Building Habits that make Painting Daily Automatic

If your paintings could talk, what would they say?  I think mine would want me to set them free!  They would want me to let loose instead of trying to control every move. We’ve all been taught to think carefully before we make a brush stroke and to know what we’re going to do before it happens. But that creates anxiety doesn’t it? If you’re like me my hand begins to shake and I stress over “getting it right.”

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it,” said Jon Barrie, author of Peter Pan from Jan. 2015 Woman’s Day.

Those doubts tighten your muscles, the flow of paint, and the release of energy that makes your painting exciting. Having a well thought out plan is one thing. Allowing spontaneity to occur and to alter your initial composition is when the “magic” happens.

“A watched pot never boils.” When you keep too tight a reign on every stroke, every composition, and over analyze your progress, you may miss out on something enchanting and remarkable. Let it happen! Just do it.

If your paints could talk, what would they say? Mine would be angry with the disorganized mess, with the damaged caps from using a nut cracker to get them off, and the crimped twisted tubes, etc. A neat freak I’m not! I get so caught up in painting I sometimes forget that a neater pallet and a more organized paint box would actually make my job easier.

Recently I subscribed to Eric Maisel’s Sunday newsletter: "Emotional Healing”. With my free subscription, Eric gave me a free gift: “The 97 Best Creativity Tips Ever” by Eric Maisel, 2011 all rights reserved.

I’m going to share with you the first 10 tips  from Eric’s amazing list.

1.  Be consistent in showing up. Getting to your creative work only once in a while won’t keep it alive. Make “routine” and “regularity” sacred words!

2.  Who knows how many artists fail because the light that shines through them is refracted in a thousand directions and not concentrated in a single beam? Pick projects and complete them! It is not really possible to work on a thousand things at once.

3.  One of the best ways to help yourself create every day is to craft a starting ritual that you begin to use regularly and routinely. When your ritual becomes habitual you will find yourself moving effortlessly from not creating to creating.

4.  Make the following pledge: “I will do some creative work every day, if only for fifteen or twenty minutes.” Honor your pledge for the next two weeks and spend fourteen consecutive days creating.

5.  Looking for only the perfect time to create? Forget about it! You are always in the middle of something so it is right in the middle of things that your creating must also happen.

6.  Even small amounts of time can be used for creating. Do you make use of fifteen minutes here and twenty minutes there?

7.  Are you good at capturing your own creative thoughts? Or do you let them slip away by telling yourself that they weren’t really all that good or all that important? Stop that! Start right now doing a better job of capturing and recording your ideas.

8.  You must reckon with your own character. Creativity requires curiosity. Are you curious enough? Creativity requires risk-taking. Are you willing to risk? Creativity requires energy. Can you marshal and unleash your energy? Creativity requires patience. Have you cultivated that quality? Turn yourself into the artist you need to be!

9.  Telling our truth can bring us pain and get us into trouble, but worse pain and worse trouble await us if we keep silent. Tell your truth—carefully, artfully, and courageously!

10.  Say yes to your creative work! Avoid maybe like the plague. Maybe is a state that takes you right to the edge of meaninglessness. Maybe plays to your weaknesses, your anxieties, and your doubts. Maybe frustrates you and disappoints you. Avoid the maybe trap! 

If you want Eric’s free gift of “97 creative ways to keep working” sign up for his Sunday newsletter “Emotional Healing” or email him @ ericmaisel@hotmail.com

Finding your own way in a crowded marketplace

"Reggae Night" acrylic on canvas

In case you haven't noticed, I took some time off from painting this past year. I did a few fun things, personal projects; but for the most part, I stayed away from painting sessions with my art league and the usual mad dash of competitions and shows except for those already scheduled. I needed space and time (plus I had 1 wedding and 4 funerals).

I felt I was placing quantity over quality. The pressure was piling on, and in order to meet deadlines, I was slapping paint without experiencing the joy. There were still a few things on my to-do list that I wanted to complete, and a few old canvases that I painted over. But for the most part, I laid my brushes aside.

