Hola from Mexico! I came to La Manzanilla expecting sunshine, good Mexican food, plein air painting days, and a refreshing change of scenery. What I didn’t expect was that leaving home to get the work done would be the real gift of this trip!
I’m a week in, but it took a few days to notice the shift. Day three or four, perhaps. There’s always an adjustment period for me — not just to a new place, but to a new rhythm. La Manzanilla is a fishing village, not a town, and certainly not a city. Dirt roads. People chatting in Spanish next door. Music and announcements blaring from small trucks as they pass. It takes time to relax into relaxing.
At first, I felt a quiet pressure to work only en plein air. I teach it, after all — so it helps if I actually do it occasionally! And I have. Two plein air pen-and-ink-and-watercolour pieces, and a pastel too. They’re okay. And that really is okay.
But then something interesting happened.
Once I realised I actually had space — real, mental, unpressured space — to get to the easel, I allowed myself to work on other subjects. Pieces I’ve been wanting to get to for what seems like ages. Work from photos and thumbnails. Studio-style painting I hadn’t quite managed to get to all last year. Permission given!
And suddenly, I was doing it.
What’s puzzling (and fascinating) is that I’m still working. I’m prepping IGNITE! Membership lessons, handling admin and emails, and continuing Accelerant coaching. That hasn’t stopped. Breakfast is simple, yes — and although we’re eating out almost every night (long live street food!), that all takes time too. So it’s not that life has disappeared.
What has disappeared is the background noise. And without that constant hum, art no longer has to compete — it simply gets to happen.
At home, there’s a density to daily life — dishes, decisions, errands, quiet obligations — that constantly pulls attention sideways. Even when there’s time to paint, art often has to negotiate its place in the lineup. Here, those negotiations seem to have fallen away.
I’m finding myself following what catches my fancy — and somehow, that’s exactly what I haven’t been able to do for a while.
So far, that’s meant three Gallery Goer pastels, one plein air pastel, two plein air watercolour pieces (one with ink, one with pencil) — not because I planned it that way. Simply because once I began, the work invited more work.
Also, one thing I’ve recommitted to in 2026 is a sketch a day. I last took on this challenge back in 2015 (!), and I’d forgotten just how grounding it is — not as a performance, but as a way of staying in conversation with the work. (Here’s a link back to that earlier post on my GailSibley Artist website if you’re curious.)
That’s been the biggest surprise of all: that I’m actually doing it. What’s not surprising is just how fantastic it feels! Even on days when other things take up the morning, I still find myself back at the easel later on. Yesterday, from 5:00 to 6:15 pm. A small window, perhaps, but a deeply satisfying one.
This experience has me thinking a lot about my motto for 2026: Art First. Not as a slogan or a discipline, but as something enacted. Right now, art doesn’t have to shout to be heard. It doesn’t have to justify itself. It simply gets to go first.
I’m reminded — yet again — that getting started is both the hardest thing and the most rewarding thing. To do, you need to begin. And gosh, does it ever feel good to be art-making.
Sometimes, leaving home to get the work done is exactly what allows that to happen.
I’d love to hear from you. Have you ever noticed that getting away — even briefly — helped you finally get to the work? Or perhaps the opposite: that staying put but changing something small made all the difference? Please share in the comments — I always enjoy the conversation.
Until next time,
~ Gail
PS. Of course, not everyone is in a position to pack up and work somewhere else — and I’m very aware of that. The point isn’t the travel. It’s the shift. What I’m noticing is how much mental space opens up when a few of the usual demands fall away, even temporarily. Sometimes that kind of shift can come from something much smaller: working at a different time of day or giving yourself a “workshop” day (ie. as if you’re at a workshop and you’re in class and life has to wait!). Ideally, even getting away for a few days locally can help — along with a clear commitment to doing your art.
20 thoughts on “Leaving Home to Get the Work Done”
I recently stepped back from a few commitments, and almost immediately found myself pasteling again. Within days, I was finishing a piece I had started a few months earlier. I usually complete a painting in a day or two at most, but I’d taken an abstract workshop and had been working in acrylics, so I’d stepped away from pastels for a while.
It was a pleasure to apply some of what I learned in that workshop to this pastel piece. It’s amazing how much mental space opens up once you deal with the everyday “noise” and give yourself room to create.
Ooooo thanks for sharing your own experience Susan! I LOVE that “just” by giving up a few commitments, you created a kind of vacuum that was so quickly filled by pastelling. Whoo hoo!! AND that you brought your abstract workshop learning into your pastel work. So good!
Hi, Gail,
I’m so encouraged by this blog post. While I’ve been getting art done this year, it feels like a battle to reserve time to work in the studio. There’s a push-and-pull from daily responsibilities that have me pondering ways I can make life as an artist work. Your suggestions especially at the end of the post are fuel for ideas of making time for art. Thank you!
For me it’s also changing my mind-set about art—art is important and I can give myself permission to set time for making it.
YES! Gina I hear you about the struggle to put art first, to really commit to that prioritising of art. That mindset, that decision to carve out art-making time, is crucial to making it happen. I’m glad to know the suggestions were helpful 😀 And, yay to you getting art done!!
I’ve just returned from my “retreat” where I committed myself to paint the morning sunrise. I did it from the sunroom looking out most mornings over the ocean, but I did it faithfully every morning. TBH, by the last day I was a little over it. It’s was cloudy and the colors were no longer thrilling me. And maybe it’s because I didn’t actually go outside. I did 10-12 studies, some mornings doing 2.
