About Living the Dream

"Living the Dream"

Mixed media on canvas

- SOLD -

This morning I rolled out of bed around 6:30 a.m. and hopped on my bike to take a spin around the neighborhood before the heat set in and rendered me a human slug.   After my ride (which included an unexpected brief meeting with one of my RentUps clients) I came home and showered before heading out to take a walk and have coffee with my talented photographer friend and former studio mate, Dianne Poinski.   Enjoying an iced coffee outside of Starbucks, we chatted about our art, Dianne's new computer and our marketing goals and accomplishments.  

As we were walking back I listened as Dianne talked abut how busy she'd been with her recent studio move;  celebrating her birthday and uploading files onto her new Mac (I'm green with envy and want one too!).  She commented how she hadn't been in her new studio much and had a big list of things she wanted/needed to do.  While she talked, I realized her thoughts of "not doing enough" and "must be working on my art at all times" were mirrors of myself and my beliefs, and that perhaps this thinking wasn't as exclusive as I had originally believed.

When I worked in real estate development, I kept regular 8-5 hours and rarely worked nights or weekends unless there was an emergency or I had a big project under a tight deadline.  My off-time was my own and I spent little time thinking about what was on my desk since I knew it could generally wait until the next work day.  

But this mindset isn't what happens with self-employed artists.  We don't keep "normal business hours."  In fact it is nearly impossible to work from 8-5 since we tend to work when the creative moods strike or when a client calls and says "help."

Like Dianne, I feel like a slacker when I'm not actually working away at my art or trying to market it.  But there are only so many hours in the day and just a limited number of wet noodles I can continue to flog myself with.  It's time to give myself permission to "slack off" from time to time.  In fact -- I'm going to encourage it......these early morning bike rides and coffee breaks during the day are manna to my creative soul.  

So, after I hit the "publish" button for this post, I'm heading out to go to the movies with a friend.  Tomorrow I've got a yoga class and later a date for a play and a movie......and who knows what can happen on Saturday?  Who cares -- I'm living my dream!!!