Bottlebrush tree and flag. Ink and watercolor in large watercolor Moleskine.
This is the view out my dining room window this morning. It’s the 4th of July, a day to celebrate freedom, but it’s also the last day of my annual birthday vacation so it feels more like the end of freedom to me. Of course that’s so relative–I’m incredibly fortunate to have as much freedom as I do, and I know that. It’s just that it always seems to take until the end of vacation to unwind and figure out how to enjoy it.
I had a lot of questions about art and life that I was pondering as I began this vacation and I’m glad I’ve found some answers. The biggest questions I’m still working on are about time. I’m increasingly aware of how precious each day is. There are so many things I want to paint, do, explore, and learn. I’m trying to make choices that allow me to feel satisfied with the way I’ve spent each day, whether it’s in the studio, out in nature, with friends and family, at the computer, or at work.
One of the answers I’ve come to is that I want to reduce my day job from 4 days to 3 1/2 (and see if I can afford it) in order to have more time for painting. Another thing I’ve decided to do is to make an art plan, setting some goals for the things I want to explore in the next 12 months with my art, and how I’ll go about it. Since I tend to avoid art business and marketing in favor of making art which is a lot more fun, I’m also going to include time in the plan for framing, marketing and other art business in order to show and sell more. Now if only my vacation was just starting instead of ending…
I’d love to hear how you manage your life and time in order to make time for the things that give you pleasure and satisfaction.
Jana Bouc, Artist 
7 replies on “4th of July: Thoughts on freedom and time”
I’m studying to be a Life Coach… and hope to work with creative people… but I’m not ready… so this isn’t a “pitch”… I will tell you, though, that David Allen’s book called “Getting Things Done” REALLY launched me out of doldrums similar to the ones you wrestled with on your birthday vacation.
Love the lace curtains and bottle brush! It looks SO sunny… but not blisteringly hot the way it is here in Texas.
LikeLike
GORGEOUS GORGEOUS!!! I love the tree, flag and how you rendered the lace curtains!!! BRAVA!!!
As for time — such a loaded question and one I too ponder. I work
4 very long days a week (7:30 am – 8:30-9:30 pm each night) and some weekends — it’s fulfilling work, often frustrating — but I’m at least 10 years from retirement (or the house is paid off!! LOL). Add to this that those 4 days are out of town and you can guess my life is pretty busy. Then I have grandchildren on the weekends, a home to maintain, gardens, and out of town children to visit. Sisters, mom, husband … and a great need to rest! So I have to squeeze my artwork in moments each day. So my focus, Jana, is to do family artwork, garden artwork — things that are meaningful to me — I don’t have plans to sell my work — especially since i”m just beginning to sketch and paint — I have a long way to go — I’ve decided to focus on sketchbook/journals so that the time I have right now is spent on things that will last and can be passed down. This may not always be the case, but for now — it’s the best I can do … I”m anxious to hear from others too — time can be such an issue!
LikeLike
I love the lace curtains – I find painting transparent things an amazing idea – like my iced-up boots – a very weird process but so magical when it comes out looking right. Thank you for your comments on my blogs – it’s nice to know people are getting something from them.
LikeLike
I second the motion on your transparent curtains. Simply beautiful and beautifully simple. As for the question about time, I think it’s a question of values. I don’t “allow” myself art time unless everything else is done (dishes, baby sleeping, etc)
If you apply my approach, you never find time, because there is always something to be done. I have started scheduling “art time” as if it were a chore (which it certainly is NOT) to give it equal footing. I still feel guilty, though. Any ideas how to get over THAT?
LikeLike
A beautiful tranquil painting! I just love the flowers and the way the flag is flying.
As for time…I am retired and still don’t have enough time to do all I want to do, however, I ALWAY make time for art in my day even if it is only a tiny sketch!
You will be surprised how much time one day makes when you cut down. go for it!
LikeLike
Beautiful painting! Great job on those curtains!
Now, as for that time thing. I’m currently in the middle of my vacation. My annual 2 week vacation. I go back on the 17th. I already know I won’t get everything done on my list. I never do. I still have not reconciled everything I want to do in life with the amount of “free” time I actually have to do them. I guess the first “rule” is to accept it will never all get done.
I, too, used to not allow myself art time (which to me is fun and play time) until all more chores were done. Now, where do we get that from? Our parents, of course!! I’m 47 years old, I’m thinking I can do what I want now, right? 🙂 But guess what. All of the chores will NEVER ALL BE DONE!!! Never!! So why beat a dead horse, so to speak. It’s all about prioritizing. And balance. Since it will never all get done, just do a little bit each day. Or break it down into a week. Spend x number of hours on chores, and x number of hours on art.
How do you get past the guilt? That depends. How important is your sanity to you? I was so miserable. Because all of my work was never finished, I also never got any fun time. My art time. Between working full time, taking care of the house, husband, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. there was no time for me. I’ve just learned to live with a less than spotless house. I concentrate on 2 rooms each week. The rest of the house gets a cursery going over. My Sundays are my art days. Usually don’t get the entire day, but I get most of it if I plan my week right.
I still would love to have more time for art. A lot more time! But for now I do the best I can with my current circumstances. It’s all we can do!
LikeLike
Jana – I too have spent a lot of time thinking about how to have time for it all. I even took a sabbatical from work, and, lo and behold, managed to fill up my time with almost everything but – art.
I still feel a lot of guilt as I do it, as if only tasks that bring food to the table are worthy of my doing them – and so cleaning of course.
I think that (1) setting a time for it, say 15-30 min or 2 hours per day is the only way to to. Ok, it’s 1.30, time to paint. Also, (2) to have a space permanently set up for this, and (3) know what you are going to paint will make it easier to actually DO it. If I don’t know what to paint I will most certainly not do it, whereas if I’m in the middle of something, it’s much easier.
I have found that the more often I draw, the more often I want to draw; so just once a week does not work as well for me. Then I feel perpetually rusty… Weekdays almost work better than weekends, because there are less interruptions.
I have decided what is most important to me; work, family, but also art, meditation, making healthy food, and exercise. What is not important: TV, newspapers, magazines, etc. That’s one way to make more time as well. Or hey – why not draw instead of typing this?!
Good luck with your pursuits, Jana. Your revised work week sounds like a great way to begin!
LikeLike