myself. In a way it is a good thing, because it keeps me striving harder to get better. But the negative aspects are there too. You don’t need other people to tear you down when you do a good job of it yourself, right? I am working hard this year to be gentle with myself. To treat myself like I would treat a friend. Why is it we can be so kind and generous with complete strangers, but not ourselves? It is time to change that!

I’m working on a big commission in the studio this week. It is a larger version of a painting I did last year. The client loved the painting but needed a much bigger piece for their space.

The color palette will stay similar but I did change the composition around. I don’t want to repaint the same painting, actually, I don’t think I could repaint the same painting. I’m not good at copying…. not even myself! But more than that, once I have said something in a painting, I’m done. I put everything I had into it and if for some reason it didn’t work or wasn’t successful, I will take what I learned and apply that to a different painting. I know a lot of artists work in series, and do it well, but that just isn’t in me.

I think, as an artist, it is important to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. There are no hard and fast rules to get where you are going. Sometimes it seems like it would be easier if there were steps to follow to get to your end goal but it is a wonderful thing to find your own path. To try out different ways of being, so that you know what feels right and what doesn’t. There are no secrets or shortcuts, only a lot of experimenting and hard work. Art is a “becoming”. Being inspired by other artists and essentially everything around you which, in turn, helps you to become more of who you are by letting go of who you aren’t.

Here are some shots of the commission in progress:

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As a little sidenote … yesterday after I finished writing my blogpost about “interruptions”, I put the dogs in their kennels, gathered my computer, the bag of clean laundry for my mother, our lunch, put on my coat and shut the door. And locked myself out. I had everything but my car keys. Of course, the hidden house key was not in it’s spot but rather, inside the house. So I had to call Marc (*interruption in his day) and get him to come let me in. My blogpost was truly getting put to work only minutes after I finished it!

While I was sitting outside in the sun waiting for Marc to arrive, I had the most delightful of interruptions. A sweet orange kitty came up and we both took the next 15 minutes to enjoy the feeling of the warm sunshine and warm companionship. An “embraced” interruption. 🙂