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!

Keep Your Eye on the PrizeWhen I began to return to my artistic roots, I started with drawing. I used colored pencils to describe my inner world, and that of others (with their permission).

This image is an example of one of those drawings; I called them Energy Essence Portraits. They were personal mandalas that “spoke” to me as I drew. I kept a notebook at my side & recorded words that popped into my head while I drew.

In the beginning, I needed total silence to do these drawings; even music distracted me. This work required my total focus. That is why I would get up at four AM to ensure peace and quiet in the house.

After a year of silent drawing in the wee hours of the morning, my circumstances shifted and necessity conspired with reality to create times when the presence of others while I drew was unavoidable.

Fortunately I had honed my focus by that time and could draw without being distracted by others.

By the time I’d moved to Honolulu in 2000, I realized that my focus had become so strong that I could paint in public. Nowadays I paint at galleries and fairs so people can watch the painting unfold along with me.

Over the years I’ve realized that the more intensely I focus on my painting, the less time I paint at any one time. As a result of focusing so singularly, I am able to accomplish quite a lot in a short amount of time. This allows me to schedule short blocks of time in which to work on a wide variety of projects.

Focus is focus. It doesn’t matter what you focus upon, as long as your attention is aligned with your intention, your focus will be strong and pure.

You can start to hone your focus by setting aside 5–10 minutes at a time, 2–3 times a week, to devote to one task. Choose something you have wanted to do, but haven’t been able to make time for doing. Ideally this task will be one very close to your heart.

Do this task for 5–10 min at a time, 2–3 times a week, for three weeks. I promise you will be amazed at how much you accomplish in those 30–90 minutes of time. Your new-found ability to focus with intention on almost anything will sneak up on you.

The really good news is that focus, once honed, follows you from task to task. Your ability to focus on almost anything is a skill worth learning.

You can read more about focus here: http://dreamheartsmartart.blogspot.ch/

The New Year has begun and so have weekly sessions of life drawing. Drawing a live model is one of the most energizing ways to invigorate a drawing practice.

Yes, I'm primarily a painter, but drawing forms the bones of most of my paintings. Drawing live models ensures I maintain fast eye-hand coordination.

Each class begins with ten two-minute poses. These warm-up exercises loosen up the hands and eyes, and train us to get the basic form drawn quickly.

Once we've gone through those poses (and taken a ten minute coffee/tea break) we draw ten-minute poses. The sketch shown here is from a ten-minute pose. The model, seen on the left side of the photo, is resting between poses.

Often my best drawings are done quickly, before I've gotten too involved with the outcome or concerned with how well I'm doing. Maybe the Ten-Minute Revolution is more pervasive than I'd thought. We really can get a lot done ten minutes at a time.