Painting myself into a corner

OK, here's my excuse for not posting. I've been painting up a storm. Last night I started right after work and was up till 1am, brush in hand.

And I have to say, my walls look wonderful.

My studio, on the other hand, is dark and cold.

I know, my work is more important than my walls, but what's a painter to do when her house starts falling apart around her? I've been meaning to paint my interior walls since I moved in 10 years ago, and now they have started cracking and crazing and it's not a matter of cosmetics anymore. Since I'm the fix-up partner in my relationship (my husband is the brains of the operation) and with a lower tolerance of disrepair I decided that the few weeks before our big holiday family get-togethers is the perfect time to tear the house apart. Which explains the 1am.

Of course it would be sensible just to hire a house painter to do it, if sensible didn't cost so much money. I AM compromising and hiring a professional to do my kitchen, with its walls shedding flakes as thick as tortilla chips, so money will be spent, just no so much. And who needs a kitchen two weeks  before Christmas anyway? It's not like I have 10 people coming over Christmas Eve and 30 or so Christmas Day and a traditional English Christmas cake to make. Oh wait—it's EXACTLY like that.

But I have a tendency to create chaos on my way to order, which can lead to fascinating journeys in my studio, so I know that's where I should be spending my energy. The other morning, sitting at my kitchen table, flakes of paint flinging themselves off the walls, I saw an art magazine opened to a page with this quote circled. "Art is not what you do when everything else is done, everything else gets done after your art".  I won't say who circled it but it wasn't me. Because I don't know how you can put off everything till your art is done. Art is never done. And sometimes all those little life tasks join all their voices together and nag so annoyingly that it seems worth it just to lock up your studio and shut them up. And look forward to January.