Category: 15 minutes

Snow Day, Sort of

The big blowout snowstorm we were supposed to experience looked like this by 6A.M. Okay, so around six inches fell. After the last blizzard two weeks ago, this was nothing. All the hoopla of the unplowed streets in NYC, the stranded drivers and mass transit riders, the cancelled air flights, and whatever else was not evident in this latest storm. Every one got so excited that schools were being closed before the storm even began, except for the city schools. No vacation for the city schools. Nope.

I had a couple of items to pick up at the supermarket and it was as if we were going to be snowed in for two weeks. People stripped the shelves of all milk, eggs, meats, and bread. Come on people, what’s going to happen that you need that much food? This is a snow storm not the end of the world as we know it. Get a grip! What’s wrong with people? Anyone ever hear about keeping a stocked pantry for such occasions when getting out of the house might be impossible for a day? Please.

This kind of stuff makes my head hurt. I had no idea we were even going to have any snow. I usually don’t watch television during the day. It’s bad enough I get distracted by things that keep me from painting. When I saw the long lines at the supermarket I was in shock.

Gorgeous is a teacher in the NYC school system and had to go to work this morning. Son #1 was told by his office to work from home so he is watching The Princess, and Son #2 was notified his office was opening later. Of course, adventure seeker that he is, The Mr. was out there at 6 A.M. shoveling the cars out of the snow so he could get to work. By hook or by crook, he was going! He’s a little nutty like that. To him, this is an adventure. He’ll return tonight to tell us how the roads were, who was stuck, if there were accidents, alot of excitement to be found out there.

I will be staying in. Yeah, I peeked out to snap the picture, but other than that I plan to get some things done. Hopefully, painting will be one of them. I trying to decide if I should take up a challenge some other artists/bloggers are doing called 100 Paintings. If I do, today might be #1. I’ll let you know what happens with that.

A New Year Ahead Without Resolving Anything

I apologize, once more, for the delay in posting here. It’s been a rough few weeks of holidays and it isn’t over yet. Soon, soon.

And so what about resolutions for the new year? Who is and who isn’t doing them? I can tell you that I’m opting out. No resolutions for me. Why? Because I never do them. Everyone wants to lose weight, exercise more, be a better person, and on. I could try to do so many things and fall flat a month from now so I’m not going to bother thinking about it.

The one thing I will do is break my day into 15 to 20 minutes chunks of time. As this past year has shown me, I can do anything for 15 minutes. Whether it’s organizing/cleaning my space, painting, or some other activity, I can slowly get something done and finished if I make tiny goals. The huge to-do list will be tackled that way. One thing at a time and in small bites.

Last year I read Walking in This World, by Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way. I loved every minute of reading the latter, never walked with the former, which I had hoped would become a habit. Nope! Didn’t happen. So forget it. If I start walking it will be a miracle. And I would have to wake up at 5A.M. to get everything in before my granddaughter comes for the day. I read somewhere that I could walk out of my house for 7 minutes and return, making the trip 15 minutes of walking. I can’t get to do that either. I know, I’m a slug. I own the next installment of this series of anti-resistance courses so let’s see where that goes.

Same thing with painting, but I think I need to move on past the 20 minutes I had allotted myself. Maybe I can try it on a larger work? Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it. Twenty minutes was working out well and maybe I will just keep it just like that.

If I can cross off some things from the to-do list once a month I’ll be thrilled. Small goals, one at a time should become my mantra.

Like posting here on the blog. I have so much to put out here, but by the time I have time I realize I didn’t take photos, forgot my thoughts, I’m too tired to type or think. But if I could be awake for 15 minutes, maybe something can show itself here.

As far as being a better person? I think I’m the best I’m going to be right now. Maybe when I grow up I’ll decide to be someone else, but for now you’re stuck with me.

15 Minute Studio Time Really Works

The fifteen minutes in the studio thing is working really well for me.  Yesterday I had a day where I did alot of running around.  I didn’t think I would go to the studio to do anything.  I’m annoyed at the light in the room because it’s fooling with me.  One day it will very nicely go on and be lit the whole time I’m there, the next it will light up for me then rudely turn itself off as if to tell me to get lost.  The day I decide to call  the electrician it’s on all day long.  I think it likes to play games with me.  It’s getting old.

Anyway, when I finally came home in the afternoon I didn’t feel like painting.  I checked email, the blog, my facebook page, the etsy shop, opened snail mail, decided on dinner, everything but go to the studio.  After I threw all these road blocks in my way, I decided to sit at the desk and look at this bagpipe painting for only 15 minutes.  If I could just look at it maybe I would have thoughts about where I want to go the next time I paint.

So I took my inner child artist brat to the studio and sat at the desk like an adult.  Light bulbs were flashing in my mind, how would this look, maybe that color there, how can I make the light pop.  Low and behold, I was painting.  It’s a blur when I filled the pans with water and dipped the brush to apply paint.  When I looked up at the clock, two hours had passed by and if I didn’t get moving there’d be no dinner that night!

I had just enough time to step back and look at my work, photograph it too.  The first one is where I left it to dry on my desk.  I’m not used to painting on a desk as I always painted oils on an easel.  It’s a little weird to me, but if you paint watercolor upright the drips are unmanageable, unless you really want drips.  The second photo is the work on my easel after it dried some.  It’s on the easel so when I go into the room I can see it better.  When I see my work I’m surprised how it looks hour to hour, day to day.  Is that weird?

Well, today is another day.  Let’s see how it goes.