Painting Time With Tots

 This morning in an attempt to find time to paint I pulled out our kids easle from Ikea and got them going.  It is amazing to me to see the difference in their technique and dedication. My 4 yr old son ends up with grey blobs and gets so frustrated that he quickly gives up. My 2 yr old daughter ended up with over 6 ft of brightly decorated individual marks. She painted for hours and was so content.

It is frustrating for me as an artistic parent to know if or how I should help him when it comes to art. I think that his issues are mostly from perfectionism. If he cant do it just right he will not try.

My son asked me to work on my lily painting so I worked on finishing  these lilies that I began about a year ago.

 

I also pulled out my painting of Mary and suceeded in frustrating myself even further with the background. Finally I decided to model my painting in sketchup. I often used sketchup when working as an architect, so it was an easy way to figure out how my picture should look three dimensionally. It helps me see how large the child outside should look compared to Mary.

Studio tour

The last several days have produced only minor painting work but I spent time in my studio organizing and straightening up. I am not sure any real organization took place but it certainly has more clear space and looks neater. These photos still make the studio look crowded and busy but the amount of floor space I cleared out makes it alot easier to move around. I also got alot of my inspiration and artwork hung on the walls to help keep me going.

Pregnancy has been wearing me out and I have needed some time off to rest and to get the kids together with their friends.
My husband has been traveling and working a lot of overtime so I am having a hard time getting into any sort of a routine. Both housework and artwork schedules keep getting blown off course by unexpected overtime and trips. I would love to get into a rhythm that can withstand the shifts in schedule and still keep me on track with all the things I need to get done.

Do you have any suggestions for me on getting into a routine?