Back to being creative!

Life has a way of changing in big ways and this past 15 months has been a difficult journey. Starting at the beginning of February I finally have been working on creating structure in my days. Structure has been lacking the last 15 months since my beloved husband passed away. 

I have always flourished with structure. I just do better when I have goals, whether they are big or small. These days I need to incorporate all the household chores and structure is helping me to manage the various tasks. This is a work in progress. 
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One of my goals is to add in creative time again. This has taken time to be able to do. My painting time is not as expansive as it was, but I am getting a few sessions in during the week. That is a start. No need for perfection…just movement in the right direction. 

One of my trips to Australia to visit our oldest son, I started a small painting journal that I erroneously thought I would get filled in a very short time. LOL. I have a tendency to underestimate the time it takes to do these little paintings and overestimate my patience for working this small...

I did get a good start on the book but it still has many blank pages left. The above painting got finished recently, filling one of those blank pages. I am starting to feel like I am getting my brushwork back. 
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I photographed this pelican when we happened on two folks fishing on a dock and this pelican was there to get the “too small” fish cast aways. I got some perfect photos, and this was one of them. To have the light behind the bird and shining through its bill was so fortunate. 

Since 2016 I have been part of an artist group that meets on Sunday mornings.  Anthony, our intrepid leader, has been hosting a 20 week Alla Prima Challenge. Alla Prima means ”at first attempt”. Anthony has developed an interesting array of challenges. All painting sessions are timed, most at 30 minutes, with some having a no pre-mixing rule prior to the clock starting.

This year I am pleased that I am back to it. In the early weeks it was the only time I would paint during the week. Small steps… The first paintings were really painful to do because I hadn’t picked up a brush for such a long time. Thankfully I persevered and now I am spending more time in my studio. Not a lot more time, but that is alright. 

Last weeks challenge was to paint outdoors. It is still too chilly here in Yellowknife for that, as winter really doesn’t want to release its grip this year.  Alternatively I chose to look for a lovely warm summer image to paint from in my nice cosy studio. We did have 40 minutes to paint this one and it allowed me to work deliberately without haste. I am really pleased with how this small work came out. 

Small steps…
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Until next time, I hope you are making time to be creative in your life.
​Shawna