It's good to Procrastinate .. Really!

Thanks to Clint Watson for turning procrastination into a good thing.  Whew, I do have a good habit!  I'm posting this so you don't have to go to Clint's site, but you should subscribe to this newsletter if you don't already.

 

Why Great Artists Should Procrastinate

by Clint Watson

This article is by Clint Watson,  former art gallery owner/director/salesperson and founder of FineArtViews. You should follow Clint on Twitter here.
Update - 8/17/2010 - fixed some typos and reworked some sections of this essay to make my points more clear.

Not long ago in a BrushBuzz discussion thread , I wrote:

I find the best way to be productive is to simply ignore all the stuff I "should" do and just do the thing I want to do ^[1].

Unfortunately that has resulted in a file cabinet full of months of accounting that is backlogged. But I still feel WAY more productive when I create "art" (code). In the end, it's not that hard to catch up on bank reconciliations - it's a lot harder (impossible) to get that creative spark back if you don't strike while the iron is hot.   - (Clint Watson)

Let's explore that idea further.  I'm often accused of being a procrastinator.  Yesterday, my wife accused me of being "artistic" in my ability to procrastinate.  When she said that, I don't think she meant it as a compliment, but perhaps, if you think about it, it was one.

Consider what Paul Graham wrote about procrastination :

There are three variants of procrastination, depending on what you do instead of working on something: you could work on (a) nothing, (b) something less important, or (c) something more important. That last type, I'd argue, is good procrastination....Good procrastination is avoiding errands to do real work.   - (Paul Graham)

To those whose work isn't creative, that last bit sounds like a hollow excuse, after all, errands and accounting are "real work" in a sense.  But, I suspect that most people, even non-creatives, would agree that errands and accounting constitute "small stuff", which implies that some other types of work besides errands and accounting must be something closer to "big stuff".  So let's distill what Paul said into a more general concept:

"Good procrastination is avoiding small stuff to do big stuff."

Of course, that's meaningless without some definitions.  Fortunately, Paul provides us with a good definition of "small stuff" - "What's 'small stuff?'", he asks, "Roughly, small stuff is work that has zero chance of being mentioned in your obituary. " This statement, necessarily, means "big stuff" must be work that has a good chance of being mentioned in your obituary.

The problem is that none of us really know, ahead of time, which works are going to be "obituary worthy" and which are going to be crap.  We have to invest the time and energy to create them to find out.

Every artist produces some crap artwork.  I've sure written a lot of crap code in my day.

Unfortunately, you don't get to choose to create only the good ones.  If you want to produce the diamonds, you have to produce the crap.  Therefore, your only choice, if you want to do great work, is to produce all of them.

And if you have to produce all of them to get the "obituary worthy" diamonds, then the way to create the greatest art possible is to stop whatever you're doing and create every single time inspiration strikes.  Remember:  It's not that hard to catch up on bank reconciliations - it's impossible to get that creative spark back if you don't strike while the iron is hot.
So, when does inspiration strike and can we control it?

Gwen Stefani says it much more eloquently than I can:

Sometimes it's so hard to find what it is I'm trying to say. people might think you can turn creativity on and off, but it's not like that. It just kind of comes out. A mash up of all these things you collect in your mind. You never know when it's gonna happen, but when it does...it's like magic. It's just that simple and it's just that hard. - (Gwen Stefani)

If what Gwen said above is true, and, in my experience, it is, then the answer is no - we can't control when inspiration strikes.  And that means that when it does, we must be prepared to drop our plans and follow it.


So let's summarize my hypothesis:

If, to maximize your chances of creating great art, you have to pursue inspiration every time it strikes and, if you never know when it's going to strike, then, to produce great work, you will, necessarily have to "blow off" some tasks if you want to take advantage of that inspiration. 

So you tell me - when inspiration does strike, should you head to the studio and start creating or should you run errands?

And the funny thing is, the more you create, the more it happens.  It's a self-sustaining feedback loop.  So, for those who do great work, inspiration strikes a lot. ^[2]  Therefore, a lot of the stuff creative-types "should" be doing gets "procrastinated." And the more creative one becomes, the more likely the other things (the "small stuff") are to be put off.

And, consequently, the rest of the world thinks that artists are "flakey."

But now you know that's really a compliment.

