I started The Artists Way study course a week ago. I really hated having to do the three morning pages everyday. It's supposed to be a stream of consciousness thing but I couldn't get into it. Then about three days ago I switched to short stories and now I look forward to it. I have written four so far and in them I could see the skeletons of actual stories possible to develop.

I'm still in a dry spell on painting but not a total loss. I created three this week and only one of them totally sucks. The horse sucks. I then started thinking about why I'm sorta bored with the abstracts that I've been doing. I'm stuck and I need new fuel and inspiration.

I created a visual alphabet of the common elements of my paintings which helped me see my style a bit better. It's random.

Just like my morning page changes when I found my voice to storytell, I feel my paintings will change when I find my next burst of inspiration. I've been painting intuitively but now, I'm ready to clarify my voice and plan.

Unfortunately, I'm still on the dry bank and going nowhere for the moment...it's ok... I must press on!

Last May, I decided that I needed a break from years of sitting behind the computer working as a graphic designer.  I had always wanted to be a serious artist but I lacked the experience and confidence.  
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Then, I ran out of my usual podcasts and started searching for something for creatives.  Well, I found a few really good ones.  I also indulged in a few books on Audible.  I listened to "War of Art" and "Do the Work" by Steven Pressfield, "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert," On Writinng" by Stephen King, Art &Fear by David Bayles, "Rising Strong" by Brene Brown and several others.

Needless to say, my whole attitude changed.  Though I had always considered myself a 'creative" person, I did not embrace the title of "artist" completely.

It's hard to feel like a REAL artist when you know that almost everything you have ever created was made to A) please a client, B) mimic a trend or style, or C) impress others.  I had not really started to question, "how can I impress myself?"

So, I dove into the idea of painting 99 paintings in one year.  I am somewhere around 70 at the moment with 5 months to go. Some of them are horrible, some of them or ho-hum, but a few of them feel really honest and true.  I plan on painting onward and maybe at the end of May, I will have a retrospective slide show to see the progress, the process and even the mess.  

A new shipment of big canvases are set to arrive in a few days along with some new paint sticks.  This is so much fun!