Finding time to Paint

We are talking about self expression here, and even talking about it can seem a luxury which few can afford in this busy profit-driven world. But in the long term it’s a need, like any other, and if you ignore it for long enough, it will come back to bite you in unexpected ways.

Much like ignoring your health, because you don’t have time to exercise fifteen or twenty minutes twice a week, but you’ll have time to spend in a hospital bed or ulcers for six months, while everyone else has to listen to you complain. So the easy answer to the question ‘How do I find time to paint?’ is. ..Just find the time, and ask yourself honestly why you can’t find the time.

Ask yourself do you really want to paint? Perhaps it’s just not your thing. Ask yourself are you scared that if you do find the time, your work will be exposed as being mediocre? And you would rather exist in the comfortable ignorance, with the excuse of lack of time rather than face that painful truth.

Your work is going to be mediocre, for a long time, but you will make progress, if you do attempt to approach your work with integrity and a genuine intention to bring out what is inside of you. No one else can do that for you.

Saying ‘No’

You make time by saying ‘no’ to certain things in your life. Some people can find it hard to say no, maybe your one of them? Saying no may mean certain people will be momentarily disappointed with you, but the people who are most important in your life, will understand your need, and will respect that. But you can’t delegate to them your responsibility to make time so that you can do your painting. You have to do that yourself, inform them in advance and then get on with it.

It’s the same as making time for anything, it doesn’t just happen, it has to be planned, it has to be flexible, and realistic. Setting goals around this whole area, can help people to instill the necessary discipline in their lives, or you could just make a simple commitment to yourself that you will paint for at least one hour each day, even if that means getting up an hour before everyone else or going to bed later. For the artist, like another person with a real need, this hour can be more beneficial than sleep. It’s a rest in itself, to get to the canvas, to switch off the world and work on what you feel you’re meant to work at. To watch your own dream develop before your eyes.

Productivity

mainly because of a certain lack of discipline, and also poor time management. I feel when I get into the studio, I don’t want to spend what little time I have just cleaning up and tidying, I want to dive in and squeeze out the paint and get working. But it’s really very short sighted, in the sense that I’m usually squeezing out the paint on a very dirty palette and attacking it with less than clean brushes. You end up making things harder on yourself in the long run, so do take the some of the time you have allocated to perform the run of the mill house keeping duties which ensure the quality of your work, but don’t get too precious and end up using it as another excuse not to paint. You’d be surprise how your mind can fool you into a false sense of productivity. Five minutes should be more than enough, anything else and you need to ask yourself are you here to paint or to clean? It’s better to turn out mud paintings rather than have a perfectly clean well organized clean studio with no paintings. Does the world need another mediocre painting?? My answer is an unequivocal ‘YES!’ I can also be guilty of equating my time with what I produce. If I have paintings to show, then I have used my time well. This is a very blinkered, ego centric view of productivity. The time in the studio isn’t all about painting; it might mean just staring at a blank canvas for an hour and thinking about all the possibilities that could unfold into that blank space. It can be about visualizing, fantasying, imagining and asking the all important ‘what if?’ questions.

You might have nothing concrete after the hour to show for it, but the following week, you might complete two amazing works which leaves you wondering where the hell did they come from? So don’t fall into the trap of running around like a headless chicken, listen to yourself and where you’re at. Maybe you need to sit down and read, let inspiration come, or maybe you need to give yourself a kick and just get working, knowing that inspiration normally comes when your splashing the paint on. You know yourself better than anyone else. Try to be honest. Its easier said than done.

Final thoughts...

In summary, it’s not easy to find the time. Tell us something new, accept it as a fact, but don’t use it as an excuse. Other people face the same difficulties. There are ways to overcome these obstacles, if you really want to. If on the other hand if you want to make excuses relating to time, then ask yourself if it ist painting your really want to pursue. If you don’t, - don’t. If on the other hand you do want to go into that space and face your deepest fears, longings and anxieties and display them to the world on canvas, brace yourself. Learn to say ‘no’ when you have to. Understand some of your fears of mediocrity, and then ignore them and go ahead anyway, you’ll be surprised with the results.

Learn time simple time management techniques, like a to do list, don’t break easily a commitment to yourself. Understand the people who love you want you to be the best person you can be, and if you an artist who needs to paint, don’t ignore that need. There will be no thanks or gold medals for doing that at the end of the day, only regret and self loathing. At the end of the day you can’t afford not to make the time, for your own sake and others.