Go change the world,

Clint Watson

--------
Footnotes
[1] By "want to do" I meant more broadly - the "great work I want to do."  I'm not saying that you can simply drop everything and drink margaritas on the beach because that's what you "want to do."

[2]  Even with the best of intentions, inspiration still sometimes strikes at the most inopportune moments.  It's impossible to always drop everything and act on it.  I picture a great warehouse out in the cosmos full of great work that was never realized because the spark was not acted upon.  It makes me a little sad to think that those "lost" great works are denied from this world forever.

----------------------------------------------
This article appears courtesy of FineArtViews by Canvoo,
a free email newsletter about art, marketing, inspiration and fine living for artists,
collectors and galleries (and anyone else who loves art).

This article originally appeared at:
http://fineartviews.com/blog/22217/why-great-artists-should-procrastinate

For a complimentary subscription, visit: http://www.fineartviews.com

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Jenna's Armadillo in Watercolor

I never would have thought of painting or sketching an armadillo.  My grandkids and I made some Christmas ornaments one year when they were visiting.  That is twenty five years or so in the past.  Yikes!

Jenna Hestekin  furnished the photos for the April Challenge on wetcanvas in the Southwest Forum.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1479396

Jenna is so talented.  Sketching, painting, wire sculpture, author and more.  We are reading her latest book, Bicker and Soolivans.  Gene finished and I'm reading now.  Very good, Civil War days.   Check out her art and writing.  (http://thecozyred.wordpress.com/)

I chose her armadillo to sketch/paint for the Challenge.  (click image to see larger)

Jenna's Armadillo

Watercolor and Ink

12 x 9 inches in a watercolor sketchbook

Armadillos are not too pretty and such an odd looking creature.  I'm fairly pleased with the sketch.  I need background and shadow work.  That means I have to do more watercolors, right?  One of these days.... (me procrastinating)

________________________________________

Gene put this quote in his journal today. 

“Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.”― Mark Twain

That is perfect for me, the procrastinator.  Procrastination, good or bad?  See this post I put up in 2010 with an article by Clint Watson.  You may find procrastination is good.

https://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/search?q=procrastination

The links in the article from 2010 seem to work.  You can sign up for Clint's news here.

No Procrastination Today

Saturday was a beautiful day for procrastinating after a trip to the skin doctor, all clear now.  Our generation has lots of skin pre-cancer stuff as we didn't have sunscreen and didn't stay out of the sun!

We came home and I sat on the tailgate of the car and sketched out the open garage door (which works now).

For Scavenger Hunt 53  https://creativespark.art/threads/scavenger-hunt-from-life-53-jan10-18.5038/

Number 4 road scene - down the street from the garage.  Micron 03 and watercolor in the Canson watercolor sketchbook, 9 x 12 inches.  Sketched outside and watercolor added inside.

Number 5 machine from the garage - I brought the saw in with me after the sketch out in the garage.  Sketched in the ArtStreet sketchbook, 8.5 x 11 inches with a Micron 03.

 

Now to clean off my computer desk as I can enter all the stuff lying her undone..... maybe get organized again.  That is, if I do not resort to procrastination.

Bag Blog, Lou, sent me this:

"Productive procrastination:  (n.) Doing stuff to keep yourself busy while avoiding what really needs to be done."

We compete for  "Top Procrastinator". 

Pastel Sketch - Apples

I sketched for Scavenger Hunt 399  http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1375890  on Canson paper with my pastels.  It looks like my daily pastel practice will be "almost" daily as I didn't do one yesterday.  Anytime I do practice, it is a good thing.    I spent about 30 minutes on this apple.  I used the same apple for the whole and the slices as the challenge on the Hunt was to sketch a piece of fruit whole and cut or opened.

Number 2, fruit - challenge to sketch it whole and cut or open.    I choose an apple.  We had pears and nectarines, too.  Apples is what I paint when I don't know what to paint.  I like the color and the challenge of making them look like individuals.

I have a lot to do today.  I am donating a painting to the Bastrop Fine Arts Guild for their fundraiser.  It will be a raffle item and I am making the tickets, too.  I make a card with for the back that doubles as a certificate of authenticity and has info for the winner.  I will post about that when done.  It is due to be at the Guild Gallery tomorrow.

