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{Written this morning}…

Well I have just got home from dropping my little kids off for their weekly Grandma day… the kettle is on for a cup of tea to take into the studio, my water bottle is filled, housework is being ignored, (along with a thousand other little things that threaten to drain my mind) and I am about to step into my painting zone, my studio, which is in the old dining room of our house.

I have already been mentally preparing for my actual painting time since I woke this morning..  I had that feeling, that excitement that comes with the anticipation of a bit of freedom, and with images playing in my mind, tossing up what should be said (painted). What is most pressing on my mind and what should make its way onto the next canvas?
When it was time to go for the day, the kids carried on about preferring to spend the day with me.. and I had to brush off that old feeling that my work is just a selfish indulgence.. I have wrangled with this one long enough though, to put it to rest quickly.. a day painting will result in me being an exuberant mum come four o’clock and I have learnt the hard way that practising my art (recharging) is central to my well being.

So, I have broken one of my own golden rules to write this quick post. I have let something that can be done later, interrupt my painting zone. But, I wanted to share this part of my process, because this is the part that helps me get stuff done. The do or die, not wait for inspiration, but just work choice that I make every time I commit to painting time.
The painting zone is where all the little thoughts that jitter through my mind constantly, seem to slow down and the process of drawing, painting, and creating a new work brings everything to an almost mediative calm. I lose myself in these hours. I have learnt to just step into this space, to switch off the outside world, as it will be the same as it was, when I step back in.
I am conscious of distractions as I know that the hours go to fast enough.

Being an artist and a mother makes time all the more precious for me and I am sure that I work better because of that conflict, and that pressure.
Anyhow, the kettle is done boiling and I need to go. This will be the first proper painting I have started in a month or so, after a forced break to get some of those things I always avoid doing done..(tax anyone?)JasmineMansbridge_8056 JasmineMansbridge_7947 JasmineMansbridge_7952 JasmineMansbridge_8113 But, I am back in the studio now, and it feels so good..
What would you like to see me painting???

Jasmine x

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(photos by Martina Gemmola)…