“I paint with the stubbornness I need for living, and I’ve found that all painters who love their art do the same.” Suzanne Valadon
Disciplined studio practices are important, and I am pretty good at that. Not because I am disciplined. It is because I like being there. It is me! Usually I don’t have to make big decisions about should I paint or should I_______. In my life, it all seems to fit together. There is always time to paint, even if there are other things I must get done, or want to do.
Well this week I had to decide: paint or pack up all my supplies because, IRMA is coming! This is a BIG storm and they are making a lot of BIG noise about it! If a window blows in, or the roof blows off, do I watch all my supplies blow around or should I save my stuff?
Now I took time to pack up my desk, get money from the bank, and seal all the check books in plastic bags, and put them in a plastic box in a safe place. So, what do I do about my art materials? Do I pack them up or keep painting? Thinking this through a little more, I realized, it would be hard to work in the dark, if we lose power, and if IRMA does decide to get up close and personal, painting isn’t going to be an option anyway. So, I packed up my stuff! Funny, I am not as worried about my paintings getting wet or ruined, as my supplies. I did raise them off the floor, and I did cover them with plastic. But that special brush, my paint, my pastels, my paper, no way, they are an extension of me. There are a lot more painting, I need to paint. Packing up the studio became the decision of the week.
Hurricane Pie
But as I sit here waiting…I think, “I’d rather be painting”. I did bake a “Hurricane Pie!” That would be one, that uses up all the fruit in the refrigerator that you do not want to go bad when you lose power. I don’t regret the decision to pack the studio. Things are safely tucked away. I just regret having done it so soon.
Waiting for Irma!
The news makes this event sound so immediate. So, here we sit waiting for the unwanted guest to arrive, and cause havoc in our normally peaceful lives. Even the dogs are anticipating the storms arrival.
Nature is my inspiration; usually it beauty and wonder. But, nature has the power to be harsh, powerful, and oh so unpredictable!
If we have electric after IRMA’s visit, you will hear from me next week. If you don’t, you know we are cleaning up her big mess, cooking on the camp stove and grilling in the back yard, and reading by the light of a battery-operated devise.
May all my readers in IRMA’s path, be safe. Think creative thoughts that you can execute in the coming weeks! 🙂
“For art and joy go together, with bold openness, and high head, and ready hand – fearing naught, and dreading no exposure.” James Abbot McNeil Whistler
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