Inspirations

Every year, part of my New Year's resolutions is my resolve to produce more fine art. Ha! That's always a losing battle. Last year I resolved to paint one painting a month. Here's the painting from January, 2006 (as you can see it's nowhere near completion)....
That's a pretty low success rate. Guess I don't take those resolutions too seriously. I don't know why I'm so unproductive when it comes to my art. Actually, maybe I do have an inkling. Non-artists don't realize the amount of focus and energy it takes to create art. I think sometimes they think it's as effortless and relaxing as coloring in a coloring book. Though it's enjoyable, after working 40 hours a week in a demanding job, I don't always have the energy or desire to gather up my painting supplies and hope inspiration hits. Not to mention the fact, that once you get in the creative groove, it's really hard to quit. I can easily see myself at 2:00 am realizing that I better call it quits so I can function at work (all concept of time seems to disappear). I mean I guess I could paint with a stopwatch, but that would be so "J-ish" and scheduling my creative productivity would be counterproductive. On the other hand, I'm doing hardly any art as it is. So, in an attempt to spur myself on, I've decided to write down some goals (I know, I know, it's totally a J thing to do).

1. Over spring break, I'm going to do some Spring cleaning. What does this have to do with painting? Well for one thing, I have difficulty allowing myself to follow my creative pursuits when I know there are areas of my house that are in total disarray. Secondly, I'll get my art space all organized and ready to go.

2. I'll take stock of my painting supplies, replenish when needed, and set my area up in away that is conducive to painting at a moment's notice (i.e. when I feel like it).

3. I don't know if you've noticed, but in the sidebar of this blog, I've included some links I've entitled, "Inspirations". Several of these are painters that do a painting a day. I am not going to set such a lofty goal for myself (I do work and have a social life after all). One thing I've learned from their sites is that it's better to paint small, rough paintings on a frequent basis than to have one painting sitting around untouched and unfinished for over a year. The practice is invaluable and really these small "rough" studies can be quite good. My goal under the topic of inspirations, is to look at others' art daily (especially those with similar style to my own), as this really does get my creative juices flowing.

4. Being the "P" person that I am, deadlines are really good incentives. I'm going to start with posting a picture of a painting every 2 weeks (beginning after Spring Break). I'm going to tell myself that no matter how small the painting or how much I hate it, it's the process, not the product. I believe that to be true in art therapy, why can't I apply that to myself as an artiste? We'll see how that goes. Ultimately, I'd like to work up to 1 per week, but right now I'm working on attainable goals.

So you all have my permission to start nagging me towards the end of March about my first painting. I really want to do this, so nag away....I'm a people pleaser.