Studio Time

My painting professor in undergraduate school, Barclay Sheaks, used to say that every painter should be in their studio everyday. Whether it is a full day of studio time, random hours or even just to open the door and look at what you did the day before. This relationship with your space is THE most important thing we as artists have. It teaches us more than any book, class or workshop can ever do. The studio is our life support.

Sometimes I enter my space with a cluttered brain and see an equally cluttered studio. I tend to organize, put things away, sweep or make lists on things to do. Often times this helps to free the creative flow of my mind. Other times it blocks my brain from continuing on a path of creativity. However, one must face this dilemma and work through it. The way to do this is to continually visit the studio, hang on for the ride and make it happen. We tend to make excuses for these mental blocks of creativity, by saying that we can't find the inspiration or that it is just not there at this point in time. Understandable. However, tomorrow is a new day and it WILL flow again.

The reason I decided to talk some about this topic is because I have been fighting a clogged creative flow for over 2 weeks. This is something that I don't usually have a problem with. Why have I suddenly begun to feel this way? Well, if I look back, over the past month or so, my life has been challenging, financially, emotionally and spiritually. I have sacrificed studio time for other things that life has thrown my way. AH HA! Lack of studio time has set in and I have dug into a rut. It is now up to me to grab the horse by the reigns, put in the time and get the magic back.

So, today was a good day. I have been working on a series of 6 paintings that have been a struggle over the past 3 weeks. Today was a breakthrough. I can see the final product in my mind. Granted, they have a long way to go, but in due time, they will prevail. I just need the studio time, my life support.