bye bye vacation

When I was about to start my vacation I thought I should be able to get lots of new paintings done. I had a whole week!! Did I do lots of art? of course not, I am a procrastinator :-)

In fact, every day of my vacation I wondered what I should start working on, but I found my head was just too full of ideas that I couldn't decide where to start. So I didn't....

Instead, I over-ate and probably gained a few pounds, walked downtown for coffee and treats, shopped a bit, and hung out with people I care about.

I keep reminding myself to stop feeling guilty. I had fun for a few days, what is so wrong with that? There seems to be this annoying voice telling me to feel bad if I don't paint.

I did managed to get one painting done, and it is called 'Cherry Fairy'. It is a mixed media painting, with lots of layers, and of course, glitter. I find I really love the freedom of mixed media, you never know where the painting will take you.

Kooky lookin' Kitty

MEOW!

Hey look what I found in the garden! It was such a sad eyed pathetic little thing I had to take it home :-)

ok, I actually bought it at a thrift shop, it was only $2.00 and was just kitschy enough that I had to have it. I am in the process of changing my living room. It has been depressing me lately. It just doesn't reflect who I am at all. I had decorated it in a simple style, with practical furniture, and neutral walls. But it is so boring! So I'm going to paint it pink.

Life is too short! so why not make my living room a place that I can enjoy using?

I happen to love pink, and I love the 'shabby chic' look, but unfortunately, I don't know the first thing about decorating. I'm afraid it may look like cotton candy exploded in there. But that's the chance I have to take, like many things in life, you don't know, until you try it.

I guess this means I have to paint some art for my new walls :-D

Why do we procrastinate?

Today I decided to finally clean up my art room. I had bought new storage containers for my huge amount of supplies. Since I haven’t been in the mood to paint, I thought I’d do something useful. I find whenever my space is cluttered, my mind is cluttered too. The best cure is to clean something! To organize, and get rid of the garbage that fills our space. What a difference, everything now has its place and is no longer on the floor or around my desk. It’s not perfect, but it is getting there, so if you ever have artistic blocks, and find yourself resisting art, clean something! You will feel so much better afterwards, and will have an atmosphere more conducive to creativity.

Artistic blocks are so common for creative people. The more I read on forums the more I see I am not alone. Why do we resist doing the thing that makes us most happy? Why is it the other meaningless things take priority over our own creativity? I don’t have all the answers, I just know what works for me. I would let years go by without creating art, because I felt it was too late to become a better artist, or it would take so much work, or the millions of other reasons. The funny thing is, the excuses I gave for not painting seemed to be legitimate. I kept postponing it, saying maybe next week when I have more time, or maybe when there is a long weekend…the excuses can go on forever! The bottom line is, what was really so important? Did I really NEED to watch TV? Do I NEED to watch a movie every night? How important, really, is it to go to the mall and look at art books? These were just excuses.

I can’t pinpoint what changed, only that I realized this is it, this is not a dress rehearsal. The moments I waste in idleness, I don’t get them back again. The stars of reality tv, or of the sitcoms that I used to enjoy couldn’t give a crap whether I live or die. They don’t know me, or care if my life is wasted. Now I cut back my TV viewing, and choose only what I really enjoy watching. Tv isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you just got to realize it is a great way of numbing yourself, of keeping you from what’s really important in your life.

I am happy to be in a place where I do create regularly, even if I still waste time. My art has improved, and people like it enough to buy it which is always a thrill. I am honored each time someone values my work enough to pay their hard earned money for it. My goal is to fill the world with beautiful art, and to make people happier. I put love into everything I do, and hope it shows.

**If you are feeling blocked and need some extra help, I recommend a book called 'The War of Art' by Steven Pressfield. I wish I'd found this book years ago, it could have saved me years of wasting time.

Welcome to my new blog

I finally decided to get this baby running, it's only been, hmmmmm....several months! Of course, now I can't think of anything to say :-0
First off, the point of this blog is to share my art with anyone who is interested in seeing it. I will offer tips, and works in progress (if I remember to photograph them ), as well as hopefully, encouragement.

Lets start with an introduction, I am a self taught artist from Canada who loves not only art, but many crafts as well. If only I had more time I would design my own clothes, try pottery, try knitting again (really want a cool bulky scarf!) embroider cool stuff on my clothes, and even draw my pretty girls on them.

There is so much art in my head, it seems overwhelming at times. I have sketchbooks and scrap pieces of paper lying around with all these ideas for paintings but when it comes to sitting down and doing it, I procrastinate....or I decide to clean the house, or organize, or go out for a bit. I am sure I am not the only one who does this. I do hold a day job, and that is where a lot of my energy ends up. By the time I get home, I feel too drained to do much else other than wander around wasting time. (Come on lottery win!!!!).

I know there are a lot of artists who also have full time jobs, as well as have families to look after, so I understand this is simply an excuse. So the trick is, how to bypass all these excuses, and mental laziness. I just signed up for an online mixed media class with Suziblu, and am looking forward to being surrounded by creative people.


Today me and my younger sis went out and bought tennis and badminton rackets. I can't believe it took us this long to do this. I used to love playing way back in my highschool days, how is it possible to let decades go by before a lightbulb goes off, and you think -Hey, why don't I buy a racket and start playing again?

So if anyone is still reading this, lol...is there something you love to do or used to love, that you can start doing once again? Is there really a reason you can't? I encourage anyone out there, to start a list of what makes you happy, pick one item, and do it!!! Plan to take the first step towards adding more joy to your life.

We only have this one precious life, lets start comitting to making it the best ever! Get out there and play a sport that you love, or just go for a walk, even if it is to the nearest coffee shop. Call up a friend, or take your kids. We get so busy with daily crap that we forget the importance of our health. There is nothing like being out in nature to soothe the mind....
I send blessings to you my friends :-D