But…. I was glad that I had this pact in place. We agreed that we would paint a picture. She did one in watercolor and I did one in acrylics.Michelle and I made this art pact deal in part because sometimes you need a push to do something creative. I think that’s especially true for bloggers and freelance writers. We work a lot. We don’t keep 9-5 hours sometimes, so we don’t come home after a long day and unwind by doing crafts. We probably should, but we don’t. The professional bloggers I know are pretty driven and do a variety of things.

So having an “art pact” with someone can really help. It’s like having a workout buddy. You might still workout by yourself but if you know there is someone else there waiting for you, you will be less inclined to skip your workout.

This art pact, while it took me two months, was very motivating for me. It helped remind me to step away from the keyboard and use my creativity in a different way. I have the new picture up in our craft room, and it will help to remind me that creativity takes all forms.

So with the flowers, I’m proceeding from right to left. You see the dark purple grape looking things on the right? That’s the first stage. I like to put the background in, so when I add the top layers, it looks more natural. Then, the lighter flowers (middle) is the next stage. Finally, the flowers on the left are the final version.

Putzy. I suppose I don’t need to do it this way, but it’s the way I paint and so… there it is. The painting is the most relaxing part… and the picture is just a side benefit. Anyway, now you see the update! I’ll finish maybe this week.

I was able to finish the leaves over the weekend. I know, the whole thing doesn’t seem like something that should take as long as it does, but trust me, there is depth in these leaves! I may add a few more, but I want the focus of the picture to be the flowers. I plan to add those during the week.

My friend Michelle finished her picture. She used watercolor and I think her picture is beautiful. She’s also a great photographer so I always enjoy the stuff she captures.

I’ve always enjoyed working with acrylics. Long, long ago I worked with oils, but got a really bad chemical burn as I was cleaning up once and switched to acrylics. I’ve been using them ever since. I like that they are easily washed out, and dry faster than oils. You can’t get the depth with acrylics that you can with oils, but they are practical, a bit cheaper than oils, and also a bit brighter. I like that, too.

It’s funny that we started this art pact now, because I’m reading this great book called Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet. The book is filled with descriptions about that entire impressionist movement, and how they lived and breathed painting. The book is great and makes you want to just grab a paintbrush. Thanks to the art pact, tho, I already did!

I mentioned casually to my husband that I “really don’t have time to work on craft junk.” He reminded me that I had an hour and I loved crafting and why didn’t I just work on what I could. For some reason, I needed the push of having that half-completed picture sitting there to remind me that I had made a promise to my friend. It’s like a “working out” pact, in a way. I used to have a deal with one of my friends that we would meet at the gym three times a week. I would get up, not feel like going, and then picture her disappointment as she waited for me to get there and realized I’d stayed at home. I just couldn’t disappoint her. So I always went.

The same is true with the art pact. It helped me get into the craft room and work on the painting. As you can see, in an hour, I was able to add the flower pot. I’ve still got the flowers and leaves and finishing touches, but you can tell where I’m going with the painting a little bit better now. It might not look like a big deal yet, but there is a lot of detail I can’t capture with the camera.

The really great part about all this is that after I finished painting, I felt so much better. I wasn’t as tired and burned out. I had some renewed energy and my brain felt a bit clearer. Sometimes sitting at a computer all day trying to write and promote can leave you feeling like you’re living in a haze. But I realized once again how important it is to let the other parts of your creative personality come through.

I used to paint all the time, but for the last couple of years I’ve only been painting craft projects or dabbling on the occasional scrapbook page. I normally paint something that I have taken a picture of. I usually don’t paint the photograph exactly, but choose a piece of it and then add the rest from memory or imagination.

Anyway, since it’s the beginning of nicer weather I decided to paint a picture of hydrangeas that I took last year. The flowers were out on our patio, and they were a beautiful shade of blue/purple. To start the picture, I had to do the background first. It’s hard to see the detail on it, but I was able to paint the floorboards and the sky. This week I’ll be adding the main parts of the flowers and pot. Layer by layer I’ll finish it, but it will take a few days. Each layer needs to be finished before I add the next, and while acrylic dries much faster than oils, it still takes a bit of time.

I’ll post a final picture when I’m done, but thought you might want to see the progress thus far.

Yeah, I know, it’s hard to imagine that this will look like anything at this point. Maybe taking a look at the original picture will help:

I’ll post more as I add some layers. Stay tuned….

I try and indulge my upset-ness (which, btw, I am well aware is not really a word) and turn it into something. I think I get this from my grandma, who was never idle a day in her life. She “worked out” her frustrations and happy situations the same way: by cleaning. I do this too. But I also do some others, depending on what I’m upset about and how much anger I’m trying to get rid of. So here’s what I do.

Cleaning

This is by far my husband’s least favorite way for me to work through my frustrations. Mostly, probably, because I pull him into it, too. I will walk in a room and announce that “it’s a pig sty!” and let the cleaning begin. Also because he thinks my cleaning routines are little too much anyways, so when I really go at it when I’m upset he worries about me. He shouldn’t. Cleaning makes me feel good.

One thing I like about it is that no matter how messed up your world, you can at least get your physical space in order. How can you be upset when your refrigerator is organized properly and your bathroom has everything in its place and your closets are like an organizer’s dream? You can’t.

Writing Poetry

Some people write letters when they are angry that they don’t plan on sending. I don’t write when I’m angry so much, but when I’m hurt or upset I pour it all out. I never aim to write poetry when I’m upset, but my brain just works that way. I begin to think of metering first, and the words naturally come to fit nicely in the metered rhythm. This routine soothes me. It’s like someone singing a favorite song to me, it makes me move past any negativity. I don’t always keep or publish everything I write, though. But I enjoy the lyricism of poetry so I never feel like my time is lost.

Crafts

A lot of my fellow bloggers at b5 are some of the most amazing craftspeople in the business. They blog, craft, write books, have art exhibits, and more. So talented. So we’ve all been talking a lot about doing some crafts during these days while we are all upset. There is something very soothing about creating something beautiful with your hands. Every once in a while I type in #arttherapy in Twitter just to see what comes up. The craft projects people work on make me smile.

Crafts were my chosen method of working out my frustrations this weekend. I’m working on a few items that I’ll show here in a bit. I love working with tools when it comes to crafts. So I’m doing some soldering and embossing for two different projects. One thing I never do anymore when I’m upset is paint pictures. I used to paint a lot, but when I was angry I felt that this negative emotion actually showed in my work. I once painted a picture of birds and I swear each bird had a scowl on its face! Not good.

Baking

This is my husband’s favorite way for me to work out frustrations. I love baking, and when I’m upset I get into a baking frenzy. I make a ton of items, which, after completion I never want in the house. So he takes them to work. (I’ve heard that his coworkers enjoy this way of me working through my frustrations.) Before I was married, I worked with a few crazy people that were trying to get on my last nerve, and I baked every single night. Then I’d bring it in my baked goods. It got to the point where people were actually waiting for me to come in some mornings. They’d have concern on their faces, “How was your night?” and then they’d immediately grab my item (bread, cake, cookies) and head off into the kitchen. How can you stay frustrated when that happens?