Why you MUST meditate
I know it’s SO annoying someone telling you what to do!
And I don’t, usually, but as the New Year kicks off, a lot of people are looking to adopt new habits. I want to share with you THE SINGLE MOST ESSENTIAL HABIT I have ever developed and how incredibly helpful it can be to you not only as an artist but as a happy human being.
For those of you that know me or have followed my blog for awhile, you know that I meditate daily. It helps keep me centered and brings me incredible peace during easier times and steadiness during challenging or painful times.
The nature of the superficial mind is often scattered, judgmental, fearful, worried and anxious. Without training these negative thinking patterns can become ingrained. We actually believe what our mind tells us without the ability to discern. Often, we turn those thoughts against ourselves. But when we train the mind, we can better connect with our deeper selves.
Peace is an innate part of our inner nature, but we must practice regularly to be able to put some distance between ourselves and our often negative thoughts. I recommend to starting small. Five minutes is plenty for a beginner start. Aim to increase gradually to a daily practice of 15 – 20 minutes. There are many resources on meditation on the web or apps you can get for your phone to help you get started. Please be patient. It does take time for most of us. It took me some years, but now I can easily drop into calm and centeredness even in very challenging situations.
Please let us know in the comments – Have you ever tried meditation? Was it hard for you? If you have an established practice, please let us know what it has done for you.
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How to Remove Dried and Hardened Paint from Your Paint Brushes
Assuming you take excellent care of your brushes – wiping them carefully, washing them in warm soapy water after each use, it’s still common for paint residue to build up around the ferrule* over time. I find many beginning acrylic painters just rinse their brushes in water after a painting session without using soap. The paint comes out, but the clear acrylic polymer stays in the brush so they look clean but the bristles dry stiff and the brush is unusable.
I used to think when oil or acrylic paint dried in a brush and it became hardened that it was a lost cause. I tried lots of things – soaking them overnight in soap or solvent, depending on whether the paint was oil or acrylic. I experimented with all kinds of specialized brush cleaning products such as Kiss-Off, the Masters, EZ-Air cleaner with limited success. The bristles were still stiff and some of the paint would come out but not all of it. I also tried to get dried acrylic out with the soaps many artists recommended such as Fels-Naptha, Murphy’s Oil Soap without success. Once a brush became hardened, I had to throw it out.
It wasn’t until Winsor and Newton came out with theirBrush Cleaner and Restorer ** that I found the perfect solution for reviving old brushes. What I really love about it is that it is environmentally friendly as it is both non-toxic and biodegradable. (But remember the paint and pigments you remove from the brush might not be, so once it is used, please dispose of it in your local Household Hazardous Waste facility.) I reuse the brush cleaner over and over by allowing it to stand in a clear glass jar. The pigment particles settle to the bottom of the jar and the liquid at the top can be poured off and reused for the next cleaning.
Here is a pdf the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for Winsor & Newton’s Brush Cleaner and Restorer.(On some computers the download will begin immediately. Please check your downloads folder.)
* Watch the video to find out what a ferrule is!
**affiliate link (By purchasing through this link you help support costs of running this website, email service, create videos etc.)
Have you ever had to throw out a brush that became too stiff to use? Do you have any hardened, dried up paint brushes? What are your solutions? Share your thoughts and tips in the comments section below!
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What’s So Great About Perfect?
Just what exactly is “perfect” and where do we formulate our notion of “perfection”?
I believe that perfectionism is the root of many an artist’s block.
I’ll never be good enough.
If I can’t do it as well as ____________, why try?
I’m not sure my idea is worthwhile.
What if I fail?
My project could never reach the beauty and perfection of the idea in my head.
We often talk ourselves out of doing something before we even get the chance to start.
I am reminded of something painter Agnes Martin once said:
“We cannot make anything perfectly but with inner contemplation of perfection, we can suggest it.”
I made this video because I’d like to invite you to pick up the reins of a project or piece that is waiting in the wings for the perfect time, the perfect place, materials, amount of money, the perfection of your skills, or whatever notion of perfection is preventing you from diving in.
See what happens.
And let us know, OK?
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Cleaning up Acrylic Paint
A question I get over and over again is about proper disposal and clean up of acrylic paint.
