Position:Home>Visual Arts> New mom can't find time for oil painting?
Question: New mom can't find time for oil painting!?
I have a 6 month old baby, a huge house, a loving husband who has buys me all the art supplies that i ask for and a bit of talent!.
I am having a challenge in finding the time to paint!. I need to concentrate and focus, detach myself from everything else to concentrate on my work!. I am moving in june so i am packing as well as the usual household chores are always to be done!. also, the baby is a full time job including poopy diapers and washing baby bottles!. I am really feeling the urge to paint but cant find the time!. By 10pm , I am exhausted since the baby doesn't sleep much during the day!.
Any ideas!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
When your baby will be older and will go to kindergarden /school you will find plenty of time to paint!.
In the meantime , enjoy your precious time with your baby as this time wont last long!.
You only get a few years to spend with your child, as by the time they are 12-13 they start growing apart and wanting to spend time with their friends!.!.!.don't spoil this time by trying constantly to do 2 things in the same time: do just one thing at the time !. And the time now is to enjoy your child!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
First a word of empathy - when my boys came along, I didn't get to pursue my art (amateur musician) for about seven years!
Would your husband be able/willing to take charge of the baby one or two Saturdays month!? Or hire a babysitter!?
also, finding some studio space, outside of your home, might help!. Local or neighborhood art centers often have some space you can use!.
Best wishes!Www@QuestionHome@Com
With my first, I didn't get much done creatively until about his first birthday!.!.!.!.I know you need to do things for yourself as a release but it's pretty much just the way it is for a while!. He will be older and less dependent before you know it!. If you stay at home try taking a nap when he does and maybe you can stay up a bit later at night to get some painting done!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Ok little mommy!.!.!. you have to use nap time effectively!. I know you are tired but I really think that the painting might rejuvenate you!. Maybe sometimes you have a brush in one hand and the baby in your other!. Maybe you can use acrylics for all of your under painting so they will dry quickly!. Then move on to the oils for the detail!. Use that creativity to find time for yourself!. Doing what you love will make you a better mommy!. Good luck!Www@QuestionHome@Com
Ask yourself this first!.!.!.what is more important!? baby or hobby!. Most new moms don't have time for hobbies, that's how it is!. It is a full time job + the house work too!.!.!.you may have to put hobby on back burner, it will be there when the baby gets older!.!.!. I went through the exact same thing after the birth of my daughter!. I know this is not the answer you want, but there are only so many hours in a day!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
You cannot do much, don't frustrate yourself by trying!. 10 p!.m!. is no time to start painting anyway!. Divert your talent into some crayon drawings on paper just to give our creative urges a bit of a venting!.
Good luck!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Oh well, when you have a baby your baby is 1st!.!.!.so bummer for you!Www@QuestionHome@Com
Grab a nap when baby does!. Not every time but at least once a day!. If baby takes long naps, then use one of those for painting!. You must be able to find at least an hour once or twice a week!. When babies up, pop her in her playpen in your well ventalated studio and paint!. Or in the yard!. Or pop her into a baby backpack and paint for awhile!. Big house!?
So do a little less housecleaning!. Your understanding hubby will be fine with it since you're so happy now that you've found the time to paint!.
"!.!.a bit of talent!."
Have more faith in yourself!. It's less about your talent than it is about your practice!. It might be you're finding excuses out of fear of not succeeding!. Make the time for yourself!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Is it possible that your loving husband can watch his baby for a few hours here and there so you can have some time to paint!?
You say you have a huge house - does that mean that you are let's say!.!.!.!. financially comfortable!? If so, maybe you hire a nanny to help with household chores and taking care of the baby to free up some time for you to paint!.
If neither of the above are options, is it possible to paint during the times that the baby is sleeping!? (During the day, I mean!.)
Before you were a wife and a mother, you were just you!. And a part of you is painting!. You need to be able to let "self" shine in all her glory sometimes, for the sake of you and your family!. You never want to resent them for feeling like you had to give up your "self" and not have any time for doing anything except for taking care of the house and the children!.
I am the last of nine children, and we grew up very poor!. My parents worked themselves to the bone to take care of us!. We were never on state aid or welfare, no food stamps, no charity, no assistance of any kind!. My parents didn't believe in such things!. They believed in the responsibility of taking care of one's own family!. Where I am going with this!? I watched my mother sacrifice anything and everything about herself to be the best mother she could be!. And it was work - hard work!. Not only did she take care of a family of eleven (including her and my father), and all the cooking, cleaning and childcare that includes, she actually kept other people's children and cleaned other people's houses to help supplement the income!. As hard as my father worked, it just wasn't enough!. As far as I'm concerned, the woman is a saint!.!.!. I honestly don't know how she did it all those years!. And I've never met anyone in my life with as much love, patience, compassion, and empathy as my mother - you'd think she would've been turned into a monster with all the non-stop work and the insanity of nine children!.
What's my point in all this!? Over the years, I've learned of many things that my mother might have done or would have done if it had not been for us!. I think about what her life could've been like and it makes me very sad!. She sacrificed every part of her being to raise us!. And even though I know she doesn't resent any of us and wouldn't trade us for the world, I know she quietly ponders the what-ifs and the could-have-beens!. She's 71 years old now, and still being a mother to some of those in my family who to put it mildly!.!.!. had some problems along the road of life!.
She's everything I aspire to be and at the same time many things I aspire not to be!. It's a mother's instinct to put her children before herself, but just remember that your children will model after you and look up to you!. If they know that you love to paint, but never do it, they will grow up thinking that it's okay to put aside your joys and dreams!. Trust me on this, they would rather be able to say one day, "My mother was a wonderful painter, and her paintings are something I can carry with me and pass down through the generations!." I know that if I could have something like a painting that my mother, grandmother, or great grandmother did, it would mean absolutely everything to me!.
It is very possible to be a wonderful mother and to have your children bring you great joy, and to have other joys in life as well!. Your children will thank you for it when they are adults!.Www@QuestionHome@Com