My dear Lisa assures me this is day 1 (remaining) of my countdown to my transition. Thank God she has kept an accurate count as I have been selectively forgetting to do this in the vain hope that I might gain a few more days for what reason I am not entirely certain.
It’s Monday again today and this is not good for me. I have been mooching particularly sad today for  reasons I have already shared with you. Somehow the weekend cocoons me with warmth and security and then spits me out unceremoniously on a Monday to face my world and the harsh realities of life. I am not in a good place…

However based on the premis that there is really nothing I can do and that worrying about it doesn’t actually solve the problem I will step forth and continue with my prayed about inspiration for today.

So today my prayed about intuition is to create a calendar of at least one show, exhibition, fair, that is one art show, one art exhibition and one art fair that I can attend either here in the UK, in a major European city or in a major US city. This is with a view to actually exhibiting as a solo artist or as part of a gallery.  So that’s the plan for today.

By the way, I have discovered another passion which is not necessarily a money making one for me right now but one that helps me on days like this.  My friend Barry whom I have known since 1989 plays African Djembe drums and he is teaching me how to play. Check that out! If you haven’t ever tried them, you really should have a go. Like my painting, I am able to lose myself in a world of rhythm and not so blue blues. Barry has kindly lent me one of his drums and some beats carefully recorded on my Blackberry. I intend to chase the Monday blues away this morning beating on the Djembe drums in true African style… there may be a video to follow if I feel so inclined.

Anyway,  here is a video of me and Barry in an earlier session.

Have a fab Monday peeps.

I am sitting here at my computer, glass of juice on one side, my daily cocktail of high blood pressure and anti-anxiety pills and the thought that I have not updated this post for a while. Once again I have not been asleep and as my mother always used to say to me “…if you have nothing to say – don’t say it…”. I know my dear Lisa will not always agree. You see Lisa is the one who has been a great source of encouragement (and inspiration) to me as I blog this journey of (mis?)adventure.
Once again – I digress. I have been busy though. Some of you will know about Tony Buzan, aka the mind map guy. Well I have been mindmapping too (see the photo) in a brainstorming kind of way based on 3 elements all designed to help me KEEP MY END GOAL IN MIND:

• Set your goal
• Formulate route to success
• Maintain focus

I won’t question the wisdom of this, neither will I argue the toss; it’s easier said than done etc etc. I will follow it diligently as this is my prayed about intuitive idea. So each area will be explored, digested and cogitated deeply.  After all part of my end game is to encourage others to follow their hearts desire.

On a slightly different note,  I have been involved in meetings which means hopefully that Anne the Printer will not die but as part of the metamorphosis, all loyal customer (and the not so loyal) needs will be catered for. I can’t say too much yet suffice it to say fulfillment will be improved no end – a win-win situation I can assure us all.

I am looking forward to a fabulous weekend.

The one thing I didn’t want to do during this countdown towards my transition was to put my self under pressure to get a result by day zero remembering the reason for my transition in the first place was to get away from the inordinate amount of pressure I was putting myself (and my customers as well) under as Anne the printer.
So I decided after day zero I would start to count backwards again ie minus 1, minus 2 etc… This might be an odd way of doing things, why not start at one and climb up the scale like most normal people? Ah… you see I am not normal and have never believed in doing things the conventional way. Conventionalism binds you, unconventionalism frees you and as a creative I need the freedom to be creative. Ok we do have to conform sometimes especially to civil authority otherwise we are in danger of breaking the law.
Since I am not sure where that discussion is going, I think I’ll end it there as my one philosophical contribution for the day.
I really wanted to write about a disturbing conversation I had with some members of my local art society at their annual dinner last Thursday. The society is nearly 100 years years old and I have to admit most of the members looked like they had been around as long as that (I say this in the nicest possible way as I do not want to offend)  as well so I was very encouraged to hear they were actively seeking young blood to join the group through a call for artists which has been submitted to schools, colleges and art groups in the area.
Anyway, we moved onto the topic of artists who work full time as artists and more importanly live off their talent and was quite discouraged to here many off them scoff at the very thought. Impossible! was their general consesus. I left the party depressed and unable to add my contribution -that I was on a quest to achieve the very same in a little under 10 days or so.

