Day 15, 100 Happy Days: Painting!

Current works in progress.

I spent six glorious hours in my studio tonight. Six hours in my studio is not that much when I'm teaching, but to have six hours to myself is very unusual. And wonderful!

Sure there were approximately ten thousand other things that I needed to do, but I also needed to paint. Even though my business is painting, painting my own work (as opposed to painting for classes) still gets pushed to the back burner sometimes. I spend a lot of time putting out fires, trying to get the word out about my classes, or crunching numbers, and painting for myself can seem like a novelty in the face of all that. Paying bills becomes priority, and painting a distant memory.

But I forget that painting is necessary for my peace of mind. It is necessary for my happiness, for my self preservation, for balance in my life, and it's necessary for me to paint in order to be whole.

Tonight was bliss. I have several pieces that I'm working on (you really have to when you paint in oils), and I worked on a few of them. Right now I'm a bit obsessed with the night and the early morning skies.  I'm enjoying having many paintings in progress with the same theme; it allows me to explore different approaches to similar images.

I listen to a lot of music while painting. My favorite cd's of the evening were Joshua Bell's Red Violin Concerto, and Dexter Gordon's Our Man in Paris and One Flight Up. Sometimes it's good to paint to music without lyrics.

Here is Dexter Gordon's Tanya. Brilliance.

Day 14, 100 Happy Days: Holding Space

I had three awesome ladies show up for Paint Club today.  Some really wonderful people pass through my studio, but every once in awhile I meet some who I would consider kindred spirits. These three fell into that category.

We spoke the same language, and they really "got" what I'm doing in my studio. They came in and fearlessly dove into the paint (so to speak), and understood that painting is about the experience more than it is about the finished product.

They allowed themselves to be fully present.

It made me happy to be able to hold space for people to have that kind of experience. What exactly do I mean by "holding space"? To me holding space simply means providing a non-judgmental environment where people can feel safe to explore. In my studio (best case scenario), they're exploring not only the paint and what it can do, but they are also getting in touch with a part of themselves that they don't always access. Painting can really pull you inside and help you to work through things you've been holding on to. Of course, not everyone has that experience, but everyone could if they were open to it.

I'm so happy to be able to provide that opportunity.

Day 13, 100 Happy Days: Doing It Differently

Bonus happy: good food with a good friend.

Remember that episode of Seinfeld where George decided that he needed to do everything in the exact opposite way than he'd normally do? He started with changing what he ordered for lunch, which led him to introducing himself to a beautiful woman... yadda yadda, next thing you know he's landing a job with the Yankees.

Today, I decided to do things differently. Well... I've been doing them differently all week, really. Which makes me realize that once you make a change, other changes become easier. So I didn't really decide do things differently; it was more of a natural outcropping of doing them differently all week. I must say I'm getting very good results, which of course, makes me happy.

Day 12, 100 Happy Days: Gift from Students

It was a great evening. I taught a class in my studio and everyone walked away having created a really cool painting.

Five out of the seven students had been to at least one other class, and it's always great to see familiar faces.

What made me happier than a great class with great people? Two of my favorite students showed up and brought me a bottle of wine. Icing on the cake!

Day 11, 100 Happy Days: The Theory of Everything

I saw a really great movie tonight: The Theory of Everything.

I'm not going to write a review - nobody needs to read that. But I will say that this movie made my happy list today. And today, I do have a list. Some days it's a struggle to find one thing to make me happy, and others it's just one happy thing after the other. I've learned to savor those days.

Many things made me happy today, starting from the moment I got out of bed. But the movie is what rounded out the day, and it's what's sticking with me. It was inspiring, and beautiful, and thought provoking.

Also, I've been painting stars lately, so it seemed right in line with what I'm doing, somehow.

"However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there's life, there is hope.” -Stephen Hawking

Here is my latest little painting, still in progress. I started it today, and I won't be able to work on it for a few days - I need to wait for the oil paint to dry before going in for the final touches.

4"x12" Oil on Canvas ©Tabetha Hastings