Showing posts with label poverty mindset. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poverty mindset. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

To be or not to be frugal

When I decided to try oil painting, I made a conscious decision to not spend a lot of money on it. After all, I have thousands of dollars invested in pastels, easels, paper, watercolor paint, brushes, lights, books, boards, and all of the other things that go with pastel and watercolor painting. Not to mention my drawing supplies!

Plus, I didn't know if I would even enjoy painting in oil!

So, I spent as little money as possible. I bought oil paint in 37 ml tubes and only the colors that I needed for my lessons. I bought a few canvas panels and gesso boards but I didn't go crazy with buying stuff.

Something happened when I was working from this miserly/frugal mindset. I wouldn't squeeze out a generous amount of paint, I used little dabs of it and stretched it with OMS. I felt hesitant about painting a lot because, well, I only had two more canvas panels left. It was a crazy way to think and it certainly wasn't helping me. Instead of using what I had, I was kind of hoarding it.

It was giving my brain a cramp!

So, I decided to ditch the poverty mindset and to embrace abundance. I placed an enormous order for 150 ml tubes of paint and dozens of canvases and panels. Soon, I will be squirting out paint with a caulking gun and shuffling panels like decks of cards.

I think it will be easier to progress without a cramped brain. What do you think?