When I finish something I've been working on for a while, I find I often have to build up steam for the next project. It's not that I don't want to start something new, it's more like a latent sense of disbelief, as in, "Really? I get to start another painting and finish it?" Admittedly, it's a silly thought to have but on the other hand, it's a reassurance that making pictures hasn't become blase.
As part of the process of getting geared up for starting something new, I was thinking about ways to encourage myself to get going and it occurred to me that one of the biggest things I can do is clean up my work space. Cleaning up seems to be a fairly common suggestion for improving work habits and is often connected to the adage that a cluttered space makes for a cluttered mind. Hogwash, I say! Personally, I don't buy that particular piece of folk wisdom because once my work space is clean and I'm working on something, the area very quickly becomes messy again and it doesn't stop me from optimizing my painting time (or if it does, I'm wonderfully oblivious).
So, why bother cleaning up my work space? Because otherwise organizing my desk becomes a prime source of procrastination. I tell myself that I'll start my next project after I clean up my work space. Once my desk is all cleaned up, I have nothing to stop me from starting that next painting. But until that time? Well, I can't start painting, my desk is too messy and now just isn't a good time to tidy up. Plus, the fact that I can't find the staple-gun that I need to attach the watercolour paper to the drawing board might also be a good reason to get organized.
Here's the preliminary watercolour of Cady the canine, and now that I've found my staple-gun, I can begin the final.
