Unmotivated

I felt pretty grumpy and uninspired this morning. Came out to the studio mainly to try and escape my own mood; didn't particularly work.

You know what did work? Working. I started two new paintings, giving myself permission to paint awful paintings if that was what came out. It's like what Anne Lamott says in her wonderful book on writing, Bird by Bird: 'You have to be willing to write shitty first drafts.' (When I read that the first time, I thought, "I can do that! I can write shitty first drafts!")

So this morning I sat down to paint, promising myself that I would not be too attached to the outcome. I told myself that the point was the process.

Guess what? It worked.