End of April Check-in
This week I made a point to not procrastinate my blog post, mostly because I’m excited to share what I’ve been working on since my last update!
What I’ve been working on
I’m in the last week of Plein Airpril, a month-long daily painting challenge to paint outdoors. I started to lose motivation halfway through last week. The novelty of painting outdoors wore off and I was getting annoyed with things like how bright the sun was and the wind blowing my things around. I realized that these were silly things to get annoyed about, because I had enjoyed experiencing the same things during the first week of the challenge. I was able to motivate myself by hanging up the paintings I had completed on my wall. This helped me see how my paintings were fitting in with each other, which I wasn’t able to notice before because I had been so focused on each day’s painting. I’m really excited to see how the paintings are coming together. Let me know in the comments any themes or patterns you see! I find that other people notice things that I don’t because I’m too close to the process.
The commissioned painting was delivered to the client last week and they loved it! I’m really grateful that I had the opportunity to make this painting and so glad that it turned out well!
I’m working on another close up flower painting, still inspired by the paintings that I’ve done for Plein Airpril. I’m happy that I found a new subject to paint. I definitely will still be painting landscapes and seascapes, but it’s been fun trying something new.
Those are the three major things I’ve been working on. I have been good about focusing on a limited number of projects, which means I’ve been better about getting things done. Seems obvious, but I still have to have an internal dialogue about whether I should start an exciting new project or finish the one I’m in the middle of. More often now, I am choosing to work through the project that I’m in the middle of.
Inputs
I’ve been reading a lot lately. I read How to Change by Katy Milkman, Do the Work by Steven Pressfield, and I started reading Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz. Since I don’t talk to as many people as I used to when I was working at my old job, I've been reading a lot to get new ideas into my life. I think I’ve found a decent rhythm for painting full time.
Outputs
Outside of my plein air sessions, I’ve been keeping indoors a lot recently. My allergies are getting pretty bad, so I’d rather spend time inside. My family is visiting me next week, and I’m looking forward to spending time with them and taking day trips!
Thanks again to everyone who has reached the end of this week’s check-in. Feel free to leave a comment or email me back to let me know how you’ve been doing, give me book recommendations, or share any advice on finishing projects. I’d love to hear from you!
