Time Management

Setting a timer and sitting down to see what you can get accomplished in a set amount of time isn't just a fun exercise or art prompt. It can also be a valuable tool. Like myself, most artists juggle multiple lives. I am a busy homeschooling mom to two teenage boys and it takes up an extraordinary amount of my time and creative energy. So knowing how to manage my time is crucial. I need to know what I can get accomplished in the 20 minutes before I make dinner. I need to know how long it takes to get from point A to point B on a painting.

Point B: almost finished.

"Unwind" #3

Point A: just starting.

I paint in layers of acrylic glaze. I know for instance that it takes about 20 minutes to apply each layer of glaze to a figure, and that it needs to cure for about 4 hours in between layers.

I also know that I can watch 4 episodes of Mad Men on Netflix while I paint the curtains in the background; so about 4 hours. A larger painting like this can take upwards of 30 hours to complete with a lot of drying time in between. Knowing this helps me manage my time and helps me price my paintings.

But hey, setting the timer and challenging yourself to create something in a set amount of time can also just be for fun. What can you do in 20 minutes?



Wordless Wednesday

Guilt Free Brownies

Wordless Wednesday

"Frankie's Fireside"

45" x 45" hand knit wool blanket  $250

Poppies: my studio icon

It wasn't hard to choose an art icon for my art prompt this week. If you've ever been in my studio you know there are poppies represented everywhere, from fabrics on benches to painted fabrics in my portraits. Poppies have long since been a symbol of remembrance, and even sleep and death. But when I think of poppies, I prefer to think of them like this:

"Through the dancing poppies

stole a breeze, most softly lulling

to my soul"

                                       John Keats

"Cottage Poppies"

12" x 12"

I love using patterned fabrics in my paintings. In a 3 part series I am currently working on, painted poppies adorn the curtains.

wip

"Unwind" #2

"Unwind" #1

In my studio, bright red poppies beckon you to come in and stay awhile. Just outside the door, giant poppies in all colors grow with purpose in my garden.

For years I have enjoyed painting poppies. What is your favorite art icon?



"Dancing Poppies"

wax encaustic

"Red Poppies"

12" x 12"





Wordless Wednesday

He Was a Good Old Dog

 

Charlie Brown Dog

2000-2012

When Charlie first came to live with me he was 5 weeks old. His skin was three sizes to big for him and he rolled around in it, chubby and big footed. Over the next couple of years he grew into those big paws, as a 110 lb big brown dog. He never left my side and often laid at my feet while I sat at my easel, painting into the wee hours of the morning as my family slept. It was for this reason that I named my studio Brown Dog Studio. In those early years, he kept me company when nobody else could. Sadly, Charlie passed away today. 

Here are some things you should know about Brown Dog:

He loved catching snowballs!
He hated road trips.
He was a good dog.
He was a bad dog.
He was sweetly oblivious to the fact that he was a bad dog.
He loved jumping off the wharf and swimming in the ocean.
He loved cats.
He loved his boys.
He was loyal.
He played with Frankie like he was a puppy.
He once ate a neighbor's chicken (bad dog!)
He was always at my side.
He was loved.
He loved.

Charlie was laid to rest in my garden this afternoon.

Wordless Wednesday

"Unwind" #1