Achieving Flow: the Pomodoro Technique

I love painting faces. Every face is a new challenge. As I become more and more absorbed in the task, years of studying facial structure, expression, color theory, watercolor technique, and anatomy emerge and seamlessly offer me solutions to problems one stroke, one moment at a time. I feel like a painting superhero. 

And then when it’s over, it’s…over. I go back to thinking about the energy bill or washing dishes or doing the laundry. Life continues.

This experience is common to all people, and yet it yields uncommon results. It has been called by many names, such as “the zone” or “the pocket.” Scientists have another name for it: Flow.  Continue reading “Achieving Flow: the Pomodoro Technique”

Killer Ways to Save Time

By far, the most common reason people give me for why their painting has fallen to the wayside is that they are too busy or have no time. Totally understandable; I’m busy too. And the reasons are often perfectly legitimate: wife is pregnant, kid has the flu, working two jobs, etcetera.

To help you get back in the studio more, I’d like to offer one killer time-saving method, so you can get the daily grind over with faster and get back to painting sooner.  Continue reading “Killer Ways to Save Time”