It is Longhorn baseball day and they are in Nebraska today, so will listen to the game on the internet.  They lost their games on Friday and Saturday.  Maybe rooting for them long distance will help!  Hook 'em Horns.

I am also still working on taxes in between other things.

My "horror-scope" may help today:

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Procrastination gets a bad reputation, but sometimes it’s the best answer to the problem. Today procrastination will help you manage life.

I am a bit confused on how procrastination can help.  We shall see!

Gene puts a quote in his journal every day.  Recently there was one that said, "Most people put off until tomorrow what they should have done yesterday." --Edgar Watson Howe

That is more like me.  Ha!

The True Me

Hi there, go look at Teresa's blog, Blueberries, Art and Life. I'm sure someone wrote about me!

http://blueberriesartlife.blogspot.com/2010/02/too-cute-not-to-share.html

And then, Jeanette, Illustrated Life, posted an article to help me get over this procrastination rut .. sounds like a plan.

http://illustratedlife.blogspot.com/2010/02/procrastination.html

Free Sketch

 It was another warm day so sketched in the physical therapy place while Gene had his workout.  Nothing really fun for the list items so chose to do my "free space 1" of the counter.

For Scavenger Hunt from Life 129  https://creativespark.art/threads/scavenger-hunt-from-life-129-sep-08-sep-16.7254/

Number 1, free space - counter in the Canson travel sketchbook with plain paper and the Acurit 03 pen.

Another warm day.  The hurricane is far away so no rain, just hot and muggy.  We will see what I find to sketch today.

Lou Baggett and I are always competing at our procrastination level, she sent me a photo from facebook with this quote:

"To all the people that always said I'd never amount to anything because of my procrastination: 
JUST YOU WAIT"

It is the anniversary of the 911 terrorists bombing in New York.  Thinking of that and the victims and the first responders that tried to save them.  Also all the survivors that had health problems and all the families.  Now Israel is going through the same type situation.  Thinking of them as well.  

 

Which reminds me that you can vote yourself into socialism but you can't vote your way out.

Sketching in the Dark

It is still dark and gloomy, so I sketched at the dining table to have light.  We have lots of windows, but still dark.  Sure happy we bought this house.  

Number 6 metal and 7 glass - sugar container
Number 8 plastic - pill container
Numbe 9 fabric - table cloth from Bolivia

Sketched in the ArtStreet sketchbook with a Micron 02 and added colored pencil.  The fabric is so much more brilliant but would take lots of time to "color".  

Saw a new procrastination sign, "If good things come to those who wait .... isn't procrastination a virtue?"

James Gurney has a great sketch and weather note a couple of days ago on his blog:

http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2023/04/i-deal-with-what-happens.html

Weather was always so important at the ranch.  Life depends on the rain so we checked every day.  In New Mexico when it rained we always got in the car to go see how much and where it rained.  My dad could tell from the color of the muddy water and how fast it was going where and how much.  

We have had a little over 4.5 inches in the last couple of days.  That will help the wildflowers and our ponds for the fish, frogs, turtles and other wildlife that use the water.

Hope you are having weather that helps and are not in the bad storms this week.

Thinking of all y'all.

Procrastination and Sketches

I often speak of how I procrastinate, especially putting something off so long that I forget about what I meant to do.  This quote makes me feel even guiltier than normal.  

 “Procrastination is the thief of time.”- Edward Young

Oops.  I doubt that will keep me from procrastinating, right?

 

I did sketch yesterday and today in the big book with the Sharpie Pen.

For Scavenger Hunt 694, continuing with the Texas town theme.

https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/topic/scavenger-hunt-694-sept-15-sept-23/page/3/

Number 4 Orange - the orange Texas cup.  You can see it in color on this post:

https://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/2018/05/out-with-pastels.html

Number 5 Turkey - sub poultry seasoning I use for dressing when we have turkey
Number 6 Comfort - soft pillows on the couch
Number 7 Hook - the longhorn on the cup, Texas says, "Hook 'em Horns!"

Number 8 Point - some push point pins
Number 9 Tool - a paper punch

*********

The folks that have wetcanvas are talking of shutting it down in a few months.  When they changed it last time we lost many of the artists.  If we have to change forums as a group, we may loose more artists including me.  New site, new friends and a big learning curve.  I think I'm getting too old for change.  Sigh.....