How many of us believe our beliefs become our thoughts? I certainly do and certainly to dispel the thought that many artists have we need to become the change we want to see in this world (Gandhi). Before I start to get on a moral soap box, I need to say there are many many artists who have made it several times over and as most of us are not on a quest to become multi millionaires but simply to eke out a reasonable existence it is indeed possible.

I wasn’t on a mission to find Gandhi quotes this morning but I am inspired by two which I would like to share…

“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny”

You see each one of us has to find peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.

Well folks, here I am. I think it is an ‘artists’ thing to retreat or go into hibernation every now and again. I do assure you though, I have not been asleep. The truth is I climbed through the vista of  my canvas and entered the place I love most where I can lose myself in my fantasy world of painting and creating characters, choosing colours, stances and gaits and simply imagining what is going on in the minds of the people who emerge from my canvases.
I very very reluctantly climbed out of the painting (yes there is such a thing as over working your canvas) but am already primed and ready to climb into my next one. This time I hope to take my blog pad with me so I can continue to send you messages from my other world.
Whilst I’ve been on my retreat (I am actually preferring that word to hibernation), I’ve have actually been researching material I need for my future life as a full time artist; galleries, shows, exhbitions I could possibly attend and marketing (I’d rather be in the studio but needs must et al).

So whilst I have been putting it all out there, I’ve had some wonderful hints and tips come back to me. Last night my dear friend Seiwa and I discussed printing my business cards on canvas of which I have plenty.  I was really excited about this as I’ve already created the designs but was waiting for a small windfall to enable me to send it off to a printer (duh!).

This morning I got a message from a very dear friend Lisa who lives in South Africa. Lisa has beeen a source of inspiration and great encouragement to me. ‘For you today…’ the message said with three words like music to my ears rolled into one ‘…www.artmoneyguide.com’ and within it a mine of information that has got my thinking juices going as I consider a slight shift away from my old way of thinking to a fresher more dynamic unconventional way. Keep posted and keep encouraging me with your words of wisdom and support.

Here is the world in which I absorbed myself; the market at Northampton from a photographic sketch I did one sunny Saturday morning during the summer. The fair had come to the town centre square and I persuaded the very obliging man to let me climb to the top of his helter-skelter.

Well sometimes a lot of what you fancy does you a whole lot of good too. 20 days to go today and I feel absolutely fantastic! After a morning of life as Anne-the-printer,  I transformed myself  into Anne-options-trader spent the afternoon riding the surf of a volatile stock market. I know a lot of people think it is quite a risky business but so far I seem to be picking my dance steps with this particular crocodile.
Today my prayed-about idea was to work on a painting I began a couple of evenings ago. So after hanging up my trading specs, I donned my smock and picked up my brushes and boy have I had a blast!! I am really pleased with this latest painting and can’t wait to unveil it on this site so please be patient.

I feel super blessed today.

In the absence of the latest painting, here is one I prepared a few years ago.  It has won an award and is one of my favourites.

Stay blessed.

Ok, so 21 days to go. I am running late today.  I woke up with a jolt at 9am having slept through my 6.30am alarm. By 9am I would normally be at my desk ready to start my working day, the first couple of hours having been dedicated to my spiritual breakfast of bible study, prayer and listening to the latest uplifting recording from Keith Moore. His message today is particularly apt – keep your eye fixed firmly on the finish line; DO NOT QUIT! There is no scripture that says all our bills will be paid by Sunday (dare I ask why Jesus? 🙂 ), he tells me, but plenty of scripture to support the fact that we should keep expecting and not quit!

So my prayed-about idea today is to put some thought towards my impending life as a full time artist.  My research today will be on how I can become a portrait artist. Later on I will complete a painting I started last night.

I am dealing with a major distraction in my (Anne-the-printer)  life right now and praying it will be settled soon.  I have done something really bad and even though there was no malice intended it has left me running away from my phones and emails like a fugitive.  I am not sure I have the courage to share it right now even though I did promise myself this account would be open hearted and honest. So I will share it soon but right now it remains a proper pain in the arse distraction.

The picture is a portrait painting of my dear friend Seiwa. The likeness yea though I say so myself is spot on and she loves it so glory to God.

