Day 1: The Artist's Diet

This is day one of Child of Tree, the business, and I am changing more than just my "official profession."  I got up this morning planning to paint all day.  Unfortunately, my first commission is a portrait of a dog and I was a bit uninspired.  I had rich, crazy, disturbing dreams last night and felt them swirling around me, making me edgy.  I needed to move.

I went to the basement to grab some laundry and discovered that my friend Stacy has a Gazelle I've somehow never noticed before!  How this is possible is simply beyond me...  not her having a piece of exercise equipment, but that I somehow MISSED it!  It's not like me to miss anything, much less a rather substantially sized machine, sitting in plain sight, in a room I use at least once a week!  It's as if Providence placed it there for me just today.

I moved the Gazelle to the downstairs living room, got out my iPod, and did a 60 minute workout.  It was exactly that I needed to shake the previous night's images and kick start this new chapter in life.  I've packed on some extra pounds during this 6 months of unemployment.  It's time to shed those along with the negative energy in which I've been sulking as of late.

Being on the Gazelle gave me time to think about ideas for this portrait of Mel's dog.  There were no distractions...  just me and my creative stew pot.  After working out and showering, I'd planned to paint outside.  (The weather here in Denver is amazing!)  Unfortunately, I started getting emails to my cell which required some attention and a trip to Stella's, my favorite coffee house and WiFi connection.

So, here I am, sipping jasmine tea on a sun-soaked porch and attending to "old business."  I wanted to have a bagel and cream cheese or a lovely scone, but let's keep turning over new leaves!  No more junk!  I am only going to put healthy, nature stuff into my body...   This is my thinking:

How can an artist expect to get any beauty out of themselves if they are stuffing their bodies full of chemicals, pollutants, toxins, etc.?  

I am hereby publicly committing myself to my new "Artist's Diet."  This will consist of eating well, drinking more water, getting in a workout at least 5 days/wk., and getting out into the sun as much as possible.  This also includes doing something creative every single day, period!  No excuses!  This is what I hired myself to do, right?!  I need to tend to myself holistically...  to foster a healthy body to house a healthy soul.

I need to go down a new path.

That said, it is time to leave Stella's, make myself a beautiful, wholesome meal, and start painting little Olive's portrait!