Take A Vacation

Horse Moon Hunt - 24x30" - Acrylic on canvas

I just got back from holidays. My trip ended up not being anything like what I'd planned. I had planned for my husband and I to rent a house on the beach of a mountain lake for the week. We were just going to kick back and relax. I'd planned to do some painting and my husband planned to read and soak up the sun.

Before leaving I'd read an article about how nobody takes a true vacation anymore. Sure people go away but they bring their laptops, smart phones and/or tablets with them so they can stay connected to work, friends, and family. Many continue to be engaged in their work and don't give their brain a rest. I considered this as I packed my paints, cleaned my camera, and gathered my work tools. The article talked about why it's important to disengage the brain from work. (I wish I'd noted the article so I could link to it...)

Surely that's for other people though. People who have high pressure jobs or don't like their jobs. That's not for us creative types that are living the dream. Right?! Wrong. 

My planned vacation came to an abrupt halt when we arrived at our cosy little beach house to discover it was anything but cosy. With mouse droppings all over the kitchen and an invasion of ants in the living room, we made an about face and left, scrambling to find other accommodations that would accept our dog. We did find other accommodations, but we weren't on the lake, or even in the same area. The accommodations were nice, but not conducive to setting up an easel on the porch to paint. So my paints remained in the car and I took a true vacation. 

Okay....I won't say I didn't think about painting, because I did. I read my Sergai Bongart book and Plein Air magazine. I brought my sketchbook everywhere I went, but I didn't lay a mark on the pages. I also took photographs. I thought about that article and how impossible it would be to fully and truly disengage from art for a week. But my semi-abstinence had some surprising results none the less.

When I got home I found I couldn't wait to get to the studio. I promptly started a commissioned painting that I'd been procrastinating on, and then the real surprise hit me. All kinds of inspiration for my Vision Quest series started coming to me. Visions I thought had dried up earlier in the year. 

Was it the vacation that renewed my visions or was it something else?

While on vacation we had a few bear encounters. One in particular was a special treat. We got to watch a mom and two cubs up close for an entire day - eating, resting, playing, and peering in our windows to see what we were doing. It was one of those events that won't be forgotten. A true joy. 

I've noticed that I have periods of high creativity after seeing bears. Is it co-incidence or is there something there? The seeing of bears usually goes hand in hand with vacations, so it's just as likely the vacation is responsible. I guess I'll truly never know, but will treasure each encounter and enjoy the bursts that follow.

I'm also going to recharge my batteries occasionally and spend some time away from painting, treating it as an important part of my creative process.