This retreat is my family beach house, which I have access to several times a year. Sometimes my family is with me. Most times I’m alone – and that is when I pull out my art supplies and paint. It usually takes me a couple days to get my gumption up to address that blank canvas, but when I do it’s an often peaceful, yet exciting time for me and my enthusiasm is reignited.
I am extremely fortunate to have this opportunity and always try to keep the momentum going when I return home. It’s an ebb and flow, just like the rhythm of the ocean I love so. My life is fairly hectic, with numerous things pulling me away from art. So I value these opportunities to get away.
I can’t wait to see what your remaining time teaches you! Have fun!
Jeni thanks for sharing your own art “retreat” experience with getting away from home and your hectic life. What a difference it can make! Loved hearing about your daily painting commitment to painting the sunrise each morning. Even if you were “done,” by the end you had created evidence of that commitment and along with all those studies, such learning in the doing! And I love the relation you’ve drawn between the ebb and flow of the ocean and life – so apropos!
Nice article!
I have been through La Manzanilla many times and will be there again in a few weeks. I travel by bike with Canadian friends. Maybe I will see you there. I work with pastels when at home, usually portraits, but do sketches when traveling.
I enjoy your blogs and tips on how to change up things time to time.
All the best, Sharyn
PS Seen any alligators there?
Thanks Sharyn! There have been quite a few changes since we were were two years ago. Good ones I think. We are at the for south of the village and to tell you the truth, I’ve hardly been beyond the road split, so no where near the alligators. And the arroyo is completely dry so no baby alligators there either.
A big wow to travelling by bike. We head home end January so seems I’ll miss you. Enjoy your stay!!
Ooh Gail!! This is wonderful!!!…and certainly resonates with me. Thank you for sharing this.
Ive been pretty much housebound for a few years, only venturing out if someone can drive me for a very short trip, or staying very local and using an electric wheelchair if the weather stayed dry😂in the UK😂…but yesterday I had a hospital appointment in Truro and decided to take a taxi and train ride to it on my own and I turned down offers of lifts. It felt a bit scary, but I did it and I’m so so glad I did!! I saw things I wanted to paint/ draw as the train raced along and I chatted with an art teacher I met about the art displayed at the train station. I came home tired and inspired!! I got out my sketching kit and put pencil to paper!!
I’ve decided to do a solo taxi/ train trip at least once a month as a result. It made me want to do art in a way I haven’t felt for a long time🙃In a way too, it felt like a mini break. I love the art work you have shared in this article too🙌. I’m so happy for you~ what a wonderful happening.
Carol, thank you for sharing your transforming breakout! I so love how your courage to take the trip on your own has rewarded you with this reigniting of your art passion. And I can just imagine the train ride and all it brought having experienced that in England myself – so many possibilities! And yes, stirring things up like your mini break can be just what the art doc ordered. I can feel your enthusiastic energy pulsing from your comment. A big YAY!!!!!! Can’t wait to see what this brings forth in your art Carol!!
Thank you Carol! That’s a great reminder for me. Last year was the first year I started travelling from Barrie to Toronto by train and I loved it! The whole first trip both ways was documented in video. I need to look that over for painting inspiration, of which there should be lots!! The trip is always a blast, I go with a friend or two and we visit the Art Gallery of Ontario and a big artist supply store just down the street (there is also an art university next door). So it’s completely all about art. Next trip is coming up in a week or so!
Sounds marvellous Susan!!
How about first thing in the am with the first cuppa. Nice, alone, quiet, no phone, admire my collections of spectra: pencils, inks, pastels, which to chose? Which topic for the week? Serenity is fertilizer for art. Love the site, thanks!!!
Ahhhhh…yes that’s a good plan Peter….as long as the distractions of life don’t railroad you off track lol. Sounds wonderful though. Is it working?
Great article Gail!! I was especially grabbed by the thought that it took several days for the shift to occur, before the buzz in the background was quieted. We plan to be in Kananaskis Country for 5 days in March and on the shores of Lake Superior for 10 days in July. I want to remember the value of letting the dust settle a bit so that creativity and other things can come to the surface.
I also liked your idea of a “Workshop” at home. It isn’t always possible to pull away from commitments long term. But anyone can do it for a day. Would love to hear your thoughts on how to structure an “at home workshop”.
Thanks for this perspective Gail!! Enjoy Manzanilla!!
So glad this struck a chord with you Debbie! It did take a few days but I also had the intention to paint. Still, it needed to time to relax and just breathe. I’m glad you have these thoughts to take with you on your own getaway, to let the quietening open up creativity rather than forcing it!
Thanks for the workshop-at-home idea – I’ll write a post about that. It can be difficult to achieve, amazingly so!!
I am interested in the “workshop at home” idea too!
Awesome! More encouragement for me to get the post written lol!
This is encouraging me to get back to painting.
January I spent making cards. Last week I took my pastels out to start an idea for a 4 seasons painting. I like my drafts and am excited about it
Then I slipped on ice under a brushing of snow. Now my right hand/wrist is in a cast. Bummer.
I agree getting away to just concentrate on art is the thing to do. In March I definitely plan to get back to painting.
Keep painting. Art is life
Og Sybil, I’m so sorry to hear about your ice fall. Bummer indeed! AND, I’m happy to know you’re getting back to your painting – I know what a struggle it’s been for you to carve our art time! Yay to March and what that will bring!!