The heater in my basement-level art studio broke, and, as it's February here in the Pacific Northwest, I found this to be the perfect excuse not to paint.
Was I looking for reasons to abandon my practice? After all, couldn't I bundle up warm or borrow a space heater from a friend? If not for one looming deadline to finish a painting set for submission to a gallery's open call, it would have been so easy to take a break from painting until the new heater part came in.
Yet, by this point in my artistic life, I've learned that painting is a muscle that needs to be worked, even if it's just in a sketchbook or something you don't intend to show. In fact, making something "for your eyes only" is a fantastic exercise because the most incredible art breakthroughs happen when you're willing to take risks.
I'm typing these thoughts on a new clicky wireless keyboard. I've always loved a responsive keyboard, and for years, I have found it difficult to type on my laptop's sleek, flushed keys. Yet another obstacle to my practice, this time, my writing practice! For whatever reason, I've been letting minor inconveniences derail me—enough of that.
I'm sitting in my cold studio, bundled up warm with a cup of hot tea next to me and typing on my new clicky keyboard. The takeaway? If something is standing in the way, no matter how insignificant, do what needs to happen to remove the obstacle to keep going on your path. I'm hopeful that my heater will be fixed soon. In the meantime, I will drink endless cups of hot tea and do jumping jacks to keep warm, but I will be painting.