Just go Paint! Breaking a Dry Spell

'Sweet Dreams'           5x7      oil on panel       ©Karen Margulis SOLD

It really is time to practice what I preach.  Whenever I am asked by a student how they can improve their work I get on my soapbox and talk about the importance of daily practice.  In April I set a goal for myself to paint five small oil paintings every week. I wanted to get more comfortable with oils and knew that daily practice was what I needed.

I was successful for about three months and produced my weekly quota of oil paintings. But somehow summer came and I seemed to find excuses for taking out the oils.  I had pastel commissions, I was doing dome reorganizing in the studio, the easel was in the way. Silly reasons.  I had lost my momentum.

Fortunately I had a student who wanted to come paint in oils yesterday so I took everything out and got my space set up again. We painted a landscape and I loved every minute of the process.  When she left I kept painting the rest of the day. I did three small paintings including this one of my cat Jazz. It was like I had gotten oiled. I had let so much time go by that I felt rusty and stuck. It was easier to make excuses than to just dive in and get started again. Once I put down the first few brushstrokes I was primed and ready to paint!

My latest oil paintings

So now that I have broken the ice I want to keep up this momentum. I will leave my oil painting area set up and get some small panels ready along with some ideas to paint. I am actually this little dry spell happened because it gives me a better appreciation of how challenging it is to make time for painting practice no matter how disciplined you are.

If you are putting off painting or even painting more often... just make a start and see where it take you!