I’ve always had a fear of Monday mornings ever since I was a small child. My apprehension would start from the night before and consume me like a dark mist until the next morning when I had to get up and get ready for school. I have sat on my own analysts couch and tried to figure out this deep rooted fear of Mondays and have come up with explanations like it’s because I hadn’t done my homework and was worried about the amount of trouble I would get into  to I had to have my hair plaited on Sunday evenings and that was torture pure and simple. Any Ghanaian woman will know what I am on about; you sat on the floor, your body bound by the legs of your torturer whilst she pulled and parted and combed my thick matt of wiry African hair. Then she would use the plaiting thread to plait my hair into several tentacles tied so tight my skin stretched around my eyes leaving me feeling and looking like some oriental African hybrid medusa. If I ever dared to ask my torturer to ease the tension a little bit, she would use the end tooth of the comb to release my hair strand by eye-wateringly painful strand.  Sleep on Sunday nights was all but impossible as I tossed and turned trying to find the portion of my scalp that wasn’t so tender.

Anyway, I digress ever so slightly even though I did wake with the same feeling of fear and trepidation this morning. What on earth is it that makes me fear Mondays so? When you live in fear, there is something about Mondays that seems to expose you to your predators in the same way that there is something about weekends that provides a safe haven. No phone calls from your creditors and a whole two days (with an additional blessing if it is a bank holiday weekend) for you to catch up, hide, or rest.

However, we are not supposed to live our lives like fugitives; running away from our fears which follow us like a long shadow in the evening light. Those of us who have faith, know that we have hope and of ourselves we can do nothing but by God’s grace we have a refuge.

So as I sit before my computer on a Monday morning, with 22 days to go, my prayer is to emerge from my metamorphic process completely free of the burden of my Monday blues. I will love each day Monday as if it were a Saturday or Sunday.

Today, my prayed for intuition is to complete the printing jobs I have outstanding. They will not all be completed today but a journey of a thousand miles begins with one baby step, no?

Oh, by the way, the picture today is of my desk. So tidy you could eat your lunch off it.

Have a blessed day.

Ok so 23 days to go. It’s 7.45am Sunday and I have sacrificed my lie in to write my blog.
My prayed-for intuitive idea today is to tackle the clutter which like a ball and chain around a prisoner’s ankle will no doubt impede my progress as I scramble nimbly (ahem) up the mountainside of recovery. The particular clutter I refer to consists of two boxes and an entire filing cabinet of unopened bills and letters. What you are actually looking at is the body of the ostrich, the head is burried deep within the cabinet, the only substitute for a pile of sand I could find in my office. The super-strength, super absorbent box of tissues will come in handy to mop up the blood, sweat and tears.
So today I start off by tackiling my demons of which currently there are many; with the bills piled up neatly on one side, the letters on another, and a pile of lever arch files at the ready.  All of these have to be entered into my accounts software which will filter out the smaller pile of paid debts from the mountain of unpaid ones.  I use the word ‘mountain’ loosely, I don’t have a mountain of debt, I have an entire range of mountains that is likely to give the Himalayas a real complex  soon.
As I sit pondering what to do about the bills, Seiwa, my closest friend calls.  Seiwa has an undiminishing store of medicine bottles, each one labelled ‘Laughter – shake well after use’ which she generously dispenses anytime, night or day. “I’m in a rush”, she said, “but I had to tell you this”, she continued. “I was listening to a Keith Moore recording today (you’ll hear more about this wonderful man of God too), and he tells this story about a guy who opens up his bills every morning and holds them aloft cheerfully. Jesuuuus – he yells, you’ve got mail!”.  I Love it! “Jesuuuus”, I’m yelling at the top of my voice now, “You’ve got loads of mail!”.

I am sitting in my office, a cup of coffee at my side, wishing all of this would be magicked away in a blink.
This is day 24 of my transition from Anne the Printer to Anne the Artist via Anne the Options Trader and a pit stop at Anne the Author.
If this makes me sound like a ‘Jack Of All Ttrades’ (no pun intended), its because I have been blessed with many talents (hey – what can I say?).
Seriously though, I gave myself 30 days chosen completely arbitrarily to make the transition. Before you think that at day 24  there is only 6 days to go and what the heck have I achieved?; let me just say I started at the top and am counting backwards. Never the less whether it is 6 days or 24 days, one thing is certain; I know what I want (insert applause here),  I am just not sure exactly how I will get there so this is a mystery both to you and to me.
I have no self directed plan other than God’s plan; an organic sort of plan where I act on my prayed about ideas with courage and believing boldness.
I am just about to take one giant leap of faith – literally and figuratively.