Seeking balance is one of the biggest challenges, and something that I consider one  of lifes hierarchy  accomplishments in terms of goals on my list. Finding time to attend to business, for me in the here and now that is doing the work.

A lot of my early belief around painting was inspiration was a requirement. Striking while you are in the burn of a new idea, charting out the space, letting the paint do its thing. Yet some mornings you wake up and feel as though a spark would be as hard to come by as lighting a campfire in the pouring rain. That’s okay, there is a natural ebb and flow to follow. The tricky part for me is deciding what does that day look like and I have found there are a few options.

If the time I have set aside for working seems like it will be futile, I try to still wander into the studio. Light my candle, turn on the music and be in the space for a bit. If there are canvas to prep, well, that requires only work ethic! Maybe cleaning the glass sheets I use for palettes might be a good idea, or organizing tubes, seeing what the inventory looks like, all the little assistant jobs in a one person program fall to, yes, one person! But some days, in a 365 open shop, just don’t fit.  As I work shorter days I do not take any all the way off, or at least MANY all the way off. Leaving time for being outdoors, working in my garden, reading (often art books) poetry, prose, novels, all weave the supporting net for the painted story.

Time to be with family is and always will be a foundation of every day. Listening to the sounds of the world, fine music, conversation and laughter, an artful life is available for those who choose to tune in. Life is in part a dance, somedays with a partner, somedays with a group, a solo, arms stretched, face to the sun or to the moon and twirl. It is all part of one incredible living breathing changing design, and every step counts. Happy Saturday! I am off to find blue birds on the long back roads, check on a family matriarch, and if all goes well be home in my rocking chair by the hedge for a glass of wine as the sun sets. My brush may not touch the canvas today, but i am busy painting a picture.