Prioritising - not always easy

There are many facets to my working life so not always easy to prioritise. Why do most things appear to have the same prioity? I am a copious List Maker which helps me through the amount of things I do in a day.

My solution is to work longer and harder, which I need to do to keep ahead of my work, which continually flows in, as well as new ventures, new concepts and wonderful new challenges. I thrive on challenges and love the journey to a new destination (metaphorically speaking). Some say it is the journey, not the destination, but my destinations are the culmination of much planning and hard work, which I enjoy just as much as the journey.... in fact more, as I can actually sit back and relax once I have arrived.

I spent yesterday absorbed in my art. These days it can be a real luxury. I finished off another Bali sketch and have finished the drawing for a new botanical painting, a Banksia biterax, which used to be known as a Dryandra baxteri.

My energies today will be focused on botanical painting, which is my Priority. I think it is also a state of mind, to organise other aspects of your life around this.

I cannot work if the house is untidy. My studio and office are at home and I am usually found there around 6am. I love the quiet time. The birds beginning to wake, the sun slowly rising and sending its warm red glow into the morning sky and reflecting on the water.

Ornate decorative door carving warding off evil spirits. This is on the entrance to one of the
rooms at Le Mayeur Museum in Sanur, Bali.

This is a detail from my sketch above

I love Le Mayeur museum, and it is definately worth a look if you are near Sanur. It is the former home of the Belgium artist Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merpres (1880-1958). He arrived in Bali in 1932 and married a beautiful Balinese dancer, Ni Polok. After her death the house was taken over by the Indonesian government to be run as a museum. It has been left as it was when they lived there. Incredible dark carved wooden furniture features in every room, with copies of his paintings, and unfinished paintings adorning every wall.

If you sit and ponder you can picture the life they lead while living in the simple but beautiful house which is right on the beach. Certainly no tourists there then! Take yourself back in time and you can imagine, through the story in his paintings, the lifestyle and happiness that they had.

Keep following my blog as I will be posting images of my new botanical painting. Cant wait to get started this morning.....