Here’s a video I made showing precisely that:
My favorite part is watching the paint pucker up and peel up in a sheet. Watch for my tip at the end for how to dispose of all those palette scrapings in a way that won’t hurt the environment OR your plumbing.
In addition, I recently came across this great resource from Golden paints that shows how to dispose of acrylic waste water in an environmentally friendly way:
Any thoughts of your own? Questions? Please leave them in the comments section directly below the video so everyone can benefit!
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In Just 15 minutes a day…
If you’re reading this, chances are art is a big part of your life. It’s something that you look forward to doing and that brings you a lot of joy and satisfaction. But what happens when life gets in the way? You have a big project due for work, family comes to visit, a loved one is ill. I’ve noticed for most people I work with, art time is the very first thing to go. I’ll get to that later when I have more time – when my mother’s illness clears up, after my trip, after I get that closet cleaned up, when the kids are settled in school, when the remodel is complete, when I retire, etc. At first, when you pass by your work area, you feel that pang of longing and regret. Eventually you learn to close off those feelings and suppress that longing to be creative again. I’d like to propose that, as artists, the basis of a well-composed life be laid upon a foundation of the following non-negotiable items:
I used to think I had to spend long days in my studio to get “enough” art time in. But strangely, I never felt like there was quite enough time for my art. It felt like a battle between my art time and all the other responsibilities in my life. From the start, I had a disciplined and regular studio schedule, yet my creative time often felt like feast or famine. Some days were reserved for teaching and others for the studio. On my studio days, even after being there for many hours, I couldn’t tear myself away. I would stay way too late and leave feeling over-tired and over-hungry. That changed dramatically when I was invited to be in an exhibition in which I had to complete a work of art each day for five weeks. So I set aside time each morning to create. Sometimes 20 minutes, sometimes 90 minutes. I was amazed at how connected I felt to my art with such a minimal commitment. Once I got in a groove, I found myself thinking about my pieces all day long. I was working on them in my head even when I wasn’t in my studio. Although my regular studio practice involves working 4 days a week for longer periods of time, there are intervals in my life when I am on the road teaching or have consuming non-art projects at hand. For these times, I created what I call 15 minutes a day. I found that even devoting just 15 minutes each day to making art, I am able to make startling progress on an idea or project. I set a timer for 15 minutes and when that timer goes off, I am free to get up. I don’t worry because I know tomorrow I can pick up where I left off. I’ve found this 15 minutes a day works best first thing in the morning before life’s demands begin pressing in. I’ve shared this practice with the artists in my Artist Mentorship Program and it’s been awesome to watch a dedicated studio practice bloom where previously there had been none. By setting aside even a small amount of time daily to be creative, you will find yourself with more energy, a greater sense of contentment and a capacity to give generously of yourself to others having tended to your deepest needs first. Your creative energy will gather steam and ideas will flow more freely. You’ll be more at ease with the process, allowing for greater experimentation and more accepting of the inevitable “failures” or mistakes”. Most importantly, you will start the day with the satisfaction that you have made time for that which matters most – that connection to your deeper self – that creative Source within. All from just 15 minutes a day.
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How do you make space for creative time into your day? What are some of the hurdles you have to overcome to make time?
I invite you to share your thoughts and helpful tips in the comments section below!
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Create Spaciousness in Your Work Day
Have you ever heard an artist to say, “I love the hours I spend on my computer, applying for shows, writing my artist’s statement, organizing my images and responding to emails. It’s so much FUN!”?
Almost every artist I know would rather be in the studio, hands in the materials, making stuff.
The administrative and business work associated with being an artist is tedious to most creative types and sometimes downright loathsome.
This can result in putting things off until the last minute, and then rushing through them, subtly (or overtly!) resenting the task at hand, and feeling pressed for time.
In this video, I share some methods I’ve developed for keeping the same sense of balance and expansiveness when working on my computer as I experience in my meditation practice.
Our brains can get caught up in the task at hand, so I read these two phrases to myself to connect with my deeper, overarching intentions throughout the day. Just reading them to myself, shifts my consciousness and attitude.
I experience the spaciousness of time as I work on my computer.
I take frequent pauses to check in with my deeper self.
Here is the link for the free download of the meditation timer I mention (for Mac users):
http://meditationresources.com/
Questions? Comments? Leave them below…
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