'Tricking' Myself Into the Studio?

“Don’t think about making art, just get it done.  Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it.  While they are deciding, make even more art.” Andy Warhol

Where Are Those Eyes?

Practicing regularly and often is when I get the most improvement and experimentation in my work.

How do you achieve regular practice? I've tried various things such as carrying a sketchbook around with me EVERYWHERE so I could sketch when I had little moments. That was great but eventually fell by the wayside. I've tried Inktober which is making an ink sketch every day in October. I made the month but then that petered out. I tried one painting daily for awhile and amassed quite a few of those but it too stopped. 

You might be different from myself in how you are motivated but here are a few things that have worked for me:

1. Attending a weekly group. I attend life drawing once a week and I carve in a group once a week. Now, I do paint and draw more than that but having the commitment of the group keeps me working throughout the rest of the week on my own. That is when I often get working on larger projects. 
2. Working in series. Currently I am wanting to improve my drawing and painting skills of animals. By choosing a goal and also telling others about it seems to motivate me to keep practicing.
3. Because I think a lot of artists paint their own lives, being engaged in the subject matter is key for me. As I am painting animals currently, I asked my niece to send me photos of her dogs and I have had great fun and challenges practicing where the lab's long gangly legs go in relation to it's body and how to show the eyes under all the fur in the little one's face.
4. Commissioned work is not something all artist's embrace but I think I learn a lot from it because it forces me to do something I wouldn't normally pick. It gets me experimenting and I like that. Oh yes, there is often a deadline associated with it. 
5. A special gift for someone or a special project for a charity. Those sorts of things always feel great and gets me running for the studio. 
6. Requiring art for upcoming shows and galleries can also keep me working be it in the studio or on location.

Do you have other 'tricks' that keep you heading for the studio versus dealing with all those distractions we have in everyday life? 

As a young pup, I don't think he was too sure about the ocean!

Okay the cat was in one of the photos. How could you resist painting that cute face?

I am going to be searching for more Border Collies to paint.