France, I'm coming back to you! (Also, this will probably be a painting soon.)

As I promised way back in December, I would be posting my income at the end of every month, since I needed some accountability to make myself step up.

December went better than November, and January went much, much better than December.

Of course, I had to pay for my tuition, so I only had all of this money for one hot minute, but dooood, I’m going to France! So who cares!

Here’s a breakdown of January’s numbers:

Web Design & Virtual Assistant freelancing = $1095.60
Art (commissions + art & print sales + Sketches from the Road sign ups + donations) = $2386.47

TOTAL= $3482.07

This is almost 3x as much as I made in December (see December numbers here), which is a pretty excellent feeling. I paid tuition and had money left over to take care of myself properly, which I like.

In February, I need to double that sum. I don’t have as much to pay for this month, but I need to start socking money away for France.

I need to purchase plane tickets and a hotel in Paris for my brief stop there. (I need jet lag recovery time before anyone expects me to be intelligent.)

But I need money to order art supplies to have a one night show here in Charlottetown. I also need money to get my stuff back to Ontario so my parents can store it for me. (Hi, Mum & Dad!) These things need to be paid for pretty soon, so I want to know that I have the money set aside.

I’m hoping to be able to put $3000 into savings this month, as well as purchase plane tickets, book a hotel and obviously pay my rent. That’s the plan, Stan.

How am I going to accomplish this grand goal, you ask? One foot in front of the other, until I get there. It worked in January. Hopefully it’ll work in February, too.

Lately, I feel called small – called to the humble, beautiful, gentle things. These are the simple, significant, lovely parts of our lives.

I want to paint those things – our food; our little objects, idols and items; our intimate moments.

I want to paint the things that feel like pauses in our day.

I want to worship at the altar of tiny loves.

Every Tuesday, new tiny paintings will be posted and will be for sale. They’ll all be either 4?x6? or 5?x7? and they’ll all be priced between $75 and $100 (+ shipping).

To see the rest of the Tiny Gems, they all live here: Tiny Gem Shop

Today’s gem…

I’ve had this painting sitting in my head for a while. I took this photo my first week in France, of the town I was staying in. I still remember the way the sunlight shimmered as it hit the warm tiled rooftops. This weekend, I finally sat down to start creating it.

Study: French town © Sarah Marie Lacy, 2012. 4"x6" oil on unstretched canvas

I love the way this painting feels layered. As I wrote in my newsletter yesterday (you’re signed up for that, right?):

“I wanted to capture the delicious warmth of the sunlight hitting the trees and those rooftops. I wanted to capture the layered feeling of a town this old – the bridge off to the right was built in the 9^th century. Walking amongst the walls of this town was like walking through layers of history, from the castle on the hill destroyed by Napoleon, to the Roman arch left behind on another narrow street.

Every rock, every wall, every house is steeped in history. There is such a rich tapestry of humanity here and oddly enough that’s how I see the town – a patchwork quilt of colour and shape.”

Working away at the easel...

I don’t know about the rest of you creative folks out there, but finding a balance between art-making, marketing and admin is sometimes the hardest job of all.

I love making the art, but without the marketing and the admin, it’ll never go out the door. I get torn between love of one thing and respect for the other.

And lately, the balance between art and business has been tipped much further in the business direction. That needs to correct itself.

So I’m working on developing a schedule that honours both the need to deal with the business and also the need to make the art.

I thought I’d share this process, just in case it helps someone else. Feel free to steal my schedule!

Here’s the criteria I need my daily schedule to meet:

1. Art needs to happen during daylight hours 95% of the time, because my work lately is lit by natural light. I’m also most awake and most alert during the day. A night painter, I am not.

2. My writing (blogs, newsletters etc.) needs to happen before I start making art for the day. Once I’ve switched into the visual creative part of my brain, it’s a struggle to go back to my verbal creativity.

3. I need to set aside time for admin tasks, like email, formatting blog posts & newsletters, and bookkeeping. This needs about an hour of love every day for it to be kept manageable and not rage out of control. These kinds of tasks have a strong tendency to rage when neglected.

4. I need time to do client work for my VA & web design clients. This needs a couple of hours a day as well.

5. Somewhere in there, I need time to eat, and probably run errands some days. This means that I need to determine optimal errand running time, so that if I need to run an errand one day, I know when I’m going to do it. It also means I know when I’m going to schedule client appointments as well.

