As the date of the beginning of my 30 day, one painting a day challenge approaches I find my self beginning to feel a bit anxious. All the crazy, “What if I fail?” nonsense comes to the surface. And then there’s, “What if I succeed?”

So I’m a planner. I like to have all my ducks in a row. 

1. I have my list of 31 symbols of Christmas ready to make daily decisions on what to paint on the Christmas cards I’ll be making. 
2. I’ve researched them. That way I know what to say about why I think each particular item is a symbol of Christmas, and what the Christian significance is from my standpoint.
3. I have plenty of watercolor greeting cards on hand to paint on, even if I need to toss a couple and start over—oh yes, that’s a possibility. I have matching envelopes and the cellophane sleeves to protect them with.
4. I have mailing envelopes- only 7 right now, so I’ll need to get more before the end of next week. Add that to my shopping list.
5. Prepare my studio….

Well, that kind of came out of no where. I’ve been painting on Yupo paper for the past couple of months. When I do that I lay down an area of water, and then paint into it so the pigment can move around easily and combine into fabulous and unique color and texture.  What had been happening, was that my table wasn’t level, and so I was having to prop the boards up to try to keep the paint on the paper. It was driving me crazy, and if I was going to complete a painting each day, I didn’t want to fight a literal up hill battle.

I live in an older home. I think it was built in the 60’s. I love it. I also know that over time, ground shifts, foundations sink a bit, and it’s common to have sloping floors. My table was on an outside wall, so I logically thought if I moved it to the inside wall I would have a better chance of finding level ground.

Have you seen my studio? My studio is filled with supplies, my mailing station, old artwork, my greeting cards in their racks, matted prints, books, my favorite things, and pretty much really good bargains I’ve collected over the past couple of years. Simply moving my 6 ft table from one side of the room to the other was not going to magically happen.

Planning, strategy, cleaning, purging, organizing, and rehanging artwork on the walls was in order.  Did I take a day and slowly accomplish my task? No! I’m a creative, impulsive being. 

I walked in the room in my pajamas, decided I needed to see if the table fit nicely next to the door, and started moving furniture. Now mind you, I had a meeting to get to at 5pm that was 45 minutes drive from my home. I needed to take time for a shower, eating, and getting an email sent out about this whole 30 day challenge thing before I left. Piece of cake! Right….

Two bookcases and a dresser needed to be moved in order to try the table out next to the door. The table needed to be cleared off, as did the other pieces of furniture. And then you know what happens, you find out every surface needs to be cleaned. The floor needs to be swept. 

The table fit. I got rid of lots of trash, recycled empty boxes, and put lots of supplies in the closet that I rarely use. I put others in the garage that I found in the closet to make room for them.  Furniture was rearranged, my mailing station was cleaned out and streamlined, and my painting table was strategically placed.

I don’t have a level. I didn’t have a marble. I did have a little matchbox car. I put it on the far edge of the table and let it go….It quickly rolled downhill about 1/3 of the way across the table. DANG!  I put it on the closest edge to see if it rolled the other way. It didn’t. And I discovered that the slope was in the very center of the table. So by placing my painting boards toward the closest edge  and slightly away from the center I can find a level space. Thank goodness! All was not lost.

I have a new studio. It’s clean, it’s organized. The items I use most often are close at hand. I do feel better about my space, and a bit more confident about my upcoming challenge. 

Those negative thoughts aren’t totally gone, and I think that’s ok. I think it’s part of being human, and part of being a creative being. Doubts are part of life. They come up. It’s what I do with them that matters. 

I will continue to be a planner. I will give my doubts the appropriate amount of consideration. When I determine that they aren’t based in reality, and that they aren’t life threatening, I will move on and accomplish the task in front of me. 

As long as I believe in myself, my gifts, and God’s plan for me, that is all that matters.

That is the key to success. 

I'm looking forward to sharing my daily painting with you. Check of the 30 day challenge page on my website: www.druduffeyart.com each day beginning Monday September 30th to see my daily progress.