Another Lazy Day

It is pretty cold, in the 40s this morning, and windy.  Not a good day to be out and about.  We are having too many of these lazy days and Hallmark movie days.  Besides the lazy part, my procrastination takes over and pushes me toward  ....  well, nothing.

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. - Don Marquis

This quote from one of my puzzles "inspired" me to check the list which came out yesterday for Scavenger Hunt 574
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21533518

It is an alphabetical list by EP, a Canadian sketcher.  For Y she put "yesterday - sketch a scene from memory that happened yesterday.  Besides Gene and I sitting around we had the Honeybee cleaners in to clean the house.  That is more interesting than Gene and I doing nothing.  I just sketched in the big book with a Micron 01 fine line marker/pen.

Number 1, yesterday - Honeybee wiping the baseboards
Number 2, hairbrush and Number 3, nail or fingernail

That took care of Y, H and N.  Only 23 more to go.....

I had sketched one of the Honeybees in December 2017 from life.  Believe it or not, I didn't look at this before I started today and almost sketched the girl with the long duster again.  Good thing, I have a new sketch in the big book.

TGIF (Thank goodness its finished!) Sketches Slide Show

I finished the Art House Sketchbook and Gene mailed it off for me.

It was an interesting project to work on. I have never been able to keep a diary or journal. This blog is as close as I have ever come to a daily record. I post over 300 posts in 2009 which was great for me. This sketch project was a commitment that I wasn't sure I could do either, but I finished. Whew! They moved the original deadline from December to January. The extension only spurred on my procrastination. I just slowed down my sketches and still had to rush at the end.

Here is a slide show of the cover and sketches for the project. I still have to upload the photos to the Project site. I wish it was as easy as Picassa so I could load them all at once instead of one at a time. Ah well.It is fun to see them all in one spot.

You can click on the slideshow and go to my Picassa page where you can see them all together or one at a time in larger format.

Maggie Stiefvater's New Book, "Ballad", Contest

This is a teaser from Maggie Stiefvater's BALLAD, a novel involving homicidal faeries and kissing that's coming out October 1st.

He turned towards me. For a long moment, he stood facing me. I was held, anchored to the ground – not by his music, which still called and pushed against the music already in my head and said grow rise follow – but by his strangeness. By his fingers, spread over the ground, holding something into the earth, by his shoulders, squared in a way that spoke of strength and unknowability, and most of all, by the great, thorny antlers that grew from his head, spanning the sky like branches.

Then he was gone, and I missed his going in the instant that the sun fell off the edge of the hill, abandoning the world to twilight.

Buy it here. Enter the contest at Maggie's blog here




Boy, does Maggie make it easy to enter a contest! You just copy and paste and comment on her blog. You can win a copy of her book or a CD of the music she wrote. You all know she is so amazing. If you are one of the few that don't know about her, be sure and take a look at this author, artist, musician, composer, butt kicker, and the future Queen.

You artists can visit Maggies "old" blog and learn sooooo much about art, motivation, procrastination and the business side of art.

Are you an artist? Am I? , etc.

I think we all go through periods of self doubt and self criticism. The doubt comes crawling into my life when I am not busy,well, art busy, more than other times. When I have deadlines, meetings and shows, there is no time to wonder. Right now, I have plenty of time on my hands.

Most doubt is self inflicted as you probably already know. Part of it is the lack of sales, competitions, and again, the busy part of art. But, do sales, prizes and frenzy make me an artist? I should be savoring this slow time and be studying and practicing. There, I found the problem. Procrastination and no self motivation.

I know if I get busy on something, anything, ... sketching? Then all will be right again. So why am I sitting here? Off to find the little light to get me going. I will start by working on updating my web page.

Here is a link to an article on EmptyEasel by Denise Ivey Telep, "Have Confidence in your Artistic Calling", that got me thinking about this. EmptyEasel.com has so many interesting and helpful articles and instruction. I subscribe to the newsletter, maybe you do, too.

Ah, I feel better already. I never wonder when I am painting, interesting, huh?

And before I go, here is a sketch I did while Gene was biking on his birthday. I started it at one stop and finished at the next one.

Highway 180 Birthday View
7 x 10 inches, Pilot Pen

Also a sketch for Scavenger Hunt 98 that I didn't get posted until today. Sigh.

Number 7, something that grows or hangs on a tree. I started this in Silver City and finished it in El Paso. I took the pine cone with me and left it in the hotel room. Wonder what they thought?

