My husband and kids would say that I’m just about the best value shopper they know. 90% of what I buy I never pay full price for. Yet, there are times when the thing you need will not be on sale, and you have to have a really good one to do the job. This is the time to be creative.
Yesterday I set out to buy a floor lamp for my art desk. I knew I wanted an Ottlite, and I knew they had them in Michael’s. In my head I figured I was going to spend about $50 for it. I don’t know what planet I was on because when I got there I found it was $199. But it was exactly what I needed..okay, I bit the bullet and bought it. Driving home I stopped to the AT&T store to do something about my $300 a month cell phone bill. They were able to change my plan and bring my price down to $142 a month. So….since I saved $150 on this month’s cell bill, my lamp really did only cost me $50, right? That’s creative shopping.
An Ottlite is really the only answer because my desk is now in my yoga room turned art studio and there is very little natural light in there and I really want to be able to work at night. For the price, this light allows me to see true colors and does it without heat. Perfect. Buying a lamp of that caliber today made me realize that I am getting serious about the illustrating. Illustrating is not just making pretty pictures. By taking on the responsibility of illustrating someone’s work, you agree to hold and nurture their “baby”‘ for the better part of a year, participating in its growth and you need the right tools to make that happen. Last week I moved my desk and set up a serious work space – a studio, as I like to call it – with all my tools and supplies at my finger tips. No more sprawling out on the kitchen island and searching the house for a certain tool or art material because I forgot where I put it.
Serious workspace:
Sitting down to work on my next project yesterday felt different. It felt real. It felt serious in a new way. Do you have a thing you always wanted to pursue? The best way to begin is to put yourself in that setting. Get the tools or supplies you need. Imagine yourself doing it. Then, little by little, your passion is fueled and it begins to happen.
And so, as another day goes by, doing something that makes you and others happy is a deep well of energy, and…I have written. (And yes, Diane , I have done my art today!)
First quick sketch under my new lamp – meet my latest “babies”, Alistar and Octavia:
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