I recently started a daily art making practice, and when I first thought of it my mind started racing with all of the things that I could do and all of the materials that I could use. It was exciting to think about!
Oil or acrylic? Or maybe pastel? Oil stick? All of them?
I’ll start on paper. Wait no, canvas? Panel? Wood?
Big paintings make me feel things, I should go big. Or…
I’ll do portraits, or landscapes, or objects, or anything!
I could feel that familiar voice starting to creep in that reminds me (too often) that I’ll probably never start. Recalls every time that I have started, but haven’t finished. I didn’t want that to happen.
I created some simple rules for myself so that I could focus on what was important to me. Right now, that’s exploring materials and using them for long enough that I use them in different ways.
The same 5x7in Stonehenge White.
Sennelier Oil pastels in 10 colors.
Every piece framed by a circle.
Nothing that has to be observed.
No piece takes longer than 30 mins.
Reset any rule only after 30 days.
These rules have helped me to just sit down and make, every single day since starting. I simply start by making a mark to create a situation, and keep responding to the situation presented to me.
We all know constraints can help us to get started, and even to arrive at novel ideas that we might not have done otherwise. I need to remind myself constantly though, and this is my reminder to you.