I’m trying to reassess what direction I want my creative energies to take. I want to enjoy what I’m doing more and not take myself or my journey so seriously. If success comes in the process of seeking, I’ll be happy. If it doesn’t, then I’ve enjoyed the ride.

"Prayer Circles, mixed media on canvas

Success and achievement require sweat, blood and tears, but if we aren’t having a good time it shows in the end product. Balance is the key, and I felt I was off balance spending too much time in social media and promotion, and not enough time on inspiration and soul searching. I needed to explore my weaknesses and strengths, and what I wanted to accomplish.

Joy must be a part of the creative life or our “children,” our babies suffer. Cranking out paintings for the sake of producing something that may or may not sell is a losing battle. There’s a difference between honing your skills every day in the act of fusing your passion and love or just going through the motions because “you’re supposed to.”

Waiting for inspiration is not the answer either. It’s an excuse. The fear of failure can shake us to the core and cause us to “seize up” in a nervous frenzy. In order to create, we must be in the moment and love the simple pleasures of applying paint to canvas regardless of whether the painting brings us success or not.

Playing to the judges or the critics doesn’t cut it. If we manipulate the thought process to satisfy others without the passion, the result may be a skilled piece of work that is flat and lifeless.

"Fish Market" mixed media on canvas

In a local publication called: “Inside Gateway-Colonial,” I read an article in their Lifestyle section titled “Simple Ways to Find Deeper Meaning” Unlock what’s inside – passion, individuality, community – to connect with what’s important by BPT News Service.

The author said “A new movement is emerging, where people are pausing to find deeper meaning in everyday life. . . The theory goes that if a person recognizes and nurtures those activities they love most, they are better able to do what they’re great at in the world. . . Rather than getting swept away in a hectic schedule, try focusing on what truly matters.”

I realized that I was focusing on what mattered to the judges, to people in my art circles, and to the critics, rather than to my own gut feelings. I was allowing my insecurities to rule rather than my strengths.

In the busyness of doing, I’d lost touch with myself and what was important to me. I was blind to the things that make me unique and different. I was trying to ape what I thought others wanted instead of listening to my own drum beat. Sometimes we have to be willing to make mistakes in order to forge ahead in new and uncharted territory.

"India Rising -- the Lost" mixed media on canvas

Tired of being practical, plain and passive? Want to shake things up?

This illustration became a poster when I saw the funny side!

Are you a conformist or a rebel? Do you like to “fit in” or "shake things up?” Your personality type will determine the answer. Your individual style affects what kind of situations you end up in and the choices you make. Your distinct approach to life and how you see the world are a direct result of your personality.

Watch a few children play together and you’ll soon see their personalities emerge. One may be aggressive and controlling, while another assumes the role of peacemaker. One child may sit passively watching events unfold before his eyes without engaging while another seems oblivious to the chaos around him.

Next in my "Neptunes" Series "Octoband" 1st drawing on panel

Watch that last child as he or she lives in his own world conjuring up stories and situations in his mind and playing them out verbally or in imaginary play. This personality may become a writer, an artist, a philosopher or a scientist. His or her ability to detach and separate and his courage to stand apart becomes the skill set needed for dreams and discoveries.

I’ve always adored children’s games of pretend. In an instant they can become a pirate, a princess, a spy or a soldier. A child’s thoughts can transport him to different planets, faraway lands, or make-believe places. Depending on personality type, a child can become a conquering hero or a benevolent guardian; a powerful sorcerer or a humble apprentice. Children literally become what they can imagine.

Work in Progress: I put some acrylic washes down to suggest color and form

Adults should pay attention to this skill and learn to tap into their inner child. I’m not talking about maturity versus immaturity. I’m talking about the essence of childhood which is innocence. Seeing things with fresh new eyes each day and marveling at the wonder and beauty that surrounds us.

Adults get so caught up in their adult responsibilities and activities that they become rooted to the mundane and predictable. Think outside the box. Pursue your dreams with a fresh unleashed approach. Instead of being passive, plain, and predictable – shake things up! 

Try unwinding by doing the same boring things in a different way. Find a new route to work. Enjoy the scenery for a change. Don’t work through lunch! Read a good book instead or listen to some music. Get off by yourself, if possible, away from the jangling of interruptions and small talk. See yourself as capable and in control. Savor the moment!

