Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve had an amazing and productive start to the year. I have made great strides in every area of my life such as health, relationships, spiritual life, travel planning, finances, house projects and most importantly - art!

In December and early January, I was have difficulty committing to spending time in the studio. So I made up a rule for myself. I had to spend one uninterrupted hour in the studio every day for at least 5 days per week. The rule was that I just had to sit in there no matter what. Even if that time was spent just staring at my paintings.

Well my new assignment worked! I would sit there for about 10 minutes in the beginning, and then of course I saw something I wanted to change on a painting. So I would get up and walk across the room and start painting. Once I got started, I didn’t want to stop. After 2 weeks of my one hour minimum, I increased it to two hours. My next goal will be three hours of dedicated studio time per day.

When I started this new rule, I had 15 watercolor paintings that were in various stages. Some where started, some almost finished, and a few were complete but never photographed or put on the website. I worked through all of these paintings and finished them up and posted them online. It felt like such a great accomplishment!

I also finished up 3 of my oil paintings that you’ve seen me working on since September and started a new one that I’m excited about.

I was thinking about people in creative fields and how they look at their art careers. It is kind of like a yoga practice or a meditation practice. We have to have our art studio practice. Because you are not just born a master painter. It takes time and it takes work and it takes- practice.

I’m reading the book called Grit by Angela Duckworth. It is about the power of passion and perseverance. It isn’t the most talented people that reach their goals. It is the most consistent. Being willing to work day in and day out on the thing you love the most, even when it gets mundane or hard or boring. We don’t experience the highs of a solo show or a sold painting or a great article every day. A lot of days are struggle and putting paint on canvas or paper and wondering why you can’t make your hand create what is in your head. That’s where grit comes in.

Whatever you love, whatever passion you are working on, keep practicing.