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Habits and Routines in the Artistic Process

I am struggling with an absence of routine. Without it, certain basic maintenance tasks are neglected. I like to get up in the morning, have a cup of coffee, read something inspirational, and write my 5 gratitudes, and do a short meditation before I get my day underway. But lately I have been getting sidetracked into the day’s business as soon as I get my coffee — starting with email correspondence, news, and social media updates, and I never get back to my morning quiet time. My life has been complicated by a pesky knee injury which has required a good deal of physical therapy and greatly reduced my physical activity. I am coming out of that phase in my life, increasing my activity, improving my nutrition, and I intend to restore routine to my life.

I used to blog weekly. I couldn’t believe my eyes this morning when I saw that my last post was 2 months ago. This was a certain message that I need to re-organize my life. It’s not that I haven’t gotten things done, or that I have neglected my spiritual and psychological health. But I have neglected a lot of things, obviously blogging being one of them.

So why does that matter? Because blogging is one of my chief way of assessing progress, with a little introspection on the side. Self-assessment is essential for monitoring progress.

In brief, projects accomplished and actions taken over the past two months:

  • Continued coordinating and attending weekly Wednesday morning plein air painting excursions with the Emerald Coast Plein Air Painters, with the goal of maintaining community among the painters, and maintaining if not improving my skills.
  • Organized and hung a small exhibit of works by the Emerald Coast Plein Air Painters in the lobby of Northwest Florida State College South Walton Center, with the goal of constantly exposing young minds to plein air painting, and with the end goal of creating appreciation for the genre, encouraging young artists, and perhaps inviting future participation and patronage.
  • Served as coordinator for a juried exhibit of plein air paintings for my local arts alliance at the Foster Gallery, preliminary to an event we are planning for this fall.
  • Completed my 4 months of physical therapy for IT Band Syndrome due to knee arthritis (what a pain!!)
  • Vacationed in Montana for a week with my sisters from Colorado, and their families, and visited my 97-year-old Dad in his senior home in Colorado, and shared pie with my brother and his family there.
  • Completed a commissioned painting for a patron.
  • Exhibited in two special exhibits at the Foster Gallery – showing two plein air paintings in Outdoor Magic 2017, and a figurative piece in Faces & Figures.
  • Studied DVD’s by plein air painters Laurel Daniel and Joseph McGurl.

Below are studies and works done over the past couple of months.

Oil painting of the "umbrella trees" at Western Lake in Grayton Beach, FL, at dawn, a commissioned work 8"x48"
See full-size at Umbrella Trees at Dawn. This painting was commissioned by local friends who had a very specific space where they wanted to hang it in their house, a space roughly 9″ x 60″. The painting is 8″ x 48″. They gave me the subject, an iconic local treeline that we know as the “umbrella trees”, at Western Lake near Grayton Beach, Florida. They wanted to see it every morning and smile. So I chose dawn.
Oil painting of the first light of dawn coming over the mountain to kiss the grassy hill at Green Bear Ranch, Eureka, MT
The first light of dawn coming over the mountain to kiss the grassy hill at Green Bear Ranch, Eureka, MT, painted en plein air while on vacation with family two weeks ago. (click photo for larger image)
Oil painting of the road cut across Dickey Lake, MT, on a day hazy from the smoke of forest fires in BC, Canada.
Plein air painting of the road cut across Dickey Lake, Montana, on a day hazy from the smoke of forest fires in BC, Canada. (click photo for larger image)
Oil painting of the grassy rise edging the roadside park between Basin Bayou and Villa Tasso on the Choctawhatchee Bay in Florida
A roadside park in Choctaw Beach, on the Choctawhatchee Bay in NW Florida, painted en plein air. (click photo for larger image)
Oil painting of the lake at Lincoln Park in Niceville, FL, with the muted colors of a cloudy day
View from Lincoln Park, Niceville, FL, on a cloudy day, painted en plein air. (click photo for larger image)
Oil painting of a V-bottomed boat at Nick's Restaurant on the Choctawhatchee Bay at Basin Bayou near Freeport, FL
V-bottomed boat at Nick’s Restaurant on the Choctawhatchee Bay at Basin Bayou near Freeport, FL, painted en plein air. (click photo for larger image)
Oil studies of the light on the water at Thomas Pilcher Park in Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Plein air studies of the light on the water at Thomas Pilcher Park in Santa Rosa Beach, FL. (click photo for larger image)
Oil painting of a bend in the creek, showing the transparent tannin-stained water over the sand bar, at Turkey Creek in Niceville, FL
Plein air painting of the a bend in the creek, showing the transparent tannin-stained water over the sand bar, at Turkey Creek in Niceville, FL. (click photo for larger image)
I drew Katie and Marley for a special exhibit by my local arts alliance called “Faces & Figures” at The Foster Gallery. Katie is a neighbor in my community who walks her dog in Eden Gardens State Park. On this day, she was sitting on the bench up by the bayou. The paper actually is a very light blue — the camera incorrectly corrected for color-cast. (click photo for larger image)

Now available in my store! Add “Katie and Marley” to your collection by clicking here.

2 thoughts on “Habits and Routines in the Artistic Process

  1. Joan, I so relate. After 4 weeks of art all day every day, I am back home fighting routine daily STUFF, I promised myself one week to catch up…this week..and next week I want to spend 3 days a week doing just art…. 9-5pm….a real challenge….but going to try to do for one solid month and then re-evaluate..

    Did you like the two dvd’s? Do you recommend them??

  2. Let me know how are you do, Deborah. Regarding the two DVDs, yes I do highly recommend them. Laurel Daniel is an excellent instructor. I have taken a workshop from her and I enjoyed it very much and was very impressed with her teaching methods and learning progressions.

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