If you are a regular reader of this blog (there are a few of you out there – even one or two who are not related to me), you’re probably wondering when I’m going to set a goal for my third blog year. I’m six weeks into it and I haven’t said anything about a new goal. There’s a reason for that. I’ve actually been toying with the idea of not having a specific goal this year.
As a procrastinator, I end up putting a lot of pressure on myself in the last month of my blog year. January was intense this year. I met my goal of creating fifty paintings before my February 8th blogiversary and then I just collapsed for a while. I thought about new goals, but I couldn’t make myself commit to anything. I was blogging every week. Wasn’t that enough?
It’s something, that’s for sure, but it’s not enough. It’s not enough because I want to paint and I’m not painting. I don’t know why I’m not painting. I think about painting. I have paints. I have canvases. I have brushes and palettes and time. Why am I not painting? I fear it’s because I have a goal in mind, but it makes me a beginner again and I’m afraid to take it on.
I want to paint outdoors. I want to learn to be a plein air painter. If I set a goal of painting fifty paintings en plein air this year, I can’t just put off half of them until January. Even in Florida, January is not a great month for painting outdoors. I might have one or two nice days; I’m not going to have twenty-five. If I set this as a goal, I’m going to have to keep up with it. I’m going to have to do my painting while the sun shines. To complicate things, I have a day job as a tie-dye artist. This also requires working outdoors in reasonably good weather, and I’m about to enter my busy season.
I have plenty of good reasons for resisting this goal, but my heart wants me to take it on. I’ve been fighting my heart for weeks, but the heart wants what it wants. Who am I to argue with my deepest heart? Okay, okay, okay…I’m setting a new goal. I will paint fifty paintings before my next blogiversary and I will paint them outdoors.
There. I said it. Am I happy now?
Whoa–that’s a huge goal! I admire you for taking it on. As you know, I have my book list, which I can’t ever keep up with. But I will gladly be your cheerleader. Go, Ruthanne!
Thank you, Sarah. I will definitely need the encouragement. 😊
Yay! You can do it! I used to watch some very talented painters on the street in New Orleans. I learned a lot from them, but mostly it motivated me to procrastinate about painting out doors. I plan to do it, this year, as well and with my new set up, I’ll at least be able to paint in the back yard. In between doll-making, that is … and capturing birds.
Some day, we need to have that Makley Family paint out in North Carolina. Wouldn’t it be great to get all the mother/daughter painters in the family together in one beautiful place? You could get some great bird pictures there, too.