Ramblings about Normality

It's been so mega, crazy busy lately that I don't know what my 'normal' is anymore...I headed into my studio at 6.15 am yesterday...that's not normal. In fact painting before 9.30 am is never usual for me EVER, but yesterday, it felt perfectly normal to be painting away with a newly risen sun, birds greeting the warmth of the day, my children still soundly, beautifully...quietly...asleep and Dudie out of the house driving our house guest of the last week (my Papa Bear) to the airport. It was BLISS. Pure BLISS. I need to thank Dudie for pushing me there...He made me promise to get up as I have been feeling very strapped for painting time over the last few weeks (and he is sick of hearing it!) Dudie is one of those annoying people who leap out of bed at the crack of dawn without a backward glance at the comfort he has just left...winter or summer, weekday or weekend...he is wired to make that leap. Not me, no way. I just want to roll over and moan about the need of another hour of beauty sleep at least, especially on the weekend! I don't know how he does it? Or have I just chosen to ignore my desire to be an early riser. Is there an 'Early Bird' gene lying dormant in my system awaiting an excuse to be brought to life? Have I spent years of my mothering life, holding onto those last few moments of peace in the haven of my bed, putting off the inevitable for a few precious extra minutes, knowing that once my feet hit the ground, it's all about war and peace, lost socks, breakfast crumbs, lunch box boringness, clock watching and taxi driving. I've trained my family (Dudie brings me a cup of tea most mornings at 6.30am) to leave me in peace for an extra 15 minutes each morning whilst I collect my thoughts for the day, chat with God, and basically psyche myself into resembling a somewhat calm and mentally organised, non grumpy mother. If I were to decide to paint from 6am for an hour or so, would I actually get to paint or would it just mean an extra hour of 'House' work in my day? I wonder? With summer arriving with gusto and a lack of air conditioning in my studio, an early start may have to be my new norm. Anyway, enough of the ramble...'Vintage Roses' is on display this week at the South Perth Emerging Art award. No prize this time around - you win some, you lose some and it just motivates me to try harder, to get more adventurous with ideas and to plan a winning painting before I even take the photo for it. I'll just keep on keeping on! I have a few ideas in the making...watch this space! I am about to embark on my biggest painting to date...1.8 x 900 cm...A panoramic water landscape. It's so big I've had to buy canvas for the framer to put onto a stretcher! Yikes! The scariest part of all? I need to have it finished for the 28th November! Yes, NOVEMBER. One month....and I wont receive the canvas-back for a few more days and it just happens to be one of the busiest months of the year with a birthday, a wedding and a dance concert in the midst of it! Oh MY... So, it's onwards and upwards...or should that be Onwards and Earlier? 6am...here I come. Mia x