This is the message my client sent me after she saw her painting, in person, for the very first time. 

As I write this I can feel the emotion rising again.  I feel so blessed.  She was speechless.  The painting that I created, from scratch, from simply my inspiration, moved her.  It moved me.  I feel the impact of this work.  Sharing delight and beauty with clients.  

This is the painting.  |Luscious White | 18 x 30" Oil on Canvas.  

There are many hours in the studio, while I'm working on my own, that I lose sight of the bigger picture.  Ooh that's a pun.  The process that I immerse myself in, for hours on end, can feel so removed from the impact of that creation.  However, you need to know that I'm addicted.  I love the feel of oil paint on my brush, the glide of beautiful colour sliding across the canvas, the subtle nuance and change in colour that brings the whole piece into 3-D reality.  This process still amazes me.  I can transform a 2-D canvas surface into the impression of a 3-D image.  It's quite an amazing process. 

What's even more surprising, is that my paintings have an emotion, or rather they can cause an emotional reaction from the viewer, bringing us closer to intimacy and true presence in the moment.  

I feel so blessed. 

Are you curious what else I've created?  Come have a look. 
Click here to be directed to my website. 

Do you have a piece of art that's moved you? I heard from a woman in the UK, how she saw a painting of cherry blossoms in bloom a few years ago and she can still remember how it made here feel.  She is still kicking herselt for not purchasing it right then. Ahh, the regret of the painting that got away. 

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Procrastination is not necessarily a bad thing.  It could mean we don't have enough information.  It could also mean we don't want to do the thing, by we I mean our creative muse.  We could also be tired, angry, sad, hungry, or any other state that needs our attention.  Procrastination in itself is not a bad thing. 

The key is figuring out why you are avoiding the thing that you want or need to get done. 

Sometimes it's simple overwhelm.  Too many details running around in your head that you can't make sense of.  For me, I use a system of organizing my work and predicting the time each one of my pieces will take to complete.  This really helps me because even though I may not meet all the timing perfectly, I do meet it most of the time.  Over time I've been able to adjust my expectation and my scheduling to better fit my actual speed and desire.  This is super helpful when commissions come in because I can better predict a completion date for a client. 

When you are making those completion date prediction make sure to tell you client a date that is further out than you actually need, so that you can surprise them with an earlier completion date. Underpromise and overdeliver when you can. 

Now I'm not a numbers person.  This may be you too.  What I've figured out how is how to use numbers to my advantage.  

I use a very simply, free program (https://clockify.me/) to track the actual time I spend on a painting.  I can then calculate the square inches of that painting and I arrive at my per square inch painting speed.  (This will be a ballpark number as more complicated paintings will be slower)

9x12" painting = 108 square inches.  13.5 hours to paint = 810 minutes. 
810/108= 7.5 minutes per square inch. 

How many days a week are you painting and how many hours per day? 

2 hours of painting 4 days a week = 480 minutes @ 7.5 minutes per square inch you can paint 64 square inches in a week.  

See how this works.  You next painting is 240 square inches
240 x 7.5 = 1800 / 60 minutes = 30 hours @ 2 hours/day = 15 days. 

Now go to your calendar and mark down those 15 days.  This will give you a really good idea of the commitment that is needed each day, each week, each month to actually achieve your goal. 

Do you see how empowering this becomes?  This will help your goal setting so much. 

As I said in the video I used to over predict what I could get done in a month and then be sadly disappointed when I didn't reach my goal. My goal was unreachable with the number of hours I was able to paint.  I wasn't doing anything wrong - which my inner critic was happy to tell me, I was simply setting a goal too large for what I could actually complete. 

With these numbers in place, I was able to set more realistic goals, meet my goals and reduce the procrastination that the overwhelm was causing.  

I could look at my calendar and know exactly what I had to accomplish that day. 

Keep in mind some days things go sideways, unexpecteds things crop up.  It's okay, simply adjust as necessary. If you are having to adjust too often then maybe your daily goals are out of line, or your commitment to your work needs to be adjusted.  

Either way you get to decide and make adjustment however you feel necessary.  This is your business and your career after all. 

Leave me a comment below.  Let me know how this resonates with you.  What are your challenges in setting goals?  

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