How to find the time to paint!
Welcome back to my blog, as you may have noticed it’s been a while since I’ve posted! It’s been a busy couple of months and life has gotten in the way as it so often does. I get asked sometimes how I manage to keep motivated and find the time to create around a full time job and general life admin.
Well the honest answer is, it’s not easy, and some months are better than others, but here’s 5 tips that help me make time to paint and create content for my art business. Maybe they could help you too.
1. Make your space accessible
My top tip to make time is to have a dedicated space at home that’s just for painting. For me it’s the box room, not a huge space but just enough for all my paints and art materials, a wall to hang my panels and enough room to move around flinging paint and getting generally messy! I don’t have to worry about it being tidy or organised, so if I make a mess it’s fine, it’s my space so I can leave it as it is if I only have a short time to get creative. Being at home also means I can quickly pop in my studio during my lunch break or after work without having to waste time travelling anywhere…. Works well if you are able to work from home which luckily I can most of the time.
Where I previously lived, my art space was a corner in the kitchen. I found having a tray with all my materials on was useful so I could quickly move it out of the way if we needed to use the dining table. A table easel was great as it was small enough to fold away and tuck behind the table.
Although a huge space would be amazing, it’s not essential and you can always find space to work, you just have to be creative… in both senses of the word!
2. Use a stay wet palette
Now if you’re an acrylic painter and you don’t yet use a stay wet palette, seriously… get one! It has been a game changer for me. Acrylic paint dries so fast that I have wasted so much paint over the years. Having a stay wet palette means, well,… it means it stays wet! But also if you get one with a lid the paint can last for a few days meaning less waste and a super quick way to pick up where you left off. No more time wasted creating your palette and mixing colours, it’s all already there for you. So when I have 10,15 minutes spare I can easily open the palette, paint a few layers, close it back up and I’m done!
Be warned, some of these palettes are pricy!… especially if you need a big one. So what I do is use 2 serving trays, lay a couple layers of damp kitchen roll across one of them, with baking paper over the top then lightly spray it with water. You can mix your paints on top of this and they will keep wet for ages. I then use the 2nd serving tray as a lid, flip it upside down, pop it on the top and then use bull dog clips to hold it in place. Works great for me and the paint stays wet for days. Don’t leave it too long though, it can go mouldy and the smell is pretty bad! ha ha ha… I’ve learnt that the hard way.
3. Keep a studio tracker
So far this year I have kept a note of how many hours I’ve spent in the studio. I note it down in my diary after each session, then at the end of each month I tally up how much I’ve done and how many paintings I’ve created. It’s been useful to see how much or how little I am doing, and helps keep me accountable. It’s also useful to understand how long it takes to create a painting so you can plan ahead if you know you want to create a certain amount of pieces. Keeping a consistent studio practice has been one of my main goals this year and for the most part I have kept to it. It has meant compromising on other things but it will be worth it in the end and I’m enjoying the process.
4. Use a social post planner
I have recently started using the Meta business suite, it has a post planner which you can use to schedule posts for the future. It’s really useful if you know you have a busy week ahead and won’t have time to post, you can create them on the app and schedule them in for whenever you like. It’s also free which is a bonus. My quietest times are Sunday afternoons, so I make sure to dedicate 30 minutes to an hour to put together a few posts for the week. Only challenge is coming up with the idea and the content… but that’s a blog for another time…
If you have got time through the week, you can still use a planner, but instead of creating the posts beforehand you can just plan what you are going to post on those days. This is really useful when you have events coming up that need promoting.
5. keep disciplined
Now this is the hardest tip, but probably the most important. You’ve got to be disciplined with your time and what you choose to do with it.
If you’re not committed to this then there’s no point. I’ve learnt that unless I give my time to this “art thing” consistently then it’s not going to develop into the serious art business I want it to be and will forever be a hobby.
Consistency is key, so whatever spare time I have, needs to be used productively and creatively. Obviously it goes without saying I need to look after myself and take care not to burn out. But I can’t keep using that same excuse when I want to have another sofa and Netflix day!…. Ok I’m only human and sometimes I fall off the wagon, like I have done in recent months. But as long as I accept it and get back on, then I’m heading in the right direction!
Although I haven’t done as much as I planned to do in the last 2 months, I’ve still done a few things and that’s still progress… Just got to keep positive, keep going and I will one day be able to quit the full time job… or at least reduce my hours… ha ha…
I hope you found that useful and motivating, if you would like to learn more, then follow along on my socials (links below) or you can sign up to my mailing list where I will be sharing news and updates on my artwork. click here to sign up.
Stay Weird
Cally :)