Happy New Year (make yourself a...)

I've been thinking...something I don't do enough of. When we say Happy New Year, we are saying 'I hope you have a happy new year.' The year is made up of days - as in, 'Have a good day.' What makes a good day and can we each make a good day for ourselves and therefore, a good year? I think yes.

What makes a good day for me? I've had a good day if...

1. I exercised.

2. I painted.

3. I cleaned the house or gardened.

4. I communicated (talk, text, played Words with Friends) with my kids and family.

5. I feel good about what I ate that day (bye bye Coca Cola).

6. I have a really good book to end the day with.

What makes a good day for you? 

It's also a good day if I remember to do what works for me.
1. If I want to think and ponder and plan, it isn't going to happen sitting in front of this computer. I have to move to the table my father made for me, in the studio, with a good pen and paper, away from the technology I love (leave my iPhone and iPad in the office).

Left: Thinking and planning  Right: Stimulation and distraction.

2. At the end of each day, if I set something up in the Studio for the next morning it makes it a lot easier for me to get started. One things leads to another - for success and for failure, in life and in art. I think it is called inertia*. Make sure you are headed toward your goal because if you don't consciously make a change, you'll end up where you're headed.  *Physics a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force.

I unframed this pastel last night to rework this morning.

3. When I look back over the years at my work, I see moments when I have painted with abandon. It feels great at the time and the paintings still look fresh, clean and spontaneous to me - they never need to be reworked. How do I get into the frame of mind to paint with abandon? Next time it happens (hopefully today), I'll run to the table and write down my thoughts.

Thank you for reading my blog. See my 2018 Art Goals. I wish you a happy and healthy 2018.