People sometimes ask me what a typical day looks like in my studio. The honest answer is that no two days are identical some days I paint for six hours straight, and other days I spend more time on the business side than the creative side. But there is a rhythm to how my weeks move, and I thought it might be interesting to share.
Morning: The Golden Hours
I’m a morning painter. My best, most focused creative work happens between about 8:00 AM and noon, when the natural light in my studio is at its brightest and my mind is at its sharpest.
I usually start by looking at whatever was on the easel when I left the studio the day before. Fresh eyes are invaluable — I can see problems and successes that I couldn’t see while I was in the middle of painting. Sometimes a painting that felt like a disaster at 5:00 PM looks surprisingly good at 8:00 AM. Sometimes the reverse is true. Either way, that first look sets the direction for the day.
Then I paint. If I’m in the middle of a piece, I pick up where I left off — waiting for layers to dry, adding detail, evaluating values and color. If I’m starting something new, the morning is when I do the initial washes and establish the big color relationships. These first hours are when the most important creative decisions get made.
Midday: The Business Hours
Around lunchtime, I usually transition from painting to the business side of being an artist. This includes photographing finished paintings for the website and social media. Editing and uploading new product listings. Responding to emails commission inquiries, customer questions, press requests. Writing blog posts and preparing content for social media. Packaging and shipping orders. Updating inventory and tracking sales.
This part of the job is less romantic than the painting part, but it’s essential. Being a full-time independent artist means being a one-person business — the painter, the photographer, the copywriter, the shipping department, the social media manager, and the bookkeeper. I’ve learned to respect the business hours rather than resent them, because they’re what make the painting hours possible.
Afternoon: The Second Wave
If I have the energy and the light — and if the morning paintings need more time to dry — I sometimes get a second painting session in the afternoon. These sessions tend to be more experimental. I’ll try a new color combination, sketch ideas for future paintings, work on a small study, or just play with materials without any goal in mind.
Some of my favorite paintings have come from these loose afternoon sessions, precisely because the pressure is off. The important work of the day is already done. Whatever happens in the afternoon is a bonus.
The Seasonal Rhythm
My studio schedule shifts with the seasons. In summer, when the light is long and the Maine landscape is at its most paintable, I spend more time outdoors doing plein air work and less time at the computer. In winter, when the days are short and the light is cool and gray, I spend more time in the studio on longer, more contemplative painting sessions and more time on business development.
There are also seasonal peaks in the business — fall is busy with holiday gift preparations, calendar production, and show applications. Spring is busy with new collection launches and website updates. Summer brings the most plein air work and the highest tourist traffic. Winter is often the quietest selling season, which gives me the space to paint new work and plan for the year ahead.
What I’ve Learned
The biggest lesson I’ve learned about studio life is that consistency matters more than inspiration. I don’t wait to feel inspired before I paint. I show up, I work, and the inspiration usually finds me somewhere in the middle of the process. The paintings that come from disciplined daily practice are often better than the ones that come from bursts of dramatic creative energy — because the practice builds skill, and skill is what makes the inspiration useful.
The second lesson is that rest is productive. I take days off. I do things that aren’t painting — hiking, performing in theater, spending time with my partner and family. The life I live outside the studio feeds the work I do inside it. Without new experiences, new sights, new light, and new feelings, the paintings would start to repeat themselves.
