If you have trouble finding time to paint, you are in good company!

Last week I participated in the monthly meeting of the Hawaii Watercolor Society. Nine fabulous painters and all-around, great people surrounded me — these are some of my favorite people on the island. As we discussed the organization’s events and the year ahead, I kept hearing the same refrain:

“When will I find time to paint?”

Starting a new painting, "Called By the Sea"

Bit by bit, it gets done.

Finished!  View it here.

Every year, month, week, and day, we each start with the same number of minutes. Those minutes presumably belong to us to use as we see fit.

Yet I guarantee you will not do all of the things you want to do — EVER! Even if you scheduled your days to the max, you will never get “it all” done! Choices must be made.

We are creative people coming up with new ideas almost faster than we can write them down.

Some of us have a touch of “Shiny-Object Syndrome” whereby each new idea captures our imagination so quickly that before we know it we are lost down another rabbit hole of time and imagination.

What’s a Creative Person to do?

Make friends with structure AND develop a relationship with small windows of time.

Many of us are not fans of structure. We see it as confining and often rebel against it.

While it is true that too much structure will kill creative enthusiasm, not enough structure allows for too many wild and crazy thoughts to take root in our psyche. They are like weeds crowding out the flowers in a garden. Before you know it, our brain is a tangled mess.

That is why at the beginning of each week, I apply structure to my days.

First I list all of my “Ta-Dahs” (accomplishments) from the week before (none are too small!) in a sketchbook/notebook.

Then I list the things that did not get done last week.

I write in my journal as a way to corral my thoughts, so next I reread the previous weeks’ thoughts and record my “AHAs.”

Finally I list all of the things I want to do in the week to come.

I keep this list handy, carrying it with me back and forth between home and studio. When a task is complete, I record it on the left side of the notebook under the day it was done.

We usually think something will take more time than it actually does. If we wait until we have two-three hours of time before starting a big project, we accumulate SO MUCH DREAD in our heart that we might never start. 

Often the mounting dread weighs heavier and sucks more energy than the actual task will take.

Small windows of time are our friends. 

Set a timer for 15–20 minutes and focus on one task during that time. Even just 15 minutes will get you further ahead than if you do not start at all. This works especially well when faced with a task you do not want to do, or are afraid to start. 

This works really well with painting! Watercolor makes for easy, fast clean up, so even if you only have 15 minutes, you CAN paint, even just a little bit. You will feel better if you do!

Stitch enough 15-minute segments together and you will be amazed at all that you accomplish!

One of my favorite things to do is to paint in public. Not only do I get to paint, I also get to meet new people, sell some art, and reconnect with former students and good friends. I call that a “Win–Win–Win”!

Recently I met several former students at a fair, including Carolyn, Deb, and Sheri.

As is my custom, I asked what they were painting. One said she is getting ready to start a new painting, one showed me a few photos of her paintings on her iPhone, and the other told me she hadn’t painted in a while.

I’m not remembering what I told the last student at the time, but her comments have stayed with me.

People often tell me that I make painting with watercolor look “so easy.” I usually reply, “Well that’s my job.” Then we smile and laugh.

But there is more to painting than that and I don’t want to shortchange anyone!

I wish I had told the non-painting student to slow down a little bit.

Wait, what?

Most of my students can still hear me telling them to “paint faster!” long after class is over. (Sheri said that I sit on her shoulder, telling her to paint faster all the time.)

Watercolor works best when applied in swift, bold strokes (most of the time).

But it’s important to slow down in between the brush strokes! Wow, this might be the first time I have said that in this way.

Some of us have a natural tendency to stop and ponder our work between our strokes. Others might misinterpret my sense of urgency in applying the paint to include the entire painting process.

I am a very fast painter … in the beginning of the painting. I slow W-A-Y down as the painting progresses.

That is the part most people do not see (it really can be boring to watch the paint dry while I decide what to paint next).

Some artists regularly finish a painting in two to three hours. Not me. While I do paint quickly, I have learned to savor the entire slow painting process.

“Paint fast and finish slowly,” that is what I wish I had told the student who hasn’t painted in a while.

“Don’t take stock too soon.” Remember that most paintings go through an “adolescent stage,” when they are not yet finished and you do not like them at all.

Did you read the part where I said a painting is NOT finished in the “adolescent stage”? That means, “Keep Painting!”

That is why I like to have two to three paintings going at all times. When I get “stuck” on one, or need to give it a rest, I have another one to paint.

Starting anything from scratch can be tough; there is a lot of inertia to be overcome. My friend Judy says, “It’s like walking through Jell-O.”

My non-painting student seemed sad when she told me that she hadn’t been painting, and she left the booth fairly quickly. I hope she reads this and that she will pick up her brush again. I also hope that she will be gentle with herself and with her paintings.

Painting is good for the Soul. It can be meditative. Painting can be a dance of life and color. It can be a joy, or it can be a burden if it becomes a “should.”

If painting becomes a “should” for you, definitely take a break and let your painting, your brush, and yourself rest!

Mahalo nui loa (a big Thank You to YOU), to those of you who visited my studio December 6 & 7th. I am still basking in the joy and conversation we shared.

The paintings and giclées hanging in the studio tell the story of my painting life. By asking questions, you jogged a few memories loose and helped me to “connect more of the dots” linking my paintings together.

I am most appreciative of your asking about my coconut paintings. Their lineage feels especially important because I just finished a new coconut painting.

