Today is day one of blogging - Thanks for the encouragement, by the way! - and more important, it’s day one of painting this year.  I’m always amazed at how quickly my body forgets how to paint.  The first days back after a break are always painful.  This break has been long, since Thanksgiving.

So here are the tried and true steps for starting again.  

Design your re-entry.  Choose a project.  Journal what you want to accomplish.

Set the stage in the studio.  Light a candle.  Put on music.  

Do a warm up.  

Use this day as an opportunity to be more conscious in the process.  

Rediscover the paint, the colors, the brushes, the body mechanics of painting.

Give yourself peace of mind and patience as a gift.  Don’t judge or criticize the early efforts.  

Schedule a good half hour at the end of the day to lovingly prepare for the next day’s painting by setting out your plan and your studio space.