And a roadrunner along the way on Highway 10 near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Here is a link to the Desert Exposure story about the giant bird made by artist, Olin Calk. The bird is about 20 feet tall and 40 or more feet long and made of recycled stuff, trash.

Another view along Highway 10 today. The desert is so green and lush at the moment. Hard to believe there are so many flowers and beautiful sights. The yucca blooms are gone, they were beautiful back in July when we got here.

Where Oh Where

Where have I been?  Just life and my land of procrastination, like always.  I'm hosting the Scavenger Hunt and it started on the 11th and I'm just posting my first sketch.  Sigh......

 For Scavenger Hunt from Life 170  https://creativespark.art/threads/scavenger-hunt-from-life-170-sep-11-sep-23.8239/ 

Number 1, footwear - assorted feet at Gene's PT.  Fast as the people come and then go workout. So not sitting or standing long.  In the big Conda Sketchpad, about half a page with an Ohuhu pen .2

I got a clever birthday card from our friends, Byrd and Street.  Here is the front:

 Then inside it said:  "Don't think too hard on your birthday ... just celebrate!"

The drawing on the envelope was cute, too.

My cousin sent a great one, too.  Handmade by a senior in assisted living. 

 Inside it said, "This is your day, Enjoy!" with a big red heart.  

Both cards were fun and thoughtful.   My birthday went on for a couple of weeks along with Gene's. We started over Labor Day and had lunch again last Saturday.  Fun and nice to be with friends and family.  When we traveled in the summer we would celebrate our individual birthdays together and then with family when we got home, so this year was similar.

I also got a beautiful handmade sketchbook, with handmade paper with New Orleans picture on the front.  Its about 6 x 9 inches.  Very nice.  Like the coffee table book, I will have to think before sketching!  No messing around!

Our main celebration was with our family when David and Lisa were here.  We went to the Saxon in Austin to see George Ensle.  You may remember he wrote a song for Gene on his 75th birthday.  Joanna got him to sing it in his show.  Gene was so happy to hear it in person!  We know some nice folks that are singer songwriters.  We ate at Matt's El Rancho, https://mattselrancho.com/index.htm  lots of history there, interesting read.  We hadn't been there in 25 years or so.  It was good but a bit noisy on a Saturday afternoon.  It's huge now.
 

Sketching Red and Green, Hunt 112

Hard to believe it is Scavenger Hunt 112, how time flies. I got in a couple of sketches last evening. The list is not really for Christmas, but has ordinary items found around the house and some decorations fit. I sketched with my green and my red Micron 005 pens in my regular Cachet Studio Blank Book, 7 x 10 inch pages.


Number 1, something green. We had the undecorated tree up. Lots of green there. 22 minutes, I actually timed it for a change. Number 2, something red. An apple tree decoration and red curly ribbon. This was about 20 minutes as well, a guess on time which is more normal for me.

During the holidays it is hard to find time for sketching or anything extra .. especially if you are prone to procrastination and just plain lazy. I did get the Christmas tree up. It is different this year, I will post a photo later.

We got a couple of packages mailed, so I guess that is progress. Hope you are checking off your list and making progress, too!

Recycling Article

We "may" close on the house today!!  Wouldn't that be great?  In the meantime here is an article that may just help your Monday.  I think we all lack confidence at some point.  I'm really working on that.  No apologies or excuses for my work.  Just be happy with doing the kind of painting I enjoy.   Now to figure out what that is.   Hmmm........

Confidence

by Keith Bond

There is a delicate balancing act between fear and confidence. An artist needs a healthy balance between the two extremes. I know artists who are extremely gifted and create masterful works, but completely void of confidence. I know other artists who have almost no skill, yet they are totally confident. Then, of course, there are those who are good and know it and there are those who realize that they don’t have what it takes. The best place to be is somewhere in the middle. [...]

Read the rest of this article at:
http://fineartviews.com/blog/37136/confidence

----------------------------------------------
This excerpt appears courtesy of FineArtViews Art Marketing Newsletter by FASO,
a free email newsletter about art, marketing, inspiration and fine living for artists,
collectors and galleries (and anyone else who loves art).