I did quite a lot of housesitting around the island for the first few years that I lived here.  Housesitting is interesting, sometimes fun, and often more involved than you might expect.

One morning, as I walked the golden retrievers along the beach while housesitting in Kewala Bay, I was thinking about all the changes I had experienced in the three years since I’d moved here. I was amazed that the dreams I had of becoming an artist had brought me so far from home.

Big Dreams Require Big Seeds © Patrice A Federspiel, 2003

Just then I saw three or four coconuts bobbing in the water along the shore. “Big Dreams Require Big Seeds” popped into my head. Immediately coconuts became synonymous with my dreams, and I knew a painting would ensue.

Then There Were Two © Patrice A Federspiel, 2004
This painting hangs in Kai Ku Hale in Hale`iwa

Since then, I have painted several coconut paintings. One painting, “Dreamscape: Lift Off” hangs in the front room of my studio.

Unless you have seen a coconut beginning to sprout, you might not recognize the object “hanging in the sky” of the painting as a coconut (the color is a bit more brilliant than true coconuts are).

Dreamscape: Lift Off © Patrice A Federspiel, 2004

That painting was an affirmation that my career was about to “take off” even before I really felt that to be true.

My most recent coconut painting is also not immediately recognizable as being a coconut; and its lineage is a bit out of the ordinary as well.

It began during a mini-meditation three months ago. During the meditation, I “saw” something growing in the palms of my hands. That something was my creativity.

A few weeks later, I found an empty coconut hull still in the husk in which it had grown on a tree. It looked like a heart to me so I brought it home and kept it in a plastic bag in my studio. I was saving it until I had time to paint it.

A few more weeks went by before I was able to begin the painting.

“The Heart of My Palms” is now complete. It speaks to the love I have for, and feel from and through, my hands.

The Heart of My Palms © Patrice A Federspiel, 2014

The coconut still symbolizes my dreams of being an artist. My hands are used to create my paintings.

All of my paintings come from my heart, through my palms, to you.

Thank you for the role you play in summoning them forward.

Image: Diving Deeper

Without fail, my paintings help me to know what to focus on in my life, or what is going on in the world around me. They act as a messenger from my inner self to my conscious self.

I can understand if that sounds a little weird to you. Once upon a time it would have sounded odd to me, too. Experience has proven it to me.

When I first met my husband, I was extremely busy with my art career. At the time I lived alone, worked part time at a frame shop, had just worked the 2-day Haleiwa Arts Festival ALONE, and was preparing for a Showcase event at the Honolulu Museum of Art.

To say I was busy is an understatement.

At that time I was working on a series of palm frond paintings, specifically, “Crossroads, Cross Purposes.”

Image: Cross Roads, Cross Purposes

Keanu was in between jobs at the time and had loads of time on his hands. I had no extra time on mine. While our first date was great fun, I didn’t have time for a second. Yes, we were at a crossroads of sorts.

Fast-forward three months when I started to work on another palm frond painting titled “When We’re Together.”

Image: When We're Together

Shortly after that painting began, Keanu and I had our second date… almost three months to the date after our first date.

The rest of our relationship continues to unfold beautifully.

And my paintings continue to send me messages. Sometimes I understand them immediately, but more often than not, they “speak” a cryptic language, even to me.

For instance, I didn’t know what “Seeding the Stars” is really about until yesterday. And she has been finished for three weeks.

“Diving Deeper” was the next painting to be finished. I understood her meaning even as she began.

She is telling me to dive more deeply into my inner life, my spiritual work, and my paintings. She tells me I have more to offer to you and to the world.

So here goes … I believe we are each responsible for choosing who we become in life. We decide what gives our life a sense of purpose and meaning.

Research shows that people who feel as though their life has purpose are happier, healthier, and that they live longer.

Our purpose evolves with us as we age and change. No matter what our purpose was, is, or will be, it is amplified when we bring our conscious awareness to it.

When we were very young, our purpose was to grow, to learn, and to figure out how and where we fit into the scheme of life. For some this purpose lasts a lifetime.

Some people find purpose in having children and nurturing them through their growing phases. Others find purpose in putting rockets on comets, caring for animals, or tending to the earth.

There are as many good, true reasons for being (purpose) as there are people on earth. It’s up to each of us to decide where, and how we want to use our energy.

I am a natural born “up-lifter.” My purpose is to help others reconnect with the magic and mystery in their own lives. I do this through my paintings, my writings, and by teaching the joys of painting so others can more easily connect with their creative inner self.

It has taken me all of my life to reach my current purpose, and it has taken me another five months to announce it publicly to you.

I’m telling you now to help you understand why some of my paintings might tickle your fancy or why some of my words can help you to feel better.

When something exhilarates us it has our attention. Place your conscious awareness on that which makes you feel good and you will learn more about yourself and your own unique, inner purpose.

If you have longed to paint, for fun or for self-expression, watch my website, blog, and eZines for my 2015 teaching schedule. It will be expanding in scope this next year.

If you feel moved to share this email with others, please use the link to do so. You will be serving as a conduit of connection and perhaps fulfilling one of your life’s purposes.

If none of this resonates with you, please feel free to unsubscribe. You won’t hurt my feelings!

In the meantime, continue to “Dive Deeper” into the depths of your own inner life.

You can assist the lives of others by “Seeding the Stars” (by planting and nurturing the dreams of all those you touch).

Image: Seeding the Stars