As expected, time has been an elusive beast since becoming a parent. But work still needs to be done!
Below are some tips and guidelines I have followed and you may find helpful:
– First, don’t beat yourself up if you have an unproductive day. Life happens. You just need to work with the time you get.
– An hour of good, undistracted work is far more productive than many hours of distracted work. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking more time equals more results. The time spent must be meaningful and productive.
– Consider working in the off-hours, like early morning or late night when everyone else is in bed.
– Before you go to sleep, briefly plan your next day so you can start with clarity.
– Do what you enjoy. If you enjoy it, you’ll find time.
– Combine interests. For example, if you have kids, you could take them to a local art exhibition. Your kids get introduced to the wonderful world of art. You get to study different master artworks. Or say you are going on a hike with friends. You could use that as an opportunity to stock up on reference photos.
– Try different learning applications. Books, videos, master studies, color studies, sketches, gesture drawing, life drawing. Change it up.
– Cut out time-wasting activities. What doesn’t add any value to your life? Your time is precious, so be ruthless. This will free up time for more meaningful activities.
– Prepare in advance. Tidy your studio, sharpen your pencils, clean your brushes, select your next reference photo to paint.
– Make it easy to start. Put a fresh canvas on your easel. Put clean brushes and paints on your desk. Simple prompts like this can be surprisingly effective.
Happy painting!
Dan Scott
drawpaintacademy.com