For a complimentary subscription, visit: http://www.fineartviews.com


**PS added at 11:00 a.m. on Monday.

After reading through  the blogs I follow, I found another article to help your Monday go smoother, too.  Scott Tillett  posted this article about procrastination.

Have a good day, all.

Procrastination, It is Then...... or Sketching

I just can't get motivated.  No real reason.  I looked through hundreds of photos yesterday and the day before to try to find something to paint.  It shouldn't be that hard, right?

I did sketch for Scavenger Hunt 343.  It is the last day for this Hunt.  I finished the 7 x 10 inch Canson sketchbook.  Yay!  That is something!  (We have been watching "Soap" on DVDs that Jennie gave us for Christmas. "That is something!" was a comment from Jessica many times. It has been fun to see the old shows.)

Number 7, on the floor - basket with Number 8, environmental - paper to recycle.
Number 9, box - the boxes waiting for Christmas decorations to fill them somehow.  Is there a reflexive verb in Spanish for that?  I always like the verb: caer, to fall.  You say, "Se me cayó el libro".  It means "I dropped the book" but literally it is "the book fell from me".  The book gets the blame!  I wish my boxes would fill up for me.  I blame them for just sitting there!

I am hosting the new Hunt 344. The host lists 26 items and you sketch as many or few as you have time for. The Hunt lasts for 9 days, from January 10 to January 18.   Post what you can.  Comment if you have time.  Come on over and sketch with us.  Here is my list for the Hunt:

Scavenger Hunt #344: Jan 10-18
Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Pretties by Scott Westerfield
Art by Yasmina Reza
Holes by Louis Sachar
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Room by Emma Donoghue
Cosmos by Carl Sagan
Hunger by Knut Hamsun
Eggs by Jerr Sinelli
Fishbowl by Sarah Mlynowski
Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Page by Tamora Pierce
Cell by Stephen King
Evergreen by Belva Plain
Chess by Stefan Zweig
Socks by Beverly Cleary
Bifocal by Deborah Ellis
Blankets by Craig Thompson
Snow by Orhan Pamuk
Bookends by Jane Green
Butter by Erin Jade Lange
Curtain by Agatha Chrisie
Reflections by R.S. Novelle 

These are one word book titles, feel free to sketch the item or a related item. Here are a few extra for challenges:
Kaleidoscope by Danielle Steele
Cane by Jean Toomer
Violin by Anne Rice
Thunderhead by Mary O'Hara
Jaws by Peter Benchley
Jazz by Toni Morrison
Have fun!!

I haven't actually read the books so don't know what they are about, you just sketch the word or something related, like "Uglies" could be a worn out something, trash, etc.  I don't have a kaleidoscope, so maybe I could sketch something multicolored with a pattern/design??  Eggs, maybe sketch eggs.  You get the idea.

Meandering Sketches

I sketched out on the porch this morning.  It was 76 degrees and very muggy.  Time for us to get out of the heat.

This painting, Mountain Scene, acrylic on Pastelbord, 11 x 14 inches, beckons from near Nelson in British Columbia.  We won't get that far west, but in the area around the Great Lakes there will be lots of water and beautiful trees.  You go around a curve and have to stop to see the "most beautiful" vista.  Then around another curve and, "No, wait, this is the more beautiful!"   We are looking forward to the cool weather and revisiting some old haunts.

I sketched out on the porch this morning in the big book, Micron 05, for Scavenger Hunt 454 http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1406899
Number 11, landscape - toward our more westerly lake/pond
Number 12, too big to fit in the car - the trailers and Gene's shed

My mind has been meandering all around.  My body seems to procrastinate about getting ready for our trip even though my mind says, "Get with it!"  You know I am the queen of procrastination.

Our internet is still so intermittent as well.  We need to update apps, etc., and it won't stay on very long.  Goes off and comes back which is OK for reading stuff and posting, but not for downloading or watching any sort of video.  Guess we will try the satellite again when we get back from our trip.  It is very expensive.  That is what you get living in the boonies.  Scattered internet and phone service.  We are half a mile from cable which is supposedly not great anyway.  At the end of wireless phone service.  Landline phone is available but we are too far from the box to get DSL.  Don't we have it rough?

Trade offs, right?  We have beautiful views, a beautiful, comfortable home.  Good neighbors that aren't too close.  Out of town but close enough to go to Austin for "culture" or hospitals.  Lots of music and local restaurants.


