When the itch to paint strikes...scratch!
Fall has been extremely busy for me this year.
If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I have not been home much. Between a late summer trip to eastern Europe, and then to my hometown in northern Ontario, and more recently to Quebec City, and then working a few days now and then at my former job as a teacher, it has been hard to fit in time for a good painting session.
People have asked me how I get so much done in the art room. It's not a secret, really.
When the urge to paint is felt, little tasks can get done that satisfy that creative itch. I am getting something useful done and I do feel a sense of accomplishment. Here are some of my favourite activities that take little time:
- Mixing a palette of colours and then saving them in a wet palette box for another day.
- Prepping canvases with two coats of gesso so that they are ready for paint.
- Adding a first coat of colour to the canvas after the gesso.
- Searching through all my papers for collage material.
- Searching through all my photos and deciding what I might like to paint.
- Painting over canvases that didn't turn out the way I wanted or expected them to turn out. Also called repurposing. Yes, that happens a lot in the art room!
Recently, I posted Twist and Turn. This painting was done in many steps over time.
Painting in steps
Sometimes, painting in steps is an advantage. While being away from the art room, I can think about the canvas and the ways that I might want to experiment before I continue.
This is the reason to have many works on the go at any given time. And it's a good excuse for all the incomplete work lying around my art room! Just saying!
Don't forget that journaling can also satisfy any painting urges too! Read my journaling posts for more tips. In the link I provide, you will see art that takes an hour or less to finish.
Twist and Turn below, has been added to the shop.
Do you have any tips to share with my readers? What art work makes you happy when you are pressed for time? Please leave a comment in the reply box below!