"Flamenco Flamingo" a playful drawing created as I mused on how a
flamingo is built and how they move.

What is your Style of Leadership and how does it affect others?

"Strangler fig" climbing up a cabbage palm.

Parasites prey upon other living things. They feed upon the life-giving properties of their host in order to sustain their own life. Some people imitate this behavior by sponging off their friends and relatives or by eating up their precious time.

This can be done overtly through wireless media or in subtle ways that may subvert our efforts to succeed. In either case, we may find our plans sabotaged, our designated time devoured, and our energy sapped.

In my neighborhood, a parasitic plant called a strangler fig can destroy grown trees if allowed to grow unattended. One of their favorite victims is the palm tree, especially cabbage palms. Of course, palms are not really trees at all, but members of the grass family. They are hollow inside, and flexible. When hurricane winds blow, the palms bend and sway. I’ve seen a few palm tops lopped off in a gale, but this rarely happens.

The danger in strangler figs is that they wrap tightly around the trunk and steal nutrients from the host. At the top, they grow a thicket of leaves that hinders the palms flexibility. Instead of weathering hurricane winds, they end up snapping off or being uprooted from the weight of the fig leaves.

Negative thinking is a lot like this. It wraps its pitiful arms around us; makes us feel sorry for ourselves, and then breaks us when we’re most vulnerable.  Like strangler figs, negative thinking chokes off optimism and confidence. If we allow it to get a stronghold on us, we become weak and needy. Not a good position for success.

Sometimes we allow others to do our negative thinking for us in the form of criticism or by allowing them to take over our creative thought processes. Our own ideas are belittled, crushed and blown away by their bombastic arrogance.

Recognizing our friends from our enemies is vital for survival. Having positive influences in our life can curtail the strangling effects of people who use their power to put others down. Positive criticism, on the other hand, focuses on our strengths and encourages growth while minimizing error. It motivates rather than negates.

Recognizing the difference between the two styles of leadership can help us overcome any negative effects, whether we’re on the giving or receiving side of the equation.

Below is the church where my husband and I were married almost 10 years ago.

Do cramped closets and overstuffed drawers have you by the throat?

I didn’t realize what a pack rat I’d become until I tried to clean out my jewelry boxes and a bulging chest of drawers.

My rationale went like this: “If we move back up North, I might need these sweaters, these gloves, and this flannel nightgown.”

The jewelry was no different: “If I had this fixed, got a new clasp, a new link, I could wear this necklace again. Why, some of these pieces must be heirlooms; I could give them to my kids. The stones may be valuable? At the very least, I should have them appraised.”

And so it went. Instead of throwing things out or giving them away, I just moved them around to a different place.

"Home at Last" 16 x 20 acrylic on panel

In truth, I’ve thrown out a lot of things in the past from necessity. For one thing, I’ve moved a lot. When you move or downsize, some things have to go. I think the loss has made an impact on what I’m now willing (or unwilling) to give away.

 Everything near and dear to me seems to be gone. My children live in different States across the country. I’ve changed my life, my religion, and my hair color. Is this why I cling so tightly to what is left?

Please don’t psychoanalyze me! I do that enough myself. I’m just glad that I haven’t become a classic hoarder (yet!).

I once knew a woman who, like me, had trouble throwing away her favorite magazines. She lived in a small duplex and when you walked in the living room, every table held multiple stacks of magazines, albeit neat stacks. Each pile was face up in date order and could be found instantly. While I admired her ingenuity, I often wondered how high those magazines were allowed to get before they came tumbling down.

"Painting of my Grandmother" mixed media using "found items"

My artistic “scrounge for finds” nature encourages clinging. “What can I turn this into?” I ask as I comb through saved items in the garage. “There must be some mixed media project that would welcome this?” So like a game of shuffle board, I just move junk from place to place until I get the urge to clean and then I start the process all over again.

My mother was a neat freak; immaculate and germ conscious to the point of paranoia. She once threw away a square of butter because a fly had landed on it. I remember thinking that I would scrape away only half an inch to make myself feel better, but never the whole square.

