Orange Vespas and imaginary flower-vined walls on a possibly European cobblestoned road makes me feel good. I’ve been painting a lot recently and it also feels good. And the reason for more painting? Deadlines. The miracle workers of creativity. At least for me. I thrive under a wee bit of pressure. Just a little bit, too much and it’s overwhelm and chaos and I’ll never get it done hand on forehead melodrama. Not enough, days go by like the calendar in a black and white movie, pages flying through the air marking the passing of seasons. But if I can get it just right, said Goldilocks, things-life-art feel pretty darn good. Deadlines for an artist/writer/producer of anything-er, I believe, CRITICAL.Yes, all caps important. Take for example, my book. There is no deadline. So where is it? Nowhere! All patched together in pieces of blogs, essays, saved files, scraps of papers, drawings, and lists. And my card company? There are customers who place orders with a ship date which is a deadline so I pack it and get it out the door on time because….you get it. Paintings, same thing. I have two customers in California who sell my work in their store and guess what, they need it by a certain date. So I produce and paint based on their….DEADLINE!!! Oh, the simplicity of it. I know this, we know this, it’s the clean house before the guests come over syndrome. Oh, this shiny counter? It’s always like this! Same for our art. Oh, this finished product? I’m always working on something in my spare time while sipping tea and flipping through art books. Not. I create and paint because I love it. But I finish it because that’s the home stretch and get it done deal we make as full-time artists and creative entrepreneurs. Thank you, almighty deadlines. As much as I curse you and fret and 11th hour you, deep down, me and my orange vespa brigade thank you. xo