The reason that I’m interested in creating a schedule for myself is that I function better when I chip away at projects rather than trying to do them all in one big rush. (I think this is pretty true for everyone.) But it’s also better for my health, because it’s a form of pacing.

I know myself well and I’m a last-minute-deadline kinda gal if I let myself be, and then I get burnt out. Not a fun cycle. I’d like to change that.

I also know that this schedule is not going to be set in stone and some days, it’s gonna get thrown out the window. Deadlines happen. Surprises happen. Life – it happens.

But by creating a useful, flowing schedule as a jumping off point, most days will see me puttering along at a steady pace, tackling all of the things I need to so that my business and creative life run smoothly.

It also means that the days when I wake up and I don’t really know what I’m doing, I have this schedule to fall back on. Routines and habits can be useful like that.

Making the schedule

Let’s say my usual wake up time is somewhere between 6:30-7am. I always have to get up and make a cup of tea first. That’s mandatory. This is usually when I journal and meditate. This works for me, so I’m going to keep that in my schedule.

So let’s say, from 7-8am is meditation and journaling time.

My studio is east-facing, so the early morning light is variable – not great for painting or lighting my still lifes. I find that by 10am the light has evened out, and I can start working.

So…let’s say from 8am to 10am is writing time. I can quickly check email for emergencies, but everything else can get left till later. This is also a pretty good time for eating breakfast. (Remember, self? Breakfast? That thing that you don’t forget until 11am and then suddenly discover that you’re cranky?)

At 10am, painting starts. I have about 4 hours till the light fades too much for me to be able to see my subject matter properly. (I’m obviously dealing with winter hours. In a couple months, all of this will change.)

So I could schedule my painting hours from 10-2pm. Somewhere around 1pm, there’s a 20 minute break for lunch and tea. Then there’s a good 15-20 minutes clean up time at the end.

Then there needs to be some web design and client work scheduled in. Let’s say from 2:30-4:30 I do web design, run errands or meet with clients (if possible).

Then from 4:30 to 5:30, I answer email, catch up with accounting, format blog posts and newsletters and take care of other general admin tasks, such as packing up paintings to be shipped the next day.

How my days will look:

Wake up – 8am: Journaling and meditation (and if I’m feeling dangerous…yoga.)

8am – 10am: Writing & breakfast

10am – 2pm: Studio time (which means no internet!)

2:30 – 4:30pm: Client work, errands, client meetings, etc.

4:30 – 5:30pm: Email, admin, etc.

5:30pm – Bedtime: Relax. Watch movies. Eat delicious food. Hang out with Jesse and friends. Read trashy romance novels. Y’know – recuperate so you can approach the next day with your best foot forward.

This feels like a good, manageable, steady schedule. I have to juggle so many activities in my day, that I want to make sure I spend time with all of the them. Otherwise, one thing usually comes out on top and the other activities get neglected and then I have to make a mad rush to finish them all.

For some people, a schedule isn’t the solution. But for myself, I find that I need to create containers of space and time for the tasks that I need to do on a regular basis. A schedule helps me stay organized and focused on what’s important (and less likely to get distracted by Facebook.)

And since it’s a schedule created around my optimal functioning times and with eyes wide open – some days, my schedule will get trashed – it won’t be some horrid slave master driving me along with a whip.

Instead, it’s a system put in place to support me in doing my best work, in a way that feels manageable and enjoyable.

What about you?

Do you have a schedule for balancing your business & creativity? Or are you anti-schedule? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

So I’ve decided to just go with my instinct and celebrate how much I love making tiny paintings. They’re so sweet! And colourful! And fun!

I feel called small – called to the humble, beautiful, gentle things. These are the simple, significant, lovely parts of our lives. I want to paint those things – our food; our little objects, idols and items; our intimate moments.

I want to paint the things that feel like pauses in our day.

I want to worship at the altar of tiny loves.

Every Tuesday, new tiny paintings will be posted and will be for sale. They’ll all be either 4″x6″ or 5″x7″ and they’ll all be priced between $75 and $100 (+ shipping).

To see the rest of the Tiny Gems, they all live here: Tiny Gem Shop

And now for the gems…

I painted this little red pepper during the last episode of Watching Paint Dry. Ain’t he sweet? I love the shiny red of the skin against the antique white fabric.

