Staying healthy

I’ve prepared a few times for competition exhibitions or solo shows now, and one thing I have learned over the last few years is that I have to keep healthy in body and mind in order to sustain the energy required to create and all that goes with it… I have described my fitness process to a few folks, as an essential part of my practice, in terms of training, like an athlete, with tiny brushstrokes, graphite, or penmanship. I don’t know if people really take me seriously, but I take it seriously!

Fitness for artists

I’m going to note my thoughts on keeping my body and mind fit to create and how I do it, I’m going to come back to this and build on it, when I have time, I’m currently finishing work on emerge : natural design… watch this space…

Physiology

While I am painting, I am sitting still, making micro movements with my hand, wrist, arm, shoulder and back, the other side of me from my quads up, is holding my body stable, so there is a bit of contraction going on. If I don’t work at it, my shoulder, delts, forearm, wrist, and hand will seize up, and I get contraction build up in major and minor pecs and in the opposite supporting side, in my glutes, QL and lower back, my hip flexors and quads also tighten. My eyes are moving from subject to paper, but that’s usually only a space of a few feet so my focus becomes fixed.

That’s a lot! Maybe you also get the same if you are also painting for hours and not moving much?

So, it’s essential to move! 

Take breaks, get moving

Set up a timer with an alarm, set it for 30 minutes, and then get up and walk around for three minutes, it won’t break your focus, instead you might come back more refreshed.

Walking

I like to go out for a 20 minute walk every work day, I’ve done it since I started working on my fern pieces, so for about 10 years now, at the time I was working in a windowless room in the middle of our flat, and I needed to get some daylight!!!  It’s great to get up and move, and warm up, if it’s raining I go anyway, I’m fairly waterproof! Get some fresh air, you can use it as one of your breaks, and I usually have creative thoughts when I’m going around the block!

Stretching

Strength work

Meditation

Support

I’d love to know what you do to keep yourself fit to create 🙂