Amy Evans Painting Adventures

Getting Back to the Easel

Colorado Trail

I have discussed the balancing act that women artists in particular have to do in regards to life, family, and creating art. I experienced the ultimate joy in a week of celebrating my son's wedding here in Breckenridge. Family and friends converged here and I spent time cooking and entertaining. No painting. Just enjoying this special time in my life. I am still recouperating...all the emotions, etc., really wore me out. I have spent the week slowly getting back to life as well as catching up on everything that I let go. We all have to sometimes leave our easels. In my experience our work will just be stronger when we return...I often see my work in a different way when I get back to painting. Hopefully that will happen when I return to the easel tomorrow. It will feel good.

Balancing Act

Painting on deck for 20 hr week challenge. The mountains disappeared..Too white for the camera and then clouds rolled in...
I have been participating in the 20 hr painting challenge this past 2 weeks. It has been fun as well as seeing how much actual painting time I do every week.
I do know that I have a major "life stuff" interference coming up this week...my son's wedding, so the studio is clean and there won't be any painting being done.
We women artists often have "life stuff" that we deal with in addition to our art business. I take care of the books for my husband's business, our personal finances, and my art business in addition to running the house. When my children were at home I took care of their needs as well. Balance, time management, and priorities are the keys to being able to create my art. Balancing my commitments is also crucial to my happiness.
There will always be "life stuff" that has to interrupt our well-laid plans. Not feeling guilty and moving on, while understanding that this will only enrich our life experience and therefore influence our art, will keep our lives vibrant.
So....try the balancing act!

The 20 hr challenge

Here are a couple of my paintings done during week 1 of the 20 hr a week challenge....

Some of you have been reading all the twittering about the 20 hr per week painting challenge. Lori W., an artist who twitters began this challenge to artists last week. I thought it would be a good exercise for me, so I accepted the challenge and did 20hrs + this past week. What have I learned thus far?

 Discipline in time management is the number one thing. I have put the painting first, then the rest of life stuff. Sometimes that is hard because a lot of people don't think of my art time as work. If I had a "real" job then folks would be more careful when interrupting my work. They would hesitate before asking me to spend my work time doing other tasks. I often have to explain that this is my real job, and what looks like play is real work. Mentioning that I was part of a challenge helped this week.

I am also focusing more on my work and not letting other things interrupt, such as phone calls, etc...It helps when I am out in my big studio, courtesy of Mother Nature.

Another thing I am learning is not to sweat the small stuff...just paint for the joy and the experience it brings. Each time I put paint on the canvas I am learning something about how I see things. Also practice helps my work improve...sometimes it is a struggle...especially when I am trying to move forward.

If you haven't tried the 20 hr a week challenge, I encourage you to give it a shot. What have you got to lose?