Mind, quit meandering!  Body get to work!

Hunting on My Own

Quiet here today.  Gene rode his trike on a short ride so I sketched on the porch, on my own.  It was really nice yesterday to go out with Joan.  I always recommend painting/sketching with friends.

Scavenger Hunt 598  http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1469552

I put the items to sketch on a log and decided to add it in but the thunder came up and it looked like rain so I hurried and came in just as Gene got back.  Out about 40 minutes total, 30 or so sketching.

Number 1, salt shaker
Number 2, silver - mug found with the wine glasses - a vodka promotion.  I never heard of Chuck Wagon Vodka ... you??
Number 3, sweet or sugary - a Nutter-Butter cookie

For myself and my procrastinator followers, I got a new saying from my granddaughter (source unknown).

Procrastination is totally a good thing.  You always have something to do tomorrow, plus you have nothing to do today.

We will go out for an early dinner, haven't decided where.  It is a no cooking day!

Sketches, Jenna's Pigs and More Procrastinating

I sketched yesterday in the big sketchbook for Scavenger Hunt 377.  http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1361739  I sketched on the bottom of the page where I sketched for Hunt 376 so just carried on with the numbers.  Sigh....

This should read: Number 1, keys two kinds.  I do have the right date.

You may remember that I was posting about procrastination the other day.  I'm still at it, procrastinating that is.  I wanted to mention that in the post by Jann Alexander http://austindetails.me/2014/09/03/just-create/ that I really liked number 1 and number 3.

Number 1 suggests you make your studio or painting area into a sort a a refuge, a place you want to go to escape, a place you want to be.  I'm going to work on this.  Gene and I tend to put things in here (my studio where I am) when we don't know where else to put them.  It gets cluttered and I put off cleaning/straightening it up it, so I put off creating. That is one excuse at least.

Number 3 is selective avoidance, sort of reverse psychology, if you will.  Have something to do that you don't want to do and you procrastinate by painting or creating.  That should work great for me, don't you think?


In the Southwest and Western forum on wetcanvas.com, we were commenting on some of Jenna's wire sculptures of pigs and we were wondering what a group of pigs is called.  It is not simple.  I found a definition on this page by the USGS.
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/about/faqs/animals/names.htm

Here is what they had:  Pigs:  A drift, drove, litter (young), sounder (of swine), team, passel (of hogs), singular (refers to a group of boars)

Some of the names are quite interesting:  

• A rafter or gang of turkeys.  
• An army of frogs but a knot of toads.
• A murmuration of starlings
• A shiver of sharks.  

You can see (and buy) some of Jenna's neat sculptures on her blog, The Cozy Red:

http://thecozyred.wordpress.com/2014/09/07/a-pig-a-peacock-and-a-giraffe/

Older Than Dirt

It is getting harder and harder to multitask or at least do more than one thing a day.  If I sketch, I don't paint, etc.  Before I would sketch as a warm up to painting.  I'm not sure why.  Could be age.  In a few days I will be 79, older than dirt.  Yikes.  Am I starting to feel old?  When the virus started and they were telling "old people" to stay home and be so careful, Gene and I were offering to help our neighbors.  Oops!  We are the old folks.

What I'm getting to, I suppose, is that I haven't posted sketches and other artful happenings.  I have the last two sketches for Scavenger Hunt 692 and now it is Hunt 693. I sketched them on September 4 and 5 but didn't get them posted.  I worked on fixing the little pastel painting sometime in between then and now.  I will post that later.  Otherwise what have I done?  Procrastinated.  

Bag Blog sent me a quote in the comments the other day, "Always put off thinking today about something I can possibly forget tomorrow."  It is in the comments here for credit to the author:

https://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/2021/09/flag-and-heroes.html

Coincidentally I had this one in a puzzle the same day: Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. - Don Marquis

#5 glass - jars  #6  metal - cookie tins   #7 wood - chopping block

#8 hot - Hot Shot Pepper  #9 hard - hard candy #10 soft - tissue

So that is the finishing touch for Hunt 692. 

Mornings have been nice on the porch for coffee and sometimes sketching.  These guys were out there when I was sketching the glass and hot.  Today it was just my coffee and banana bread and the view.

Going forward to today.......    Gene is off on his trike soon and I will ride the stationary bike and ...... procrastinate some more.