Study: Red Pepper © Sarah Marie Lacy, 2012. 5"x7" oil on canvas board, 2012

Sugar Cookies © Sarah Marie Lacy, 2012. 5"x7" oil on canvas board, $95

This is it. Today’s the day. My tuition is due by the end of the day, and as the fancy pink graphic below shows, I’m just $363 from my goal.

BAM!

That feels good.

As I wrote the other day, I’ve been working hard to make sure that my journey is one of love, not fear – that my actions are always rooted in love of myself and love of my right people (hey, gorgeous) and love of my art. Not fear of failure.

And it’s been wonderful – I have been happier, things have flowed better and I haven’t worked myself into the ground.

But can we just pause here a minute and talk about the other side of this?

Just because my actions and my choices have come from a place of love does not mean that I have not been afraid.

I have still had moments of panic. I have a low, throbbing headache today from holding all of my fear and tension in my terminally clenched jaw.

I have to constantly defend my position of love. Yes, it’s brought greater ease to my work, my marketing, my money and my life, but it’s not been easy to stay there.

This is a new way of living for me. I have to break old habits, write new ones. I have to choose my commitment to love about 8 million times a day. I have to keep asking myself, “If I made a choice out of love right now, what would that choice be?”

Sometimes acting from love can feel conflicted. Do I choose to act from love of myself today, and write this post, share my words here, and on social media and then take the afternoon off to relax and rest my aching head?

Or do I act from love of my art, and keep pushing till the end of the day?

But I don’t know if the choice is really a choice. Would hovering over my computer for the rest of the day really help the money show up? Or would it be better to shine my light, share my words and then let them speak for themselves, without pushing and fretting?

Somehow, I think option 2 makes the most sense.

And yet, there are deep knots of tension

“What if I don’t make the rest of the money by the deadline? What then?” whispers the fear.

Debt. Borrowing. Credit cards. I’ll do what I have to do to pay the tuition. Not going to France is not an option.

“But then we failed!” wails my inner perfectionist.

But did we? We paid the tuition. We’re going to France. We’ll pay the money back. The goal itself was accomplished.

True, more debt is not something that I want. (There’s still the business of that $12,000 I owe from last year.)

And there’s the matter of the other $56,000 I need over the next 2 years. (Next month? Plane tickets, baby!)

It’s a big dream. It’s scary. It’s the biggest, craziest thing I’ve ever tried to do. And my head, literally, aches with the hugeness of it.

What’s important here?

As tempting as it is to sit here and worry about the next $56000, that’s not really helpful. And it’ll probably make my headache worse.

The only thing that I can do right now is keep putting one foot in front of the other. One step at a time. I can’t take care of tomorrow until I’ve taken care of today.

I find this infinitely comforting. I am only responsible for the here and now. I only have to do my best with what I’ve got. I would never do less and I can’t do more.

What’s my best today?

My best today is to write this post, and ask for your help.

My best today is to give you and me permission to let the rest of it go. You did your best. I did my best. Could I have done more? Probably. But quantity and quality are not equal. I could have done more, but I could not have done better.

I need to refuel. I’m dying to spend some time in my kitchen, baking scones and Welsh tea cakes. I’m dying to just sit and draw for hours. I’m dying to finish that little red pepper painting from yesterday.

I need to drink several cups of green tea, my version of aspirin. I need to keep drinking water. I need to eat some food and take a nap and share a little on social media and maybe send one last note to my Notes from the Studio subscribers and subscribers to last year’s Sketches from the Road.

And then at 4pm EST, I will pay my tuition, with the money that I have and, if necessary, whatever I have to borrow.

The rest of the weekend, I am unplugging! I will spend time with one of my best friends, go to the mall and try on OUTRAGEOUS outfits, eat some of my baking, make slow-roasted pork, draw and draw and draw and paint and snuggle with my love while watching movies.

I will celebrate the beginning of my journey. I will celebrate my hard work. I will celebrate the love that has filled me this past week or so.

And on Monday, I will start work on Phase 2. By putting one foot in front of the other, doing my best every day and letting the rest of it go. By choosing love and always moving forward, even if it’s just an inch.

No fireworks, or fanfare and no awards will be handed out.

But I will get to France. And every step will be made with love.

To me, that’s what matters most.

So!

I’m asking for your help. If you feel called to contribute, go check out the delightful page outlining my odyssey, why it’s so important and how you can join in. Click here!