She also loved changes and moved her furniture around at least twice a month. I hated it. When I walked in the door after school, instead of feeling at home, it took me several days to adjust. Because of this, I rarely change my furniture around. I find an arrangement that feels right and then I live with it – forever. Why change a good thing!

"The Pose" 16 x 20 Barred Owl acrylic on panel

My mother’s cupboards and drawers were neat and simple; partly because my parents had so little, and partly because she hated old things. Ironically, I developed a love for antiques and used items. I’ve always felt that old things carry the spirit and the life of those who went before.

This feeling was reinforced by an antique frame I purchased that held the photo of a woman with dark eyes. Every time I walked into the room where the picture was stored, those eyes bore down on me. There seemed to emanate a dark spirit of evil around that photograph. I couldn’t explain it, but I certainly felt it. Eventually I threw that old photo away, knowing that it was worth far more than the antique frame that held it.

See, I can throw things away on occasion.

"Playing Dress Up" 16 x 20 mixed media on canvas

Please Your Painter’s Palate with a Creative Pot of Soup

I can't help myself. When the calendar reaches January, my mind conjures up images of winters past with snow and blowing cold. Even though I live in Florida, come January I get that "rumbley in my tumbley" for a crock full of homemade soup.

NEW Pastel -- "A Joyful Heart"

I love soup. I know it's not a guy thing, and nothing like real meat and potatoes, but it's user friendly. No matter what you put in the pot, it comes out smelling and tasting like fine wine or the best in epicurean cooking. And when you're done, you feel like you've accomplished something.

Some people have a tradition of serving black-eyed peas on New Year's day. I love black-eyed peas; but alas, my stash was gone, and we ended up with pea soup. My Swedish grandmother made the best pea soup on the planet. She fried a small pork chop for each bowl, added parsnips, celery, carrots and onions for a feast of Kings.

Many people have never heard of parsnips, and I haven’t seen any on the market here. They taste ever so sweet and yummy when fried in butter. This adds a richness to the pea soup that potatoes can’t.

My next painting -- provided by online Pastor friend from Africa

When I traveled throughout Germany and Austria many years ago, I noticed that pea soup was a staple. Instead of a pork chop, each bowl had a sausage floating. I felt right at home. This was the kind of fare I grew up on. My American friends searched everywhere for a McDonald’s to satisfy their craving for a hamburger while I lapped up my soup like a contented Cheshire cat.

Drawing is transferred to 11x24 canvas

In winter, soup warms your bones. In tough times, it fills your stomach. When there are many mouths to feed, you can thin and stretch soup to fill every hungry mouth. People, who turn their noses up at leftovers often slurp down every scrumptious bite of a flavorful soup; no matter that the ingredients may be leftovers hidden between stirs of a bubbling pot of melding flavors.

Soup is like life itself: a pinch of this, a dab of that, some bittersweet, some sugar, some spice mixed together with faith, hope and love. Simmering through the highs and lows, the combination becomes the essence of a life well lived; a life remembered.

Work in Progress -- "Release" (acrylic underpainting)

A painting withiin a painting

Is it any wonder that my favorite channel is the food channel? I believe people who can participate in “The Iron Chef” or decorate cakes with sculpted roses and present their dishes in royal style can match any artist's creativity. Come to think of it, the soup I’m cooking today is giving me inspiration. I see colorful shapes forming, values changing, and my imagination soaring just like it did over my alphabet soup when I was a kid.

Have you got brain freeze? Are your creative pipes stopped up with cold slush? Get back to basics and warm up with a bowl of hot homemade soup. Happy New Year everybody!

Note: The "work in progress" above has evolved from when I introduced it several blogs ago. Originally I had a monkey and another quote, but it gave the entire piece a "human origins" feel, and that was not my intention. I like the new quote by Joseph Campbell which gives the painting a more creative feel: "Art is the set of wings to carry you out of your own entanglements."  I will use oil painting on the orchid in the frame and anywhere else I feel the canvas needs a pick-me-up. The final piece will be titled: "Release"