just work...WHEREVER

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I returned to - what used to be - my daily practice: painting in my studio from 7 am until about 2.  I think there is something nostalgic about this.  I also think there is something romantic and magical.  I get lost in the studio when all the stars align and when this happens, the time, the phone, if I am hungry or not, etc just doesn't seem to matter.

These particular days are not the usual anymore, however.  Most days, that euphoric feeling never arrives.  And this is OK.  I just know within the deep core of my being that all I need to do - everyday - is create.  

I recently read Stephen King's memoir on writing.  It is actually titled On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (it's a page turner, by the way, and I highly recommend it).  Like so many other creatives I identify with, King says, "Just work - wherever".  I have always worked "wherever".  I just picked up my dining room table that was a temporary painting station after a month and moved it outside.  It isn't unusual for me to take a canvas out of the studio and sit with it in a chair, on my lap in the back yard.  Soon, when the weather becomes more consistent, I will have a seasonal studio set up on our front porch.  When it finally becomes warm enough to camp on the shores of Lake Superior (I can't wait!), I have a portable studio that travels too.

After Stephen King made his first breakthrough in the writing world (which, by the way, he did in a folding chair, at a table, in his residence where he lived with his wife - they didn't even have an operating telephone), King decided to follow through with his fantasy of getting a large mahogany desk that took center stage in his library.  Later, he got rid of the desk and returned to his humble quarters under the stairwell of his home.  

My point here is, just do it.  I don't mean to steal the Nike slogan at all.  What I mean is, just jump in with both feet.  Get your hands dirty.  Do whatever is calling you WHEREVER.  If it's calling, any place (that's somewhat private - this is an entirely new topic) will do.  Just start.  It's not about waiting for the mahogany desk.  What do you need to get started?  I was re-reading Austin Kleon's book, Steal Like an Artist last night.  He recommends taking a 20 dollar bill and spending it in the office supply aisle.  Bring your supplies home.  Set up a space and see what happens.  It can ALL begin (even if you don't know what the ALL is - we never know by the way) there, here, anywhere...