If you know someone who needs to read this, or you just want to share it around, I would love that. You can use one of the awesome buttons below.

Jesse, a work in progress (detail) © Sarah Marie Lacy, 2012. Pencil on paper.

I am 3 days and $900 away from paying my tuition + rent to return to France. Of the total almost $7000 I thought I’d have to pay, having $900 left feels like something akin to a miracle. Between scholarships, sponsorships and generous donations, I am thisclose to officially being able to start my journey.

The most beautiful and magical part about this though is how full of ease it’s been so far.

Part of my theme for this year was to work at my business from a place of love, not fear and never-enoughness. I knew that getting the tuition money together would be the perfect place to practice self-care and love while working to accomplish a goal that feels like it demands sacrifice and slave-like hours.

I have not pulled an all-nighter. Last year I pulled 3 in a row. I have not overworked. I have not forgotten to eat, stopped showering or dropped all of the things that matter to me.

I have worked hard, and steadily, but I have also been making sure that I get 8-10 hours of sleep a night. I have still been making art. I have still taken weekends off and relaxed and enjoyed myself. I have still spent time with my boyfriend, and called friends and chatted to my mum.

I have been working hard to prove to myself that:

1. Motivation from love is more sustainable for my body and my soul.
2. It still works. The money still comes in. I don’t have to pay in pain to get the money that I need.

As the payment date draws closer and the money slowly but surely flows in, I can feel myself wanting to give in to old patterns.

Every cell in my body wants to panic. Desperation keeps sneaking around the edges of my consciousness, looking for cracks to get in. The voices of the old patterns and habits are screaming at me that if we don’t start panicking and run ourselves into the ground with work, this money will not show up because the only way you can make money is by doing things you hate. And if you love something, you have to find ways to make it horrible so that money will come in. (Anyone else have that monster in the closet??)

I have to keep saying no. I have to keep choosing love, self-care, and self-trust. While it’s true that the panicking is pretty effective, it drains me. I can’t make art. I can’t create. I just have to put my nose to the grindstone and grind out the money.

Yuck.

I don’t want to start my journey like that.

I don’t want my journey to be like that.

This journey is about love – love of myself and going for my dreams. Love of my right people (that’s you!) and wanting to create the best work possible. Love of my art and my craft and the inherent poetry in both the things I want to say and in the way that they’re created.

This journey is vital to the work I want to do the in the world. And if my mission and message are about space – space for you, for your dreams, for your soul – then I have to live from that place as well. I can’t tell you that there’s enough space for you to flourish and unfold and blossom and then turn around and punish myself to get the money that I need to do that work.

It’s incongruent. It throws the energy off, like a badly-composed painting.

So despite the fact that 94% of me is howling for blood, sweat and tears and swearing up & down that it’s the only way for me to get that final $900, I’m going to give that part of me a hug and then keep on choosing love.

It’s funny, because the actions themselves don’t look much different – there’s more rest built in, and I keep making time for my art – but I’m still writing and promoting and sharing. I’m still taking steps to build my business, to shine my light, to share my message.

But the energy is different. I take a nap when my body says it needs a nap. I take a break when my mind says it needs one. I’m not pushing myself towards the end goal. I’m expanding myself towards it, by filling myself up with love and ease and trust.

My journey is evolutionary, not revolutionary. One foot in front of the other, baby steps towards my destination. There will be no violent overthrowing of the former regime.

I don’t have to. By choosing love, I’m always going in the right direction. I’m always heading towards my true goal – to create beautiful, meaningful artwork that changes lives.

Artwork that acts like a compass, a talisman, a touchstone. A constant, steady reminder, day in and day out, of your dreams, your loves and your goals. It’s one small way to begin creating the life that you dream of. Gently. With love.

So even though it’s tempting to panic, tempting to give in to those feelings of desperation, I’m going to hold steady to my course and remember that to create the best work for you, I have to create the best life for me. Or else how are you going to believe me?

To read more about my plans, or contribute towards my tuition, click right here.

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Tiny Gem Tuesday!

So I’ve decided to just go with my instinct and celebrate how much I love making tiny paintings. They’re so sweet! And colourful! And fun!

I feel called small – called to the humble, beautiful, gentle things. These are the simple, significant, lovely parts of our lives. I want to paint those things – our food; our little objects, idols and items; our intimate moments.

I want to paint the things that feel like pauses in our day.

I want to worship at the altar of tiny loves.

Every Tuesday, new tiny paintings will be posted and will be for sale. They’ll all be either 4″x6″ or 5″x7″ and they’ll all be priced between $75 and $100 (+ shipping).

To see the rest of the Tiny Gems, they all live here: Tiny Gem Shop

And now for the gems…

Study: Carrot © Sarah Marie Lacy, 2012. 5"x7" oil on canvas board

Study: Egg © Sarah Marie Lacy, 2012. 5"x7" oil on canvas board.

Subscribe to Tiny Gem Tuesday by email and have beautiful little paintings delivered to your inbox every Tuesday.

Sunrise from my studio window.

Eleven years ago today, I got sick. The emotional effects didn’t hit me till weeks later, but today was the day it started – 11pm at night, suddenly awake and feeling ill. And then that feeling just never going away.

It’s been a long road to the place where I am now.

Last year felt monumental – a whole decade. Christ, I thought, that’s a long time. I felt like I’d spent 10 years picking up the pieces, and with super glue and duct tape, trying to put back together a semblance of a life few thought I could have.

I used to joke that my only goal was to be a self-sufficient cripple. But I wasn’t really joking.

Just as much as I’ve tried to reassemble my life, I’ve been working at reassembling my Self. When you grow up defined by your illness, it’s hard to see outside of that. When it’s all anyone ever talks about, or focuses on, or remembers you for, you start to forget that there is anything else inside of you.

I defined myself by what I couldn’t do. I saw so much of my weakness, and so little of my strength. It’s taken me so long to understand what happened, to move beyond being just the “sick girl” everyone saw me as.

I will never forget the utter hopelessness I felt nearly 6 years ago when I thought that my life was over. I was so sick, I barely left my room, let alone the house. My doctor suggested when I felt a bit better I could take a couple watercolour classes at the community centre.

All I could think is, “Is this what my life has come to? Is this all there is for me?”

So I made a commitment – a commitment to come back to myself, to remember who I was outside the doctors’ offices and hospital rooms, and the endless list of “miracle cures.”

That was in July of 2006. Every day since then, I’ve been taking baby steps back to myself and towards the woman that I want to be.

I decided that I was an artist. I learned (ha! still learning) to embrace the boundaries that my life has, and to grow a brilliant life within them.
A bonsai tree is beautiful and wondrous because of its boundaries, not despite them.
I chose an unconventional path, found ways to support myself by working at home. I became the self-sufficient cripple that I’d always said I’d be.

I climbed out of the hole that I’d fallen into, and now I’m sitting on the rim, looking out at this bright and crazy world which is larger and fuller than I’d ever expected.

When I was 18, a lot of doors had shut in my face. I’ve spent the last 6 years learning to open windows. It hasn’t been easy. So much of me still believes all of the doctors, all of the advice for years to just play small, stay small, keep your head down and don’t set your sights too high because you’ll fail.

I’m teaching myself that these things aren’t true; that there are parts of me that are strong, that I can dream bigger dreams.

This year, I feel like I’ve come full circle. Once upon a time, before I got sick, I dreamed of living in Europe, being self-employed and independent. I gave up on that dream for so long.

This year, I’m working on reclaiming it. I found the art school of my dreams in France last year, and after 6 months there, I knew it was where I was meant to be. This year, I plan on returning for 18 months to continue studying and honing my craft.

It’s the next step in my journey. I’m dreaming bigger than my bank account – right now, I have no idea how I’m going to fund such an experience. If you read my blog, you know that in November, I barely made rent.

But I have to try. I can’t explain it, but this is what I’m meant to be doing. I’m following my heart, my gut, every cell in my body that’s just yearning towards this.

A step at a time, I’m stretching the boundaries of what I used to think was possible. I’m creating the space for my dreams.

Become a patron of the arts

I need to pay my tuition ($2000) by Friday, January 20^th (6 days from now). I have just under $650 of that right now, so I’m a quarter of the way there! (BOOYAH.)

Awesome Way #1 to Join In: Sketches from the Road

This is my totally awesome, exclusive inside look to living life in France (and exploring other bits of Europe) while going to a private art school. It’s kind of like my own reality TV show with a weekly video, love letters to you, photos of everything I see and my progression as an artist.

It’s just $20 for 18 months of food, wine, travel, silliness and visual pleasure.
(And you’re not tied in to 18 months. You can unsubscribe at any time. Although trust me, you won’t want to. I’m too cute. )

Sign up for Sketches from the Road

Awesome Way #2: Buy some art! (Sketches from the Road subscription included!)

Surrounding yourself with beauty is good for your soul. You know that art makes your world better, brighter and more hopeful. Get yourself a painting as a symbol for the dreams you’re dreaming.

Buy yourself something beautiful

If you can’t contribute financially, but still want to help out, I’d love it if you shared this post with your friends and networks and helped to spread the word. Thank you!

The Waterseller of Seville, Velasquez (image courtesy of Wikipedia)

This painting changed my life.

I was 16 when I saw it for the first time, in Sister Wendy’s 1000 Masterpieces. (Amaaazing book.)

I saw it, and every part of my heart and soul yearned towards it and whispered, “I want to do that.”

Last year, I spent 6 months learning how to do that. I was hooked. Six months wasn’t enough. I wanted, needed more.

So I applied to return. As some of you know, I found out last Friday that I was accepted again. What I didn’t mention was the generous scholarship I was given in the name of an alumni of the school who died earlier this year, struck down by cancer.

I also didn’t mention the generosity of a former classmate who believes in me and my dedication so much she’s contributing a large sum towards the costs of the first 3 month program.

The total for tuition and housing for that program came to just over $6500. I received just over $4500 in financial support. I am speechless. I am humbled. I am honoured.

I still have to pay the final $2000ish by next Friday, January 20^th. There are still $30,000 in other program expenses and living costs to be paid this year.

But if this isn’t starting on the right foot, I don’t know what is.

I wrote to my newsletter subscribers that I feel like I just took vows at a convent. While I’m excited to be spending the majority of my time in France for 18 months, I’m truly looking forward to so much time spent in the deep meditation and contemplation of my art.

The days have a monastic feel – they are regular, steady, organized. You spend much of your time in silence, studying the model and the flow of life before you. You search deeper every day as you try and understand more and more of what you see.

It’s not easy – it’s a lot of work. But it’s deeply satisfying work.

I realize that I’ve just used “deep” 3 times to describe the coming months, but it’s the best word I can come up with to describe to you what I mean. I am diving deep into my art, both the craft and the poetry; they’re intertwined.

It’s work that’s important to me. It’s what I feel intensely called to do. Getting the acceptance letter was a moment of great peace. Something clicked into place inside of me – thunk.

This is where I’m meant to be.

This is the path I’m meant to be on.

No doubt, nothing. Just…knowing.

On the other hand, I have no idea exactly how I’m meant to pull this off. People keep asking me and it’s making me nervous.

I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep throwing things at the wall, see what sticks. Keep remembering that I have a gift to share, and I need to share it.

If you’d like to join in the adventure and feel called to contribute, there are 2 ways to do this:

1. Join Sketches from the Road. I ran this last year and it was so much fun – this time, it’ll be 18 months of art, travel, food, adventure and a generous dose of silliness, for the suggested contribution price of $20.

Sign up for Sketches from the Road now!

2. Get yourself some artwork! I have pieces available from $75 up to $1000. Fall in love, take it home, have a constant reminder of just how much space there is for your soul and your dreams. It’s a story that always has a happy ending.

Buy yourself and your walls something beautiful!

I will also accept pom pom shaking and general cheering and joy-wishing.

And thank you for all of your support in just getting this far. You guys are the greatest.

Study: Egg © Sarah Marie Lacy, 2012. 4"x6" oil on canvas

What are you up to on this lovely Thursday afternoon? Want to come hang out?

I’ll be re-starting “Watching Paint Dry” my livestreaming-from-the-studio painting show this afternoon! I’ll be sharing my processes, explaining my steps and you’ll be able to ask questions via email, chat and Twitter which I’ll answer as I paint.

It starts at 1pm EST (9am PST) and it will run for about an hour.

Here’s the link:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/watching-paint-dry—in-the-studio-with-sarah-marie-lacy

I’ll be working on a small still life of an egg, which is what everyone voted for on Twitter and Facebook. (It came down to a carrot or an egg. Obviously, y’all picked the harder one. Yes, eggs are difficult to paint but you’ll have to watch to find out why.)

If you can’t make it, no worries – I’ll be recording it so you can watch later.

If you have any questions you want me to answer, leave ‘em in the comments! I’ll be sure to answer them today.

Hope to see you there!