Shrinking to Grow

I'm currently preparing to turn a large barn into a studio. The space will be enormous - large enough to host workshops and exhibitions. It will give me the space to paint really large pieces if I want to. It has high ceilings and lots of light. But at the moment it is just a tin shed and needs insulating and plasterboarding. That work is about to start, but I need to make some demo videos for my upcoming Find Your Joy course. So, I set myself up with some small folding table and a few limited art supplies. I have no running water, so I'm using a system of buckets. 

This is my set-up:

I packed up just a few supplies from home - some small pots of paint, some smaller sheets of paper, a few brushes and knives, and a few drawing materials. And the funniest thing happened as I started packing my little box ... I actually felt excitement at the restriction. By selecting what to bring, and only allowing myself one box, I was narrowing possibilities... and that felt so refreshing.

I know I am lucky to have my current studio space. It's reasonably large and well-lit and it's very well-stocked. I know that many people envy me - I used to envy people with similar spaces myself.

But space can also be a hindrance. Too much stuff can bog you down. The simple act of paring things back down felt full of possibility.  

Upon setting up my tables and buckets, that excitement only grew. I would have to find new ways to work. I couldn't rely on my old tricks, or on drawer after drawer filled with options.

I have now filmed a few demos in this small space and I'm having so much fun. The smallness of everything has actually made new things possible.

I mention this because we so often hear about people getting large spaces and working on larger paintings, and this can lead us to think that is the only way to expand our art practice. It can also give us an excuse ("I just don't have the space to do what I want"). 

But this experience has shown me that expansiveness is possible anywhere. And that possibility is everywhere.

I think the secret (as always) lies in perspective. It's in the way you look at things. We tend as humans to have a bias towards the negative. We see what we are lacking and what we can't do. But it is possible to shift the lens and look at what we do have and what that makes possible.

If we see limitations as positive, we can allow our creativity free reign no matter what the situation. This applies to time as well as space. I have heard people say they can't paint until they retire because they just don't have the time. But my best friend Jonathan wrote a best-selling crime novel and a BBC radio series while working full-time in a primary school.

He did it by getting up at 5am to allow an hour of writing time before he had to leave for work. And he found that the time limitation actually honed his ability to focus. I feel the same way when I am working on a series of paintings. If I only have an hour, I make great strides. If I have all day, I often actually go backwards!

More time and more space does not equate to better art. It just equates to more time and more space. 

So this week, my challenge is simple. Ask yourself where a limitation is holding you back and then ask yourself: is that really true? Or is there a possibility in there for me?

I promise there is - you just have to look for it.