Making headway...

Taking tiny steps to achieve lofty goals!!

“It is deep January. The sky is hard. The stalks are firmly rooted in ice.” Wallace Stevens

For now, here in Lincolnshire at least, the frost and snow have retreated. Temperatures have fluctuated; from below freezing, to almost spring like, in the space of a day. We’ve experienced frost, snow, blue skies, sunshine, rain…and, on this morning’s walk, fog shrouded the pathways and lanes, cloaking everywhere with a fine, damp gossamer blanket. There was a stillness, punctuated only by passing traffic, or crows. And although I know these pathways well, it was a disorienting experience; favourite trees emerged unexpectedly, views were soft, out-of-focus facsimiles, and blackbirds melted into the gloomy hedgerows.

As I walked along Buggy Bell’s Lane - I really must investigate why the lane is so called - this stand of teasels caught my eye... Yes, I love blue skies, yes I love the warmth of the sun on my face, but, but…this colour palette, the greys, browns and greens, is so my cup of tea. A muted palette punctuated with evergreen grass and leaves of ivy (is it just me, or do wet ivy leaves resemble dark green leather sofas…?)

Like that first sip of coffee, my morning walks are part of my ritual, setting me up for the day. Getting out, walking in the fresh air and appreciating the sights and sounds around me; I feel as if I have already achieved something, and it’s only the start of the day!

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Talking about achievements - I’m, amazingly, persisting with the 750words app and still journalling! What’s more, it’s bringing to light some realisations. I’m coming to the conclusion that, in past years, I’ve been too lofty with my goal setting - even just my goals for a season/quarter. I would think nothing of planning my three Big Rock projects as:

1. Creating a whole new body of work - from scratch.

2. There’s a definite discrepancy between the amount of work I produce and my sales. I needed to up my sales game, so was planning a wall-to-wall marketing campaign as well as posting as normal across all social media platforms, including new, weekly YouTube videos.

3. Re-doing my whole website - including all new photos.

And when I didn’t achieve all the above, boy did I give myself a hard time about it. Realistically though, well, I was destined to fail wasn’t I? Not only had I underestimated how long each project would take, I hadn’t taken into account my energy levels, what else was going on in my life, or navigating my Rheumatoid Arthritis.

So, how am I approaching this first quarter of the year? Well, to be fair, the above three projects are still my overall goals - but across the year rather than in one season.

I should add here, that I'm working on being okay with the fact that any goals I set will take longer to achieve…

Baby steps is the phrase I’m keeping in mind; I’m breaking the goals into tiny, manageable steps. Being able to see some progress, however small, is a big plus in my book, providing motivation to continue. Seriously, who doesn’t love crossing tasks off a to-do list?

P. S. I do have a planner/bullet journal, but this week I wrestled with the Notion app - mainly for the project planner with its ability to break down tasks into miniscule steps. After watching lots of ‘How to…’ YouTube videos, I reverted to my Trello boards!!

I can feel the faintest of twitches in my fingers - a desire to begin creating again. But whilst I’m keen to get going and explore new processes and techniques, it remains on pause while I continue sorting out my studio space and crystallising plans. Part of moving forwards involves a little reflection; especially as I’m going though old work. Yes, I want to learn new things, but I don’t want to lose the marks and qualities than define my work.

Of Quiet Moments - Carolyn J Roberts

This painting was created as part of my ‘River Stories’ collection…

Of Quiet Moments - Carolyn J Roberts

I lived close to a river at one time, and it provided inspiration on a daily basis. The changing moods, evocative atmosphere, the cast of characters that lived along its banks, all provided rich pickings for my work…

This painting is a favourite of mine; I love it’s understated quality, the muted palette, the expressive washes and fluidity of line - all things that I wish to take forward into the next body of work.

Click here to be transported to the riverbank…and here to find out more information about the painting itself.

And although the painting (All Along Above the Water) in this video has sold, it provides an idea of the processes used to create the one above…

If you’re allowed to have favourites amongst your own work, then this series comes high on my list!!

“The future is an unknown, but a somewhat predictable unknown. To look to the future we must first look back upon the past. That is where the seeds of the future were planted.”

Albert Einstein

Until next time, happy creating!!

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