Mornings with You
Falling in love and falling into a painting
Falling into a painting, as it turns out, is a really good way to procrastinate. When I finished this piece, I could feel it crackle with energy. Suddenly, I didn’t want to do anything but paint.
We are getting very close to our house and studio move-in date. There is a lot to do, and all I want to do is keep feeling this energy. It feels better than the other tasks at hand. Pretty much anything feels better than packing as she types and pours herself another cup of coffee.
This push to create feels like a new type of deadline. What if I can’t paint for two months or longer? Packing up and setting up on the other end takes time. Didn’t I write about not being at war with time? Why is it such a difficult lesson?
I suddenly feel like I have my first crush and want to spend all my time with a paintbrush in hand, not only applying paint but soaking up the atmosphere of work itself.
It has made me realize that when I set everything down, step away from calls and emails, set up my palette, and pick up a brush, I genuinely enter into a different zone. I need to remember this feeling and pick it up on the other end.
As we near Valentine's Day, I’ll share this work and the feeling it evokes when waking up to a gorgeous sunrise filled with anticipation.
Until next time, Monica
It’s like having to start dating someone for the first time, because is a romance, right? I’ve turned them around so I don’t see them for a while, sat with them and let them live in my studio for a while, snapped photos, made them into black and whites. You’ll know what to do. I will say the one thing that doesn’t always work is when I feel like I “have to” finish something. It feels too much like an assignment and that doesn’t work as well for me.
I’m in an in-between spots with painting right now and really want to be able to immerse myself again! I have a larger piece that I started a few months ago, then had to put it down to work on a couple of series specifically for licensing. Now I’m back with this one painting that I started and it feels foreign to me. And I also feel the need to come to some sort of completion with it before I begin a new series — I don’t want it waiting for me again on the other side! Ha! :) Here’s to all the stages of art-making. xoxo