Respecting the Season
I was thinking of that saying about relationships- that people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. That made me think of my relationship with creativity and how it affects my artist “Why” or reason. Also, how my art practice is affected by the change of the seasons…. I paint very differently over the summertime and during the Fall. I love working outside on warmer, not too windy days, where I can find fresh air and fully ventilated spaces. My mother has always loved Fall the best and calls it “Sweater weather”, and I too, can say this is also my favourite season. After 5 years of being a full time artist I am only just finding my “flow” (trendy word right now… had to toss it in here). I am learning to slow down in the winter and respect my rhythm, and give myself grace. I have always valued my worth based on my productivity and not only has that been hard to admit, but it’s been hard to change in my behaviours and dopamine seeking drive. I am a very prolific painter and I don’t think that will change, as art has become a way of life. My art and creativity is a relationship I’ll have and welcome for a “lifetime”. I can see the need for productivity trickle over to my youtube videos… Just this past January, I published a lot of videos… like, every few days. It worked in January and I really loved it… but now that the weather has turned into the minuses again (-35 degree celsius windchill today!)… I need to respect the season and my energy level (low), and also if I was to respect one of my values as a human (honesty)… I owe it to myself to be honest and take a break. So, February will look different for me, and my focus is self-care and family first (as always). I said “yes” to doing a silent auction for animal rescue, and “yes” to an auction for my son’s school (good “reasons”)…. But, I said “no” to several other requests that normally I would go ahead with. I had a “reason” for the first two… Any more than that would be fulfilling a people pleasing role that I’ve happily left behind. I had no idea how seasons would affect my relationship with creativity- it took many years to sort this out. But, it feels so good to have the variety in the seasons…. I look forward to the rest of winter and playing with easily accessible paints such as watercolours and wax crayons… In the summer, I grab my large canvases and easels and bust out my acrylics (and music, ahem… Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Joshua Radin.)… In the Spring, I get excited to find greenery and new growth outside and love blind contour drawing…. When we have chinooks in winter, I love opening my windows, and stamping botanicals and using my gelli plate to make painted papers. They will go onto a pant hanger or in folders, organized by colour and usages when I’m ready in other seasons…. I will be more “quiet” this February and March, and also more selfish. My best work is when I don’t have a “reason” (other than “this is for me”), but it’s the process of finding expression during the “season”… and that I can embrace for a “lifetime”. How do you find your flow? and does your work / practice change with the seasons?
Latest YT video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBKTx8W_s7Y&t=1707s
Artistic Rescue Tales (ART) Auction, Feb 14- 21st here:
https://www.32auctions.com/ARTauction2025
