So now it is time to get to work.

Last week I talked about the need to just get working. This week I want to chat on what that means to me.

Some days I have the day stretched out ahead of me with time set up to work. (ah, lovely!) I am in the mood to create, but I don’t know what I need to do… you know that feeling? I have paintings half- finished or commissions waiting for me to start, but I find myself flummoxed on how to begin. (hehe, love that word. Always wanted to use it in a blog post! Goals! Score!)

That’s when I do the following…
Put on some pretty earrings.
Sweep the floor in my studio.
Sharpen pastel pastels.
Sort sticks back into drawers.
Wipe off my drafting table.
Maybe meditate.
Put some peppermint in the diffuser.
Start some new music I haven’t listened to in a long time.
Turn it up loud.

And most important… open the art books near my easel and just sit and look at images of paintings. Waterhouse, Wyeth, Matisse, Sprick, etc. I am always amazed that when I open myself up to just looking around without a purpose how I find what I was looking for right in front of me. (Kind of like shopping at TJ Maxx)

That’s it. Prepping to work is just as important as “working.” Somehow the act of tidying and sorting and letting the music build while looking at pretty paintings fills me with a desire to create my own stuff. I see colors in someone else’s paintings that spark something in me. I find a pencil that would be great to add to a current painting or a song gets me thinking about building a theme. It’s like magic. Before I know it, I have been painting for four hours and I feel good. Like I have created meaning to my day. To my life.

What I need to do is there – I know I just have to be open to listening to that voice inside. And open to the voices around me. (and turn off the tv and ignore the laundry) Then boldly go forth with a sharpened pencil in hand and make that first stroke.

You got this.