What are your painting plans for spring?

[Bartc]

I retired a year ago and thought I would travel locally about 2-3 days at a time exploring places to paint in California and maybe seasonal wildflower sites. Unfortunately, my first retirement year was diverted to elder care, so I missed the incredible superblooms of 2023 and have felt restricted. Now I am free again and need to develop the habit of getting out on the road, since I'm a plein air painter, and maybe even just painting more often even at home. So I need to fight procrastination and every other psychological obstacle I've put into place to get my ass moving. So far I'm losing the battle. Somebody throw me a tow line!

 

[Terri]

Motivation is the biggest obstacle! There's always something going on that seems to demand our attention, whether real or imagined. It can be a challenge to declare time for yourself and your interests.

 

[john]

Yes. For me it's also a reckoning about just how important my art is to me. Will I make time for it or do something else. This can lead to the uncomfortable realization that maybe it's not as important as I hype it up to be.

 

[Bartc]

Yes. For me it's also a reckoning about just how important my art is to me. Will I make time for it or do something else. This can lead to the uncomfortable realization that maybe it's not as important as I hype it up to be.

John, I'm not so sure I'd jump to that conclusion. The old line about , "....if it really mattered to you, you would immediately...." is not necessarily true. There are many reasons for delay and avoidance. I'm living some of them myself! LOL

How one pursues art (not the same as golf for example as a hobby), in what directions and how far is not a simple choice at all, in my estimation. But others may feel differently, and that's what makes the world go round.

 

[john]

John, I'm not so sure I'd jump to that conclusion. The old line about , "....if it really mattered to you, you would immediately...." is not necessarily true. There are many reasons for delay and avoidance. I'm living some of them myself! LOL

How one pursues art (not the same as golf for example as a hobby), in what directions and how far is not a simple choice at all, in my estimation. But others may feel differently, and that's what makes the world go round.

Thanks for that Bart. You're right. No need to make it like being in the army. I blame this new motivational book I bought telling me to just get to work. I need to stop reading these things. Consistent but adaptive effort ie. do it when we feel like it because there's golf also.