HOW DO YOU MAKE A PAINTING THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO BELIEVE?

No, really, I'd like to know...

Artist of the Week: Emily Kame Kngwarreye

Yam Dreaming-Awelye, 1995, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 36 inches

I just saw some pictures of this artist's work on pinterest and needed to share..
Emily Kame Kngwarreye was an Australian Aboriginal artist 1910-1996.
She had a few different styles of painting but I was particularly drawn to these (no surprise there!)
Some online sources were difficult to decipher so hopefully I've gotten all the info. correct on these images. Enjoy!

Kame Colour, 1995, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 36 inches

Wild Yam Dreaming, 1995, acrylic on canvas, 47 x 35 inches

Yam Awelye- Body Paint, 1996, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 36 inches

Awelye, 1995, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 85 inches

Kame Awelye, 1995, acrylic on canvas, 89.5 x 58.5 inches

Bush Yam Dreaming, 1994, acrylic on canvas, 54 x 104 inches

Kame Colour II, 1995, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 36 inches

Untitled, acrylic on canvas, 59 x 48 inches

Anooralya Awelye, 1995, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 36 inches

Untitled, 1996, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 36 inches

Wild Yam II, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 94 inches

Emily Kame Kngwarreye, painting

new painting series

working on a new series since January. I think these four are now finished.
still a working title:
Stories from the green couch

Samantha Palmeri, oil on canvas, 50 x 72 inches

Samantha Palmeri, oil on canvas, 50 x 50 inches

Samantha Palmeri, oil on canvas, 54 x 54 inches

Samantha Palmeri, oil on canvas, 60 x 60 inches

"Any Time Spent In The Studio Is Not A Waste Of Time"

Speaking of rituals, which I seem to do a lot of,
I was wondering what other artists do in the studio...

Yesterday I went to the studio for the first time in a little over a week and it felt like I hadn't been there in a month. I thought I was going to end up sitting on the couch staring into space and conveniently procrastinating the day away, but I totally surprised myself and got to work right away.

here's the painting I worked on, still unfinished. See it finished HERE

It made me realize that there are a lot of ways to procrastinate (no kidding). But a lot of the things I used to think were taking up, a.k.a wasting, too much time are actually necessary parts of the whole process. Yesterday I did what I always do and took the time to empty all the clumped up skins of oil paint at the bottom of my paint jars. I refilled them with new colors, mixed up a fresh jar of medium, threw away old rags, and poured new Gamsol. By moving through my regular routine I was able to naturally move right back into the paintings themselves without too much painful effort. I also sat and looked for a long time which used to feel like serious loitering but is another important and necessary tool.

The truth is that sometimes just standing around doing nothing is helpful, as if simply absorbing it all in is as much of an activity as the painting itself. Regardless, I'm still glad that wasn't the only thing I accomplished yesterday.

I used to have a sign in the studio that said Any Time Spent in the Studio is not a Waste of Time, which by the way I just found out is quoted in a bizarre little book JERRY SALTZ ART CRITIC's Fans, Friends, & The Tribes Suggested ART STUDIO DOOR SIGNS of Real Life or Fantasy.

I still think it's true.. 

So back to all you studio workers, what are your rituals or routines that help you get going??