The art of staying fresh

Getting ready -  part of my messy set of watercolours

We woke up yesterday morning to a small dusting of snow on the ground, how pretty everything looked - especially the holly tree and whatever the bush is next to it. The dark green lightly covered in white with the red berries bursting out, lovely! I got all bundled up and left for the gallery. KahPOW! The white stuff doesn’t seem so cute outside. I am, after all, a girl from the tropics.
I think with calm tranquility, and aiming to be rational, it is now January 2012 and we have at least 2 more months of inclement, cold weather. So, no use fussing about it - I’ll admire it from indoors as much as I can until spring, without whinging. I hope.
My fingers aren’t quite as forgiving of the frigid air, so I am having to work up enthusiasm about painting in the cold. Oh, I do have heating in the studio but my fingers say, “So what? it’s bloody cold outside.“ To try and overcome this, I am approaching the studio with caution this first week of 2012. I spent most of Wednesday working on my Vukusakhe project. To my relief, it all started falling in to place without reason. Last week it fought me. So I’ll happily take this as a good start for the New Year.
My artist friend, Rosemary - see http://livecheapmakeart.com - announced her aim this year is to do a small 8x8 painting every day she is in the studio, no matter what. At least that’s her plan. I believe she will stick with it. I have other artist friends, like the exceptional talent and an old school friend, Carol Lee Beckx in Australia - see http://www.carolleebeckx.com/home  aiming for the same ideal. I think it is quite an inspiring idea. So…I am now thinking perhaps I should do something similar. It would be good discipline if nothing else, and Lord knows, being disciplined isn’t one of my strong suits.
Each canvas is 36x24 for my project, not huge but big enough. I like painting large, but perhaps doing an additional small one will be a good challenge. It could be on any subject not the project. It's a good way of keeping me 'fresh.' It will keep my mind from cramping, by becoming overly focused on one thing and therefore also draining my creative juices. Also I could do some in watercolour for a change, to mix things up. If I’m honest with myself, I doubt I’ll manage one a day. I think I’ll join the quest but limit it to 3 a week. Rosemary and I can compare notes as we stride around town during our walks. Hope I can keep up with her painting! So, without further ado, I shall paint a small one today.
FYI : I’m chronicling the progress of the Vukusakhe project on my gallery face book page and am starting a page on my website about it…if you’re interested, go to http://annejenkinsart.com  or http://facebook.com/annejenkinsartgallery