A Whole Week Disappeared.

I see it has been an entire week since my last post.  I'm trying to do better than that and hope to improve in the New Year.

Let's see - since last time I've received my new easel and work station.  Although the studio is still in disarray, you can see both here.  The easel is in the back left corner and the work station is in the center of the room.  My old easel is to the left in front and the first easel my parents gave me when I was around 10 years old, give or take, is against the bare, back wall. The old easel has my two current commission pieces on it and there is a double-sketch for a client on the floor.  I usually work in a cluttered space, but now that the room is in upheaval as I learn to sort and organize, it's driving me crazy!

Shortly after the easel and workstation arrived, we had a snowfall of 12 inches.  Here is a portion of my backyard (Which 6 days later is STILL covered in white. Look at the snow pile in the chair by the tree.)  Perfect time to paint, no? Well, yes, but I had to spend the time cleaning house for guests, baking and finishing up Christmas shopping when I was able to get out.  I'm finally caught up and plan to go paint, even if for an hour.  Snow really slows everything down.  Taking the dogs outside takes twice as long - the snow boots, the ice.  Driving anywhere took forever, watching out for black ice and worrying about the other drivers.  My husband was sideswiped on a main, undivided highway!  Scary stuff.

I'm looking forward to getting past the holidays and to the snow disappearing.  My office organizer will arrive on Tuesday for our second round of working together.  I can't wait to see how she envisions dealing with what is now an even more disheveled room than the one she left!  And I am anxious to complete some paintings.

Working on it

I'm getting there.
I ordered a "work station" to help organize my supplies and minimize the clutter in my workspace.
I ordered a big new easel (Merry Christmas to me!) to keep two paintings going at once and to accommodate larger pieces.

My new COO to Go arrives in the morning to help me get my act together and learn my business.  The goal is to eventually have her handle the time-consuming, necessary desk work and minutiae that overwhelms me while I, clueless to the world, blissfully paint away.  Well, we'll see how that works out.

Here is one shot of my supply table.  The cat is not always included, but it's typical of some of my workspace. I even have another table in front of that one to hold my palette and another to my left to keep my references, an extra palette, tubes of paint, notes, and more.
 I'll post more before and after pics.  I can't bring myself to put them up all at once.

The hardest part of this is taking the time to actually organize.  I feel guilty!  A catch-22:  needs to be done, don't have the time to do.  ughhh.

Clutter

I am a pack-rat.
I collect things.
I have difficulty letting go.
I might need them someday.  The things.
Why pay for the same thing later when I have it now?  I can save it for later.
It's hard to throw away useful items.  Never mind that I may not be using them.
Too much stuff clutters my creative space - mentally and physically.

Oh, I bet you artists and boomers can relate.

I want a new easel.
I need to do my Christmas cards.
I MUST finish some paintings.
I want to curl up with a book.
I need to clean house.
I MUST finish my Christmas shopping.

What, exactly, is wrong with wanting Peace on Earth.  and a kitten?

I did say, "...with Stay Musings on Occasion."

Raining Cats and Dogs

Ha!  Well, it IS raining.  Again. Endlessly. Ceaselessly.  INCESSANTLY.
Please stop!!
My dogs have to be hosed down after every outdoor venture these days.  Sheesh.  All I can say is that come spring, our plants better bloom and grow like mad.

Above is a painting I'm doing for fun for me in my "spare time."  A style change for sure.

Here are a couple of pieces I've been working on for awhile.  They are in a rough phase now.   Several revisions later, they'll be completed soon, at least that's the goal.

The top one is Plum the kitty and the bottom one is Mikki the Golden Retriever.

On another note, the opening night for Castillo and Company was more successful than I imagined.  We had a huge crowd visit our portion of the gallery at Crossroads Art Center (the Caboose Gallery.)  I'm quite proud of the show and everyone who is participating.  If you haven't seen it yet, it will be on view until early January.  Many of my students do take commission work.  I shamelessly